Spiritual Buffet...

I got a chance this last weekend to attend the "Deeper Still" Christian women's conference in Atlanta with my mom! Wow!! It was amazing and just what God had ordered for me. It was hosted by 3 spectacular women, Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer (daughter of Pastor Tony Evans). Just picture 20,000 women filling virtually every seat in Phillips Arena downtown Atlanta and imagine the energy, enthusiasm and anticipation of what God had prepared for each of us. One of my daily prayers is for God to open my heart and ears to what it is He wants me to hear and that I may use it to glorify Him, well I am going to share with you just a glimpse of what I believe I heard and hope that it may fill your heart with a new passion and understanding of what our precious and loving God wants for each of us. The weekend started out with an amazing 2 hours from Priscila Shirer and she brought a message that I REALLY needed to hear. The entire message was about "The Wilderness" and our ability to recognize each of our own "wildernesses" as a blessing and to be able to "camp" in whatever season of life God has you in at the moment. Sometimes these messages are hard for me to listen to, because quite honestly I don't like being in the "wilderness" to much literally or figuratively. Most of the time I want OUT and I want OUT NOW. I have come to realize that not only are my "wildernesses" sometimes hurtful, painful and quite miserable at times, I always am delivered from it with a deeper understanding of why I was there in the first place and a clearer mind as to how I can use that time to hopefully help others. For example: Over the last 13 months, I have been tested and at times felt like I was in a deep dark forest. Most of you know that Rob and I were blessed to have our youngest, Kate 13 months ago, just on the tails of our beautiful son Sam who is 26 months old. Yes, two children 13 months apart...enough said right?? I often would ask myself, why would God pick me to raise up two babies so close together? I am in no way equipped to handle such responsibility emotionally, spiritually or physically. Women do this everyday and the survival rate I hear is high, but I have thought on many occasions that I wouldn't see the light ever again. It has truly been the most difficult "wilderness" yet. There have been moments when I would just cry out to the Lord for strength and supernatural stamina and he always came through, maybe not right in the moment, but he let me experience just enough in just the right amount to teach me whatever life lesson I needed to learn. There have been amazing and wonderful stretches and I grateful for both. With this small glimpse into my wilderness season, I share it with you to let you know that God has placed in my life women who are going through similar wilderness seasons and has allowed me to hopefully in some small way show them "light" in their darkness.

Sharing this weekend with my mom was such a blessing and meant so much to me. I appreciate my mom so much more now that I am a mom, but have a better understanding what kind of seasons she must have endured with me....mom, I am sorry:) She did always tell me that one day I would understand and experience the tremendous love you have for your children and she was right!! Imagine that?

The rest of the weekend was equally as amazing, filled with uplifting worship from Travis Cottrell and his worship team as well as messages from both Kay Arthur and Beth Moore. I am in awe of the passion these women have for our Lord and pray that I will continue to grow spiritually and be able to have just an inkling of what these women possess (spiritually). I highly recommend attending one of their conferences if at all possible.

All in all, I believe I was placed right there in that huge auditorium for a reason along with all of the other women and would ask you, "are you listening to what God is teaching you in your wilderness?"