A 31 Woman

I have been promising to blog about this for almost 2 weeks now and finally, here it is....the women's ministry conference recap!  My sister, Joanna, and I left on Friday at noon.  The drive to Findlay was a good 2+ hours so we had a lot of time to catch up, have a yummy Skyline dinner and a double yummy little coffee shop (non-Starbucks ;) )  To be really honest, I was a little nervous heading up with Joanna.  We have never been on a trip by ourselves.  I kept thinking, "are we going to have enough to talk about?"  Yep, no problem there!  And to boot, I really, truly enjoyed alone time with my sister.  We don't see each other often as it is, but to get to spend one-on-one time with her meant an awful lot to me and this was a weekend I will never forget.

So, we finally get to the hotel.  Check in and relax a little before we head down to being our 'girlfriend package' ammenities.  We had a little chair massage and manicures as well as dinner with a group of 6 other ladies.  They were all ages and in stages of their lives.  It is neat to just talk to other women who have seen and done so many things differently than you and to hear some of their stories.  Then the fun started...and I am not talking about anything with the conference.  Jo and I ventured into Findlay, Ohio.  If you aren't familiar with some of our smaller Ohio towns, I don't know if there are words to really express the oddities of small-town America.  We passed this fanastic little shop that advertised 300+ nightcrawlers for $30.  Yes, I am talking about the fishing ones and yes, we giggled about it about the rest of the weekend.  The shopping area of Findlay was interesting.  In one particular shopping area, the nightclubs were sandwiched by Party City and a craft store.  We did a little shopping at the mall and called it a night. 

Now the fun stuff- the Conference.  It was a one day event with Lysa TerKuerst.  The beginning of the conference, though, had praise and worship time.  In a super cool way, they brought up the P&W Team along with 2 artists who used chalk to free hand during the 4 songs.  They drew two hands, palms up, bound together by chains.  In the second half of the conference after lunch, during the 4 P&W songs, the artists came back and from the chains made a cross and blood coming from the hands.  WOW!  It was amazing to see this masterpiece appear from their creation during just 8 beautiful songs.  The most touching moment for me, during the entire day was when we sang "How Great Thou Art."  Albeit, a contemporary version, but when we got the chorus, I had tears and tears streaming down my cheeks.  "How Great Thou Art" was one of my grandma's favorite hymns and as I stood there lifting my voice with 600 other women to our Risen Lord and Savior, I couldn't help but think that my grandmother and I share this spiritual connection.  Standing together, praising our Lord, enjoying the same wonderous songs that are more powerful than the decade you worship.  It really was a special moment for me.

I can't replay for you the awesomeness of the Conference.  But I can share some of the nuggets of truth we learned from Lysa that day.  They were some pretty cool ones too!!

• God comforts us not so we are comfortable but so we are comfort-able.  Sitting on God's comfort isn't enough.  We receive it and give it back to heal.
• Past hurts can create lepresy of the soul.  The sadness and hurt eat away at you (Luke 17:13).  "Jesus, master, have mercy on us."  He doesn't want  temporary fix for us.  He (The Master Healer) wants so much more.  When the comfort from God heals us and we receive it, we can't help but shout praises!  We can't keep it inside.  God is big enough to handle the hard questions you ask Him, but we can't wallow in emotions we face.
• Thank you God for whatever it took to get me to a sweet place of intimacy with Him.
• Go and tell!!  Be comfort-able!!
• We are made well when we take what Satan throws at us and we use it to proclaim God's grace.  My story doesn't settle.
• Matthew 5:8- Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Through the messiness, chaos and unplanned, I will chose to see God.
• Jesus, I want to be a woman who says yes to You.  I want to expect to experience you every day.
• If we want to hear God, we need to get into His Word.  When we get done praying, we need to rise from our knees with eyes, ears and hearts open to see Him all around us.  He is always looking for ways to mold, shape, and teach us.
• Watch when the happy get bumped.  You want to see how far reaching they will be?  See how people react when their happy gets curveballed.  Our reactions matter.  We get so busy with our blessings, they stop being blessings.
• Our feelings can be indicators, but should never be dictators of our reactions.
• When our words fail, or there are no words for a situation- "Jesus" is the name we are equipped to receive.  We don't have to have all the answers as long as we stay connected to the one who does.
• Our job is to be obedient.  God's job is to handle it.  In the midst if what we're facing, we don't know how to fix it but we stay obedient.
• I will stand on my doorstep of life and tell Satan "You shall not pass!"
• When we position of our hearts low, in God's timing and in His way, He will lift us up.
• Our first line of defense should always be praises to go ahead of us.  Not praising the "situation" but knowing God will be on our side.  Making the fight from our knees is better than fighting in the flesh.

Where Were You?

The 10th anniversary of September 11. Since the moment that happened, you never needed to describe the tragic events that unfolded but simply saying "9/11" reminds people of the horrible day that changed our world. September 11 is one of those events that people can very vividly remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they saw the towers hit and come down. I was a senior at Miami University and had a 10:00am. class. I had just closed the door and gotten out to the bus stop from my apartment when the first tower was hit and had just walked into Shriver Center to see the second tower hit. With all classes cancelled that day, I hightailed it home and watched in horror as the Twin Towers came crashing down in a heap of rubble, smoke, and disaster. Like everyone else, I was glued to the television for the next few days trying to process what I just saw and understand how something this devastation happens to the strongest country in the world. I was personally affected as my sorority lost a sister who was on one of the flights. My now husband lived in New York with his immediate family and they knew very personally the loss the entire country felt. The overwhelming sadness also showed us the strength and resolve of the American people. We heard these miraculous stories of Twin Tower employees continuing into the buildings to save others. The superhero feats of the firefighters, policemen and emergency workers who risked everything they had to help those who needed them.
My son and daughter will never know about those intense feelings 9/11 evokes for those of us who lived through it. They will learn about it in their history books the way my generation learns about the assassination of JFK or Martin Luther King, Jr. While, September 11 isn't a national holiday, it is a national day of service. What an awesome opportunity for this up and coming generation. What an awesome opportunity for us!
This year, even though Connor is way too young to understand what happened on that fateful Tuesday morning 10 years ago, we are finding a way to encourage him (and us) to give back. We haven't quite decided exactly what we are going to do with him yet, but we are hoping to spark the desire for civil responsibility. To encourage a seed in his heart (and eventually Alaina's too) that years to give back to the country that is so generous to us. What will you do to honor this day? How will you continue remembering exactly what September 11 means?
http://911day.org/

It's Freezer Day

I love Freezer Day!! The last time I did a freezer day was the weekend before July 4 and those delicious meals lasted until tonight. I pulled the last of the freezer meals (brown sugar glazed ribs) out for tonight's dinner. I made a believer of Ben too. He was VERY sceptical when he saw the grocery bill for that first shopping trip, but for the 6-8 weeks since, our grocery trips are about $100 or less every 2 weeks. It also eliminates every excuse for going out to pick something up for dinner because I forgot to pull something out or I am too tired from that day to cook. Overall, we save so much money and time by going about our dinner's this way. I have found, personally, that I love freezer meals because instead of cooking for an hour in the afternoon/evening, I am serving my family a delicious and nutricious meal that I popped into the oven and can use the time instead hanging out with Ben or playing with Connor and Alaina.

Last night, right before I started dinner, I cooked up a quadruple batch of spaghetti sauce and let it simmer while I made dinner. By the time dinner was over and we were cleaned up, the sauce had cooked and was cooled. It went into 4 individual containers and now we have 4 meals of spaghetti ready to go. Yesterday, I was also able to freeze 6 pounds of strawberries and 6 quarts of blueberries. This morning in less than 2 hours, I knocked out parmesan encrusted chicken nuggets, bacon chicken, teriyaki chicken, smoky maple chicken and cheese manicotti. (I know it is a ton of chicken meals, but I had a ton of chicken thawed and ready to go.) Tomorrow I will wrap up the rest of the meals to include- a huge batch of meatballs, angel hair pasta with creamy turkey sausage, linguine carbonara, baked ziti, flank steak, chicken cheddar quesadillas, beefy spanish rice, salisbury steak, honey lime chicken and almost ravioli.

I have to admit whipping up these meals is a snap now that Connor is school and I can get a ton done with Alaina is down for a nap. The biggest challenge is finding space for all this food in our freezer and deep freeze outside!

What Happens When I Say Yes to God

My sister bought me a fabulous book a while back called, "What Happens When Women Say Yes to God" by Lysa TerKeurst. (BTW- if you have never done a Study with Lysa, she is great. Not quite the oversized personality that we love of Beth Moore, but she is great.) So, I have been incredibly overwhelmed lately. I don't know why and I shouldn't have any reason to, especially since Connor is in school now. You would think I would have more time to get the stuff done, but this week just hit me over the head and all things collapsed. The house was literally disgusting. There was laundry, clean and dirty, piled everywhere. Clutter was consumming every inch of every available space. It, honestly, made me despressed. Not just depressed and sad, but truly, in-a-mood, not looking forward to dealing with "tomorrow" depressed. Then I had a "smack me in the face, Jesus" moment, courtesy of Lysa.

(Just as a little background on this- Connor has gymnastics yesterday afternoon and I grabbed a magazine to take and read while I waited. Last minute, I dropped the magazine and picked up the "Yes to God" Study instead. PTL I did!!)

The chapter I did last night was "Hearing God's Voice." Lysa says, "Every day, God speaks to us. Sometimes He invites us to draw close and listen as He reveals Himself, His character, and His direction. Other times He calls to us to participate in His purposes. How do I know if God is speaking to me? How do I discern whether it is His voice speaking or just my own idea?" Lysa suggests you ask yourself these 5 questions:
1) Does what I'm hearing line up with Scripture?
2) Is it consistentwith God's character?
3) Is it being confirmed through message I'm hearing at church or studying in my quiet time?
4) Is it beyond me?
5) Would it please God?

"These questions are just a starting place. I encourage you to get a journal and start recording verses you study and some of your personal experiences with the things you are learning as you read God's Word."

Is What I'm Hearing Consistent with God's Character?
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are by-products of Christ's control- we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his. We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him.

Is What I'm Hearing Being Confirmed Through Other Messages?
When Gos is speaking about a particular issue....you can not escape it!
"We shouldn't be doing all the talking. God wants us to pour out our heartsto Him, and then He wants to respond to us. Jesus shared this parable: The watchman open the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. (John 10:3-4)
He has gone before us and sees the dangers and trials we will face. He is telling us the way to go, the perspectives to keep, the things to avoid, and the things to hold fast to. Most of all he is speaking to us because we are His own and He wants a relationship with us. He loves us, adores us, treasures us, and has a good plan for us. He longs for us to know His voice and listen to His voice. The only way to know and trust God in this way is to spend time with Him.
When we invest in spending time alone with God, He will speak to us, and what we hear from Him in these quiet times will be echoed in other places.

"I ask for desire to want God more than anything else. I ask for the discipline to make my relationship with Him top priority. I ask for the discernment to know the difference between my own thoughts and God's voice. I ask for clear direction at each crossroad in my life. I ask for my relationship with God to be characterized by sheer delight rather than a sense of duty."

Last night as I lay in bed, I prayed and prayed and prayed for the energy and motivation to get my act together and back in line to be the wife, mother that God desire's me to be. While it took 8 hours, my house has never been more sparkling. I cleaned out pantry, 4 cupboards and 3 cabinets. Every room has been cleaned, the baseboards have been scrubbed, the windows washed and the blinds dusted, the floors bleached and every last burpcloth and t-shirt washed, folded and out away. I am so ready to open myself up for what's next and ready to listen to where God is leading me.