Hanging on to that conference high

The worst and hardest thing about going to a conference or a retreat or any place that forces you to focus on your relationship with Jesus and nothing else, the absolute most difficult thing for me is coming home! As much as I love my family and my home and my life, leaving a time of concentrated, uninterrupted time with Jesus is hard. I long to stay in that place where I can hear him clearly, where I have felt him hold me tightly, where I have seen him working mightily. I want to bring that depth, that right-here-with-Jesus feeling into my every day. God is calling me to his Word, to drink deep, to hold tight, to walk forward.

After hearing Beth Moore at a Living Proof Live conference, there is MUCH to process and think about. I'm not sure how anyone could walk away from an experience like that, with clear and challenging teaching, and not feel God at work.  What was so exciting for me was that Isaiah 55:1-12 was the scripture passage guiding both the You Lead pre-conference and Beth Moore's teaching this past weekend. God, what are you saying to me? My heart is full to overflowing.

I have been trying to figure out how I can keep the passion flaming in my heart, so I thought I would share some of the different ideas I will be using over the next few days and weeks to take these verses deeper and to seek the heart of God for my life.

1. Pray. Pray. And pray again, asking God to seal in the good that he has done, to keep tucked in my heart and soul the deep truths that he taught me. Don't let them escape. Help me not to forget them.

2. Re-read the passage(s). And then read it again. What part sticks to my heart? Highlight or underline these words or phrases or verses. Maybe even write them down.

3. Read over the notes I took. Which parts correspond with the verses that I highlighted or underlined? Remember back to hearing the speaker say those words. What was it that resonated within my heart and why?

4. Practise a spiritual discipline such as lectio devina. Read the passage out loud 3 separate times; the first time asking God to bring a word or phrase to my heart;
the second time, asking God to place me in the scripture - where am I? what is going on around me? what am I seeing...feeling...hearing?;
the third time, asking God what he wants to teach me - why am I in that spot in the scripture? why that word? why that phrase?
There are many other spiritual formation or discipline exercises you might want to try. Don't be afraid to hear from God in a brand new way!

5. Seek wise counsel. I will be finding someone I can talk to about what I think God is calling me to, what I think I am hearing from him. Accountability and companionship are important to me. Bouncing my ideas off of someone else's godly wisdom is vital for my staying the path.

6. Journal. Writing down my thoughts and prayers as often as possible helps me to process where my heart is at. It also reminds me of what God has already done and what thoughts and truths I have already processed.

7. Have an all out prayerful, heart-full, honest conversation with God. Let the truth be told and heard. Let my questions come fast and hard and with tears of confusion, frustration and repentance. God can handle our honesty!! And he welcomes our open hearts - especially when it is a listening heart.

There are certainly lots of other ideas to practising God's presence in our every day lives. Hanging on to that conference high is important, especially in the first few days when the enemy might try to confuse what I heard or try to have me doubt all that God said and did. Staying in his word, holding his truths close to my heart...so important to making sure I am hearing from him! I have no doubt that God is up to something big; his presence was so powerful this weekend. I am listening for this next thing that I can't do without him. I am excited to do whatever it is WITH him because I know that is the only way the I can do anything at all.

God is good. God is faithful. God is on the move and I want to be sure I'm moving to!

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways." 

This is the Lord's declaration.

'For as heaven is higher than earth so My ways are higher than your ways, 
and My thoughts than your thoughts. 
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth 
and making it germinate and sprout, 
and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 
so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, 
but will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.'

You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Is 55:8-12 HCSB)

The Next Thing

So, here I am Lord, at the end of a long day - a long ministry day, a long ministry-wifing day, a long day of mothering and planning and cleaning and laundering and cooking and more cleaning.  And I wonder to myself, did I look for you today?  Like, really look for you?  How much of my day was head down, pushing on, getting it done to make it to now? The now, when my house is quiet and I am fighting sleep. I might have prayed - might have. I might have thought about what it was You wanted me to do with my day...I might have.  But honestly, you and I both know that I didn't. That I didn't take the time to plan my ministry or my ministry-wifing day with you. I looked at the schedule and the schedule told me what had to get done. Did you try to interrupt my day and I didn't listen to you? Would I have taken the time to notice? Forgive me Lord for my head down approach to today - a day full of good things, necessary things. A day that truly could have been made better if I had listened...really listened to You.

Because really, I want to know what is next.  But maybe I'm not ready for the next thing? There is much learning in the present thing to prepare for the next thing. And my present thing used to be my next thing.  How did I get to this present-used-to-be-next thing? I find myself sitting, waiting. Listening...

Rest. Quiet. Peace.

A new season. A ready heart. An expectant heart. I feel on the verge of another next thing. That both scares me and excites me. Part of me thinks...can I take another next thing? Am I ready for that?

Rest. Quiet. Peace.

Maybe a heart tender to rest, quiet, and peace is my next thing.  That would take purpose.
Maybe it means not working and trusting in God's provision. That would take letting go.
Maybe it means turning my life as I know it upside down and making rest, quiet and peace a priority. That would take discipline.         

Time to listen and really hear. Time to think and really know.
Time to be...me and God, God and me.

Figuring out my next thing.

What is yours?