All I Can Say Is Wow!

Me and 10,000 of my closest friends spent this last weekend in San Antonio for a Living Proof Live conference. Living Proof Live is code name for Beth Moore. In case you've been really busy the last 25 years or so and you've missed out on exactly who Beth Moore is, I'll sum it up for you. She's done some women's ministry stuff. She's written some Bible studies, taught some Bible classes, and led some conferences. I am confident the Word she writes and speaks comes directly from God, and those words have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of women all over the world. And that's a conservative guesstimate. We could probably group it in the millions of lives changed . . . but who's counting?

It's taken me a couple of days to clear my head after such a weekend. When my flight home landed at about 10:30 Sunday morning, I'm sure I was glowing from my encounter with the Father. I was extremely exhausted, so if I was glowing, time with the Father is the only explanation.

I hit the ground fully encouraged and uplifted, and a little bit overwhelmed with all I'd taken in over the weekend. And I was really tired. What I needed was an afternoon of quiet, aloneness, and reflection to sort it all out. And a nap. What greeted me was my wonderful husband and my 3 precious kids all eager to make up for lost time spent with Mom. I really am a blessed girl to have such a welcoming committee. The reflection and alone time was put off and traded in for some sweet snuggling, playing, and getting filled in on all the fun I missed over the weekend.

And then real life hit. There was the whole first day of 3rd grade to deal with, plus there was grocery shopping to do, casseroles to make, lessons to plan, bulletin boards to decorate, eye glasses to purchase, and meetings to attend. And I'm so tired. This first week of school is kicking my tail. I'm too old for school.

But even with all that going on, my mind is beginning to sort out my weekend with Beth, and I'm able to form some complete thoughts. Finally.

There were so many highlights that made this weekend special. So I'm going to share them in the order that they are being filtered through the fog that is my brain this week.

Up first: thoughts, notes, and Words from the lessons Beth shared during the conference.

As I am looking over my notes from the weekend and taking myself back to what impacted me in the moment I was hearing, these are some things that come to mind.

• Over and over this summer, God has impressed on me the importance of being an intentional Mom. I feel like our family has been in survival mode for one reason or another pretty much since the girls were born. And now it's time to come out of that season and become intentional about my job as a Mom. This was not a major point in Beth's outline for the weekend, but she did mention in passing a couple of different times that becoming free/feeling secure will take a lot of hard work. You won't wake up one morning and surprise yourself by saying, "Oh, wow! I feel free/secure today." It's going to take some work, and you will have to be intentional about it. That's how I feel about being a Mom. I will not wake up one morning and say, "Oh, wow! My kids are such wonderful little people." Being the best Mom I can be will not happen by accident, and it will not come by surprise. It will take some work and I will have to be intentional about it.
• Another thing that impacted me was the idea about putting my beliefs into practice. It's not a new concept, but the wording this weekend really spoke to me. My theology has not transformed my reality if I allow insecurity/fear/being too busy/etc. to rule my life.
• The text for the weekend was Psalm 16 and verses 5 and 6 read this way, "The Lord is my portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The [boundary] lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." (ESV) Beth shared the idea that our life is made up of boundary lines much like the nations of Israel in the Old Testament. She wanted us to consider 4 things that define that boundary and form our life. 1) Intimacy with God - our life cannot exceed the degree to which we are intimate with God 2) Our Past - it defines who we are, it changes our perspective 3) Life Experiences - much like our past, give us perspective and sometimes purpose or focus 4) Spiritual Gifts - be who you were created to be, spend your time working towards God's purpose for you and not wishing you were blessed with someone else's gift

There was so much more, but these points are clear to me right now. I will definitely be spending more time in Psalm 16 during the weeks to come.

Thank you for speaking to me this weekend, Father.