This was an awesome weekend!! It has been a challenge to sit down and type this post with all the amazing and exciting things I want to share and tell you! This might be a very long post but trust me if you hang in and read it all I believe God will touch you too!!! :)
Lets start with Friday evening! The speaker was Lori Slaughter from http://covenantfreedom.org. The conference was called "Above All" and the scripture was Ester 2:17 "And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti."
The story of Ester has always been one of my favorites. I love her bravery and VULNERABILITY. The word vulnerability was a big word for me that weekend. It is a great word and I love how Lori gave this analogy. "Lord, let me wear Suran Wrap so you can see through me but I am still protected." LOVED IT!
Our women's conference was a smaller one which made it very safe and comfortable and I think opened the door for many women to be vulnerable, myself included. :)
The other point that was such a good reminder for me was remembering who I am in Christ. I am "ABOVE ALL" "Valuable" "Essential" and a "World Changer." It is so easy to forget that I am like Ester I am loved above all and have been given grace and favor. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME- I sure felt like a princess!
Can I also just say that if you are looking for a vibrant women to come preach at your church then Lori is your lady. She is so full of life and energy and her personality is so contagious! Check out her website: http://covenantfreedom.org/Welcome.html
Saturday morning I was so excited since one of my close friends was going to share her testimony. I cried, I laughed, I rejoiced... it was amazing. She did so great and I know she was extremely nervous but the nerves never shown through!
I absolutely loved loved loved her sea glass analogy, I will always be reminded of this story when I see sea glass.
Steps to make sea glass:
1. it is broken and thrown or tossed away
2. gets tossed and turned and the jagged edges get smoothed out
3. certain elements get taken out so it appears frosty
4. only light shines through
Now if you read that and did not pick up on the spiritual aspects of it let me break it down again.
1. We are broken and in our own pit
2. God gets a hold of us and our world changes as we encounter his GRACE and MERCY so our jagged edges get smoothed out.
3. The elements taken out - the icky past is gone- God removed our sins our junk our yuck.
4. We become the light of the World- God shines through us!
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL picture!! :) SEA GLASS! :) AMEN
After the morning session we had some soaking/quiet time. It was so awesome to have that time. I love to sit in his presence. I sometimes have so much volume from everything else that when I turn on HIS volume and get away it is amazing.
In that time I read in Philippians... I love that book!
First thing I focused on was Phil 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. When I wrote that verse in my notebook I changed it too "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in ME will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
The next verse I wrote down was Philippians 1:14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. Now that was Paul talking since he was in prison at the time. What I really took from it was, "I HAVE COURAGE TO SPEAK WITHOUT FEAR!"
I don't know how many times I let the enemy win and I do not give a word of encouragement or I squash something the Lord wants to do because I let me nerves get the best of me. NOT ANYMORE!
Another thing I realized after talking with a lady was how many lies from the enemy I have believed and allowed to snowball in me. IT WAS SO UGLY. I know that after having my son by c-section I started to believe the lie that I was a failure, I was inadequate because I did not have him naturally. That little lie then snowballed into so many other areas of my life and I never realized it till this weekend. So from those feelings I started to have jealousy over some of the other women in my church comparing me and them and their gifts and what I thought was my lack of gifts. God showed me all this but then He reminded me of where I have matured and how even at this conference I was not comparing or being jealous but I was being encouraged, empowered, and inspired! Exactly what he wanted me to do! YAY So as I sat and reflected and said good bye to those silly and stupid lies I declared and told God USE ME, I am vulnerable, I am ready, I am jumping out into the bigger plans HE has for me! I will be wise and discern his voice and stomp out the lies from the enemy! I AM SO EXCITED!
So as you read that I hope you realize how excited I was. It was like a weight lifted and gone. I was ready to be the next speaker I was so on fire! :) LOL!
The third speaker is a lady I have always looked up to and its not because I am short and she is tall because we are the same height! :) I love hugging her because it is so nice to hug someone that is not a foot taller then me! :) :)
So she was speaking on "Being in his Presence." We focused on intimacy and prophetic. Here are a few nuggets I loved:
1. In His presence we find out about who we are.
2. Jesus didn't die so I could go to Heaven. He died so Heaven can get in me, so I can share Heaven with others. WOW- LOVE THAT
3. I'm His favorite Child. :) YOU ARE TOO!
What keeps people from prophesying?
1. Ignorance
2. Apathy
3. Fear
Luke 11:5-13 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
Lets start with Friday evening! The speaker was Lori Slaughter from http://covenantfreedom.org. The conference was called "Above All" and the scripture was Ester 2:17 "And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti."
The story of Ester has always been one of my favorites. I love her bravery and VULNERABILITY. The word vulnerability was a big word for me that weekend. It is a great word and I love how Lori gave this analogy. "Lord, let me wear Suran Wrap so you can see through me but I am still protected." LOVED IT!
Our women's conference was a smaller one which made it very safe and comfortable and I think opened the door for many women to be vulnerable, myself included. :)
The other point that was such a good reminder for me was remembering who I am in Christ. I am "ABOVE ALL" "Valuable" "Essential" and a "World Changer." It is so easy to forget that I am like Ester I am loved above all and have been given grace and favor. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME- I sure felt like a princess!
Can I also just say that if you are looking for a vibrant women to come preach at your church then Lori is your lady. She is so full of life and energy and her personality is so contagious! Check out her website: http://covenantfreedom.org/Welcome.html
Saturday morning I was so excited since one of my close friends was going to share her testimony. I cried, I laughed, I rejoiced... it was amazing. She did so great and I know she was extremely nervous but the nerves never shown through!
I absolutely loved loved loved her sea glass analogy, I will always be reminded of this story when I see sea glass.
Steps to make sea glass:
1. it is broken and thrown or tossed away
2. gets tossed and turned and the jagged edges get smoothed out
3. certain elements get taken out so it appears frosty
4. only light shines through
Now if you read that and did not pick up on the spiritual aspects of it let me break it down again.
1. We are broken and in our own pit
2. God gets a hold of us and our world changes as we encounter his GRACE and MERCY so our jagged edges get smoothed out.
3. The elements taken out - the icky past is gone- God removed our sins our junk our yuck.
4. We become the light of the World- God shines through us!
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL picture!! :) SEA GLASS! :) AMEN
After the morning session we had some soaking/quiet time. It was so awesome to have that time. I love to sit in his presence. I sometimes have so much volume from everything else that when I turn on HIS volume and get away it is amazing.
In that time I read in Philippians... I love that book!
First thing I focused on was Phil 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. When I wrote that verse in my notebook I changed it too "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in ME will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."
The next verse I wrote down was Philippians 1:14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. Now that was Paul talking since he was in prison at the time. What I really took from it was, "I HAVE COURAGE TO SPEAK WITHOUT FEAR!"
I don't know how many times I let the enemy win and I do not give a word of encouragement or I squash something the Lord wants to do because I let me nerves get the best of me. NOT ANYMORE!
Another thing I realized after talking with a lady was how many lies from the enemy I have believed and allowed to snowball in me. IT WAS SO UGLY. I know that after having my son by c-section I started to believe the lie that I was a failure, I was inadequate because I did not have him naturally. That little lie then snowballed into so many other areas of my life and I never realized it till this weekend. So from those feelings I started to have jealousy over some of the other women in my church comparing me and them and their gifts and what I thought was my lack of gifts. God showed me all this but then He reminded me of where I have matured and how even at this conference I was not comparing or being jealous but I was being encouraged, empowered, and inspired! Exactly what he wanted me to do! YAY So as I sat and reflected and said good bye to those silly and stupid lies I declared and told God USE ME, I am vulnerable, I am ready, I am jumping out into the bigger plans HE has for me! I will be wise and discern his voice and stomp out the lies from the enemy! I AM SO EXCITED!
So as you read that I hope you realize how excited I was. It was like a weight lifted and gone. I was ready to be the next speaker I was so on fire! :) LOL!
The third speaker is a lady I have always looked up to and its not because I am short and she is tall because we are the same height! :) I love hugging her because it is so nice to hug someone that is not a foot taller then me! :) :)
So she was speaking on "Being in his Presence." We focused on intimacy and prophetic. Here are a few nuggets I loved:
1. In His presence we find out about who we are.
2. Jesus didn't die so I could go to Heaven. He died so Heaven can get in me, so I can share Heaven with others. WOW- LOVE THAT
3. I'm His favorite Child. :) YOU ARE TOO!
What keeps people from prophesying?
1. Ignorance
2. Apathy
3. Fear
Luke 11:5-13 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity[a] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[b] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
So when we ask we receive because Daddy God loves to give gifts! AMEN!
1 Corinthians 14:3 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
So what are the Keys to Prophesy
1. Dwell in His presence
2. Love others
3. Body check- is there a pain in your body that someone might be suffering from and you can bring healing?
4. Focus on God's purpose- Worship him
5. Ask God-Listen and Hear from Him
6. Become a Lover of God's Word- Get in the Bible
Prophesying is for:
1. Edification and building up
2. Exhortation and encouraging
3. Comfort- take away pain or anxiety.
Next we were put into smaller groups and then paired up so we could try to prophesy. I have done this before and my stomach would get in a big knot but this time I really was excited!
So I start praying for a girl asking God to tell me something and I get a picture and I think "wow, this is so silly" I have no idea what it means but I was obedient in sharing it with her. I said, "I see leaves falling on you and you are running and collecting them and climbing up in a tree and sewing leaves back on the tree." I thought maybe she did not want the season fall to come... I had no idea what it would mean and I thought it was kinda silly. I open my eyes and she was crying! My jaw dropped...what did I say? Well, this picture made perfect sense to her. She was adopted but 3 weeks prior she found her birth dad and since has met more and more family. So she literally is sewing leaves back on her family tree. JAW DROPPED!! Did God really just use me?? I WAS THRILLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next I got another image for a different lady. I saw her braiding a horses tail but the braid would come out and she would go fix it. It happened several times but she never got frustrated she just went back and fixed the braid. She understood it was a work related thing so again it was awesome. :)
The conference ended and I was able to be bold and share some of the above things and let myself be vulnerable. :) IT WAS GREAT!
Oh did I mention that my foot had been hurting for weeks and on Friday evening I kept sitting down during worship because it was painful. At the end of the evening I stayed on my feet and I prayed and prayed and my foot had no more pain!!! It is Monday and in a few minutes I am going to the gym because my pain is gone! :) THANK THE LORD!
So I had already had 3 messages 3 worships but we still had church that evening with a special guest speaker. The lady who is from Wisconsin but has been all over the globe. She currently helps in the healing rooms at Bethel church in California.
Her message on Saturday night was great and she spoke out and encouraged several people in the congregation. We prayed for a lady's knee who reported back to me that it is so much better. She can bend it and bear weight on it. YAY! NEAT!
On Sunday morning we got to meet with her again and we talked a bit more on prophetic which sounded similar to the conference. :) Then we got with a partner and did the same thing we did at the conference. :) Same thing happened, I thought the picture in head was silly but I spoke it out. I told my friend I saw a big colorful butterfly soaring from flower to flower. The colors were so amazing in this butterfly. I open my eyes and she was crying!!! Oh boy I hope these are good tears. The night before the speaker had encouraged her by saying it was time for her to dream and to write down her dreams. That same morning she had started to write her dreams and she wrote down that she was a flying butterfly! JAW DROPPED... I started bawling!
Thanking him so much for using me in such an awesome way. I want to keep practicing and staying in tune with him to encourage more people! I have to remember to always dwell in his presence and stay in his word. I have a new boldness in me and I do believe God will nudge me to speak up more often while out in the public! :) YES!!!!!!!!
I know this was a super long post but I really wanted to share all the awesome and wonderful things that took place this weekend. :) I would love to hear any of your praise reports or some of the neat things God has been doing in your life.
**Edit**
I was so excited because God used me but I forgot to mention what the ladies spoke over me! :) It was really good and worth sharing! :)
On Saturday the lady said "Hula Hoops" and "Child Like Faith." I think there is more to pull from the Hula Hoops but my favorite ministry right now is my children. I love to teach them play with them and they encourage me in my faith. :)
On Sunday my friend said she saw a map that was reaching out similar to the ATT commercials. I immediately thought of my stats on my blog and seeing the map light up and seeing what new countries have found my blog. I truly believe God is going to work through my blog in many more ways! :) HOW COOL! So I have already given him control over the blog I just need to turn his volume up and be obedient! :)
**Edit**
I was so excited because God used me but I forgot to mention what the ladies spoke over me! :) It was really good and worth sharing! :)
On Saturday the lady said "Hula Hoops" and "Child Like Faith." I think there is more to pull from the Hula Hoops but my favorite ministry right now is my children. I love to teach them play with them and they encourage me in my faith. :)
On Sunday my friend said she saw a map that was reaching out similar to the ATT commercials. I immediately thought of my stats on my blog and seeing the map light up and seeing what new countries have found my blog. I truly believe God is going to work through my blog in many more ways! :) HOW COOL! So I have already given him control over the blog I just need to turn his volume up and be obedient! :)
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