In the “wait”I’ve been waiting for over four years for something. At first I asked why.
No answer.
Then I tried to make it happen on my own.
To no avail.
Doors closed one after another. (more…)
And the winners are. . .Thank you for visiting my blog on Friday after reading Love Letter on Encouragement for Today. Gigi and Nancy are the winners of Making It Real: Whose Faith Is It Anyway. I have sent emails to Nancy and Gigi letting them know!
I just returned from a ministry weekend, speaking at Community Life Church in the Kansas City, KS area. We spent a weekend together and then I had the privilege of speaking on Sunday morning to the church.
There was one very special moment for me. It was after the second session and was on the topic: Drawing Closer to Each Other.
Women sat in small groups. The gentle presence of the Holy Spirit was tangible. They began to share with each other, and then to pray. Time passed, and no one wanted to stop. Women were building each other up. Some were healing old wounds. Others were finding encouragement.
To me, that’s what the body of Christ is all about. I sat at a distance with tears, just watching God work, humbled by His presence and power.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I want to begin a journal of gratefulness, and today I am so grateful for the privilege of ministry, but more than that, the privilege of watching God do what only He can do.
when God calls youThe best position you can take in ministry is on your knees. Mary Ann Ruff.
Somewhere in Kansas there are a group of women waiting to hear from God. Some are struggling in their marriage. Some are wondering if there is more to their faith. Others are so hungry for God they cannot wait. Some are so pushed and pulled by family and obligations that they wonder how they’ll fit the weekend in.
And God sees them all. (more…)
Start in meI returned from Atlanta on Saturday night tired but spiritually refreshed, and with a few new friends.
I spoke at a Let’s Get Real conference in Duluth, GA this past weekend. I was met at the airport by one of the youngest almost 60-year-olds I have ever met. She’s a pastor’s wife, but also teaches a spin class. I love that combo!
Jeanne has a desire to see God work in her community and in her church, and it shows. She has a “whatever it takes, God” heartbeat, but is willing for that work to begin in her first.
“If God wants me on my knees, I’ll go to my knees,” she said softly. “And if He wants me on my face, I’ll go to my face on the ground.”
I just have to wonder what God can do with a heart like that.
What could He do in our ministries? Our families? Our churches? Our communities?
Let’s Get Real was one of their first events in this church’s new women’s ministry, and every detail was beautiful, including the focus of the team. One by one they shared how they had prayed, how they had asked God for big things. (more…)
On my way to AtlantaI’m on my way to minister to an amazing church in the Atlanta area. I’m praying that God will connect the hearts of women in friendship and encouragement.
Will you pray with me?
I’ll arrive home super late Saturday night and jump into a celebration of a grandbaby that will arrive in late November, and then I’ll guest on a show called Rebuilding Families with host, Maxine Marsolini (www.rebuildingfamilies.net).
See you on Monday!
How to throw a really great party
I just attended a really great party. One of the best in a while. I spoke at the Destiny Conference in the Bay area of San Francisco.
It was different than most of the conferences I have ministered at and I loved it. It was a little chaotic. A little messy. But a lot anointed.
God showed up in the midst of a crowd of women from a local shelter, women who had been incarcarated or addicted, and women seeking something more.
In Matthew 22, a man goes to great lengths to create a wedding banquet. When he sends out the invites no one can come. They have flimsy excuses.
So, the wedding banquet could go on with empty seats and throwaway food, or the host could fill the seats.
Which he did.
He sent his servants into the highways and byways — a.k.a. the streets and the hidden places — and he asked people to come. The good people, the broken people, the bad people. And soon the seats were filled and the prime rib was carved. But that is only part of the story. . .
