Not only did it allow me to show my support for her and encourage her, but it allowed me to ENCOURAGE others....some I've known & just LOVE them & their character. Some of them were complete strangers that really just live a few miles from me.
One thing that every woman that came to the conference got was a little doodle sheet, with a motivational message on it. As the speakers were speaking we were all supposed to write down scripture we wanted to go back and read or just jot down notes.
She had asked me if I would help emcee the event & of course I agreed. She had handed these little sheets out to everyone and I just went and grabbed the top one off the stack, because I hadn't gotten one yet & the music was about to start.
This is what my motivational sheet said:
It really did MINISTER to me, which was what she really wanted them to do. This little message has been the STORY OF MY LIFE. Here's been my thought process over the last few years:
I'm good at what I'm doing....I just don't like the people I'm working with anymore. We don't have the same overall goal. Okay....now I'm tired of being restricted to make THEIR dream happen and not my own....What? Auctioneer? oh my husband is gonna divorce me, if I tell him this hair-brained idea.... I'm gonna go where & do what? I don't even have a chant! I'll do it while I'm providing money for my family...... Is the money really worth putting up with these people that have more experience than me, but still aren't REALLY doing something to help these people that REALLY need it....more than they need their paycheck???? You want me to quit when my job is the majority of our income? Okay he hasn't threatened to divorce me yet, but this MIGHT be pushing it..... He said YES! Go do it, just know life is gonna change. Crap! Now it's ALL on me. God is waiting on ME to say YES..... OKAY!!! I'll do what you tell me already!....as I proceed to try and MAKE things happen vs. letting Him make them happen. Then....I start working on peeling the layers back. Then....I know BIG growth is fixing to happen....I just don't know what it looks like. Then....I go to a conference like this were a GROUP of WOMEN are lifting you up in PRAYER & I'm UNSETTLED all over again...
But this time....in a MIGHTY way that is in the AUTHORITY of Christ Jesus.
All I can say is....if you think you are going to "settle down" and answer God's calling, you MIGHT want to pray about it.
As the music is playing and the speakers are speaking...I'm just jottin' away on my doodle sheet. Here are some of the things I wrote:
- Suddenlink
- Sava
- Buck Up
- KSBJ
- Rejoice
- African Man - "Make Disciples of All Nations" - Why not?
- "God has to be our passion." -Aaron Mullins
- Promise in the mystery - urge people to go read about Elizabeth & Zecharius and the birth of John the Baptist
- Philippians: Paul passionately upset
- Colossians
- Peace=something wrong? once you figure out it is God, you'll praise and rejoice in the peace
- Boldly?
All these false conditions we place on ourselves: I need a degree. I need this class. I'm a woman & people won't accept me because of it. I need to master this. I need to have X amount of money in the bank.
The TRUTH is: You are whole, full, blessed, and ready RIGHT NOW!!
I was pretty exhausted the next couple of days.... Honestly because I was OVERWHELMED with God's goodness and it can be really hard to process sometimes. You start thinking why do I DESERVE to walk in this authority, which I am called to? The fact of the matter is this.... each and every one of us are called to walk in the authority of Christ Jesus & we CONSTANTLY have to pull back the layers & die to ourselves over & OVER again....(each time we peel a layer back) to understand that it is not about what WE deserve, but about what God wants us to experience....how He NEEDS us to CHOOSE to follow Him.... How he doesn't want us thinking SO hard about other people or how to make ourselves better. He wants us to live our lives in a way that shines BRIGHTLY to others.
I was thinking about things today & came to the conclusion that one of the things that is really important to me is that..... when people look at me, look at my Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Blog profile that they KNOW I am a believer in Christ Jesus and that I am THANKFUL & HUMBLED for the stripes he bore to SAVE ME. I want them to look at my husband and my children that way also! I want people to feel the JOY in what I have & go get their own!!!
One bullet point that isn't quite self explanatory is "African Man - Make Disciples of All Nations" - Why not?" Here is why the story struck me so.... I was helping my Uncle Melvin call an auction for the Independent Cattleman's Association 2 weeks ago & I was takin' bids and rolling right along with my chant & didn't really realize how often I was saying "Why not?" when trying to entice people to bid more. I was selling an item & the crowd (in unison) said with me.... "Why not?" I had to giggle a little bit. Really though....Why not? Why can't we GIVE more than we think we can? Why can't we do what we feel called to do? Why do people doubt when the goal seems SO big? I mean... Jesus calmed the waters of a stormy sea. Jesus healed the blind, the sick, & the cripple. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead....after being in a tomb for 4 days!! Jesus died to free ALL of us from the grips of sin & He himself raised from the dead! Why don't ya'll just come on with me & the African Man & Buck Up Baby & Ride With Jesus?!
I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:13
