May. 15, 2006 - Big Sandy update
The Big Sandy ATI Regional Training Conference
was.... a life changing experience for me this year. And I don't call
many things life changing. COMMIT, EXCEL, Malaysia. That's it. And of
course it wasn't the place or even really the things said that did it, it was the time the Lord chose to work in me.
I won't claim the ministry is perfect by any
means, but God has used it mightily in my family! And in so many
others! I haven't seen anything like it elsewhere. The vision, love,
and power of God... is awe-inspiring! We serve a great God! A POWERFUL
God! A miracle working God! And I see this so clearly when in ATI
environments! I am so thankful that my parents heart about this program
and chose to join! What opportunities I have had because of it!!
I had so many options of how to spend the week... and its
always so hard to choose! Do I go to student sessions? Or teach COMMIT? Or Children's Institute? I
have done all those things in past years, but this year I chose to
teach Pre-EXCEL. I had so much fun!!
By choosing to teach, I missed out on most of the sessions, but still
was able to attend the evening sessions. Wow!! Talk about powerful
stuff!! Every night I went to bed convicted of my own failure,
selfishness, lack of self control and sin as well as the awesome power
of God!!
Some of the things that stood out to me were: 1)The emphasis on
engrafting Scripture into our lives. When does God promise to bless,
give power, show Himself strong? When we know Him and His word. 2) You
become what you think about. This goes right along with #1. As I think
about the things I have spent time on this past year... I no longer
wonder why I have felt the power of God lacking in my life! Don't get
me wrong! Not everything has been harmful, or even just not best, but
those things have been way to prevalent. 3) The awesome POWER of our
God! I witnessed and heard about so many miracles that week! We serve a powerful God!!!! And it is SO exciting!!
And
what a work God has been doing in me and my family since then!
Especially in the area of accountability with authorities and openness
with each other in general! Sin thrives in secrecy! And that we cannot
allow! So I have been working on letting my family back into my life. I
had no idea how far from this I had strayed! It is scary! But it has
been such a blessing to make the effort to get those relationships
back. We have had so much fun with each other this week! I am so
incredibly excited to see where the Lord has us in a year. He is
finally able to work in us again! Praise God from whom all blessings
flow!
I have also been working on memorizing and meditating on
scripture. I'm working on John 15 and also going through the Psalms
with Jonathan. It has been incredible! And I have had prayer sessions
like I haven't in so long! And God has worked mightily!
I feel like I am being used again. Like the Lord is speaking through
me as He hasn't before! It is an incredibly humbling yet thrilling
feeling to know that the Lord has used YOU to make a difference in
other's lives! But it is so obviously all Him that I couldn't even
think of getting proud about it! I have seen my sin, this week, as
never before. *shudder* But I have also seen the redeeming grace of
God! Past failure's perfect purpose is to motivate our present and
future! If I can learn lessons from my time of.... mediocrity then it
has not been in vain! Though how my heart aches to realize the time I
have wasted!
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory!
"Now unto him that
is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
Amen." Jude 24&25
Christy/Annabelle/Belle
Comments
May. 16, 2006 - WOW!
Posted by RoseforGod
Proverbs 28:12 "When righteous [men] do rejoice, [there is] great glory..."
