…And it’s Friday! This week went by terribly quickly, somehow.
I have one last session to share with you from the retreat last weekend. It was based on Exodus 14:15, when God tells the Israelites to move on.
Session 3:
We move on because we haven’t reached our final destination. And when we move on, it brings God glory, and grows our faith. But what happens when we don’t obey God’s call to move on? I shared my favorite example of how God taught me that in the times when I miss His invitation to the next adventure, He doesn’t punish me, but continues to give me other opportunities in the future…
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m here today to share Session #2 from the weekend with you.
I’d shared earlier how God told me to expect the unexpected for this weekend, and this definitely happened with Session 2!
I had prepared everything at home beforehand, and knew what I wanted to say on Saturday evening. I had plans to prep a bit more for it on Saturday afternoon, but first I took a two hour nap (which felt completely amazing!) It took me a long time to wake up from my deep sleep, and as I was lying there, God suddenly brought a memory so clearly to my mind which fit so perfectly with what I hoped to communicate that evening, I knew my entire session had just been changed as I was lying there.
Here’s the awesome part: My greatest fear about God promising to do the unexpected was that I’d miss it. But it came so clearly to me, I needn’t have worried at all. And rewriting my session was not a problem, either – it just fell into place, and I just knew what I was going to say.
I don’t know who needed to hear this message more – me, or the ladies! Probably me, because it’s been on my mind ever since! God is speaking to me about surrender, and learning resting in Him. He is so loving and faithful! His goodness overwhelms me.
Here’s surprise session #2:
How do we become still in the face of fear, uncertainty, stress, and pain? How do we surrender everything over into His care? How do we “grow our surrender muscles” until it becomes a habit? “Be still and know that I am God!”
What a weekend! Oh my goodness, God is so good, and we had such an awesome time!
First of all, those St. Vital EMC ladies are completely amazing. I spent about a quarter of my weekend crying. Women shared their testimonies throughout the weekend, and every time, their honest words and open hearts just got me. And the worship times were absolutely incredible.
Someone said to me, “I hope you will soon feel filled again, after pouring yourself out this weekend.”
I never felt empty! I’d take in the testimonies and worship times until I felt like I would burst with the fullness of God, and then I’d pour out my talk, and then I’d get filled again right away! Such a great time.
Having my friend Svea with me was also completely amazing. It makes me smile to think of how opposite we are in so many ways, outside and in – she’s tall, blonde, and as extroverted as they come! It brought me so much joy to see how God could use us in different ways over the weekend!
Every time I caught a glimpse of her in the crowd, she was praying or hugging or encouraging somebody. She was out there doing her thing, and I felt so much freedom to rest or prepare for another session, knowing that if anyone wanted to talk or pray, Svea would be all over it.
And she did the same for me! Her words of encouragement just carried me through the weekend, and getting her feedback after each session was such a blessing.
I was able to record the sessions, so if anyone is interested, here’s Session One:
The sessions were all based on Exodus 14, the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. This first session basically sets the scene, and compares the Israelites’ situation with our own – when we find ourselves in the desert, who is truly chasing us? Praise God, He pursues us beyond anything else we ever feel is coming after us in this world! He is doing a new thing the in the desert!
It feels like this week, all of my creative energy has gone into preparing for the sessions I’ve been leading for our Counselor-in-Training program, and coming up with ideas on how to keep a lonely two-year-old occupied as she waits for her big sister to come home.
Both have been very enjoyable and time-consuming! We’ll see how next week goes. Thanks for sticking around as we finish up a very busy summer!
Ordinary Days 