Free My Soul

Freedom in Christ. The women in this photo are free to worship their Lord without fear of being judged by anyone. All of the women in this place love the Lord. March of 2007 I was right behind these ladies lifting their hands in praise of the Savior. Watching them encouraged me and lifted my soul as I observed their witness.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to join my friends at another gathering of the Women of Faith, a conference held each year in major cities across the nation. Filled with women from all flavors of Christian faith, the air in the coliseum was charged with the electrifying energy of thousands of Christian women singing praises to their Lord. Singing never felt so good and lifting my hands to the Lord never felt so right. My soul was soaring. Several speakers, comedians, singers, and dramatist used their God given talents to spread the news that we are saved by grace and that God’s infinite mercy was worth our rejoicing. Praise the Lord!!

Not all worship assemblies can be as electrically charged as the ones my friends and I got to experience. Oh, but wouldn’t it be marvelous to experience the freedom to worship…REALLY worship in our home assemblies? Free from all fear of others who won’t understand? Free from those that would judge our motives behind our actions? As the song says, “There’s a stirring deep within me…I will rise up, rise up and lay my crown at His wounded feet.” I want to be able to sing that song with all my heart and soul with my hand lifted high to the Lord. But not in the place where people don’t understand. Not there because not only would some not understand, but others would feel compelled to tell us to stop. It discourages me and saddens my soul when that happens.

I begin to feel as though the rules are chains wrapped around me locking in that which longs to be free. The air in that place is heavy as it bears down on my chest and my souls cry out for mercy. I long for a fresh breath of air to come into that space where it can rejuvenate tired souls and we can breath in the springlike grace of God’s spirit. Jesus has set us free to joyfully praise his name!

Lord, Give us the freedom and boldness dive into a meaningful place within our hearts and souls to be with you. A place where we worship your name and where there are no rules to do that which we are lead to do. Lord there is strength in your name. It is in that name that we petition you to walk with us along our way and give us the strength to live for you. It is in the name of your son Jesus that I pray. Amen.

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Tags: houston, Infinite Grace, Stories, tx, women of faith

Women of Faith 2008

I am not a sitter. Okay, I am kind of even childish about sitting for long periods of time. Car accidents, a fall, childbirth and Ants In My Pants all combine to make it very uncomfortable for me to sit for long periods of time without squirming, shifting and moving around.

So I do not relish the idea of going to any conference, meeting, car or airplane ride, or anything where I have to sit still for long periods of time or disrupt others with my squirming. So it is quite a feat that I have gone to the Women of Faith conference each year for about 10 years. I think I started in 1997, missing only 2001 because conferences were canceled due to the events of 9/11.

I have never been bored. I always walk away with lots of encouragement. The music is worshipful. They even bring food to us so we don’t have to negotiate the throngs of women, unless we want to.

And, yes, I did wait in line to get Mandisa’s autograph for my little girl, just like I said I was going to in my Saturday post of that week. Mandisa is gorgeous. And she is real. She’s not just a Hollywood Christian.

I got to meet Nicole C. Mullen too, which was a big deal because one of her songs means alot to me. She, too, is real. When she sings, she means every word. When she dances, you can tell what she is expressing what is truly in her heart. What I love best is that she is herself, with a fun, funky, and unique style that is all her own.

There is a song of hers that is so much more impacting in person with her vignettes, or on her video, than it is to just listen to it on a CD (see below).

Here’s me with my girlfriend Nicole:) Not the greatest picture, but it was really fun and meant alot to me.

No matter what we are dealing with — abandonment, rejection, addiction — or whatever, if we can just touch the hem of Jesus like the woman in the Bible, he removes it all from us (please click on “abandonment” to read my friend’s story) . This song, “One Touch”, touches my spirit and reminds me to call on Him. And that is why I am posting it for “Then Sings My Soul Saturday”. It just takes One Touch and we can shed all of our “issues”. I hope this song touches you as it does me.

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Meet Kim

Meet Kim. She is a Women of Faith Group Leader. This year she brought 42 women to the Infinite Grace event and has registered to bring 65 next year!

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Tags: Group Leader, Infinite Grace, Stories, women of faith

Meet Janice

Janice has attended 2 Women of Faith events and loves the message.

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Tags: Group Leader, Infinite Grace, Stories, women of faith

Amazing Grace

What an experience it is to attend a Women of Faith Conference, especially when God leads the way.

My sister called me a week before the conference and asked me if I’d like to go. I said yes I would, but I could not afford it. She asked if I had money to pay for my own food, I said yes I could afford that. She said pack your bags and plan on going.

I started asking myself what it was going to be like, Was, I going to be okay around a group of women I didn’t know? I figured they were friends of my sisters so they had to be pretty nice. But most of all I just wanted to be able to have a weekend with my sister. I can not express the gratitude I feel.

That whole week I prayed and asked God to give me the peace in my heart that I once felt.

God held me in His arms the whole weekend, as one speaker after another shared there stories and opened my eyes to things I had suppressed and decided I had not wanted to look at in my life.

I don’t know if you are familiar with David Pelzer and the books he wrote. “A Child Called It”, “The Lost Boy”, and “A Man Named David”, but I grew up as the female version of his story. Over the years God has helped me remove layers of unbelievable things. Things that some people are amazed could ever happen to a child. My friends can’t believe that I turned out “okay”. I give all the credit to my loving Abba Father. (Isaiah 49: 15 – 16 Can a woman forget her nursing child, And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands… )  I’ve found myself cradled in God’s hands while I’ve gone through the process of forgiving people that have hurt me. But there was always one thing that I held on to. Because it was just so awful, I felt I didn’t need to forgive her. After all God would surely see to it that she paid for what she did.

Once Sandi Patty got up and shared her story, I knew what I was there for, peace, and God showed me just how to get it. How amazing is that.

I’ve known of Sandi for many years. My children grew up listening to her “Friendship Company” songs and I’ve seen her in concert several times. But never have I felt such a connection to her as I did at the Women of Faith Conference. As she poured out her story, I felt God tugging at my heart. It was the first time I had ever heard of another person who experienced the same thing I did. But Sandi hit a home run when she gave specific ages. When she said, there are women out there, who experienced the same thing when they were 10, 13 and even 4, I knew at that very moment God put me there so I could be freed from that overwhelming burden. After all how many people experienced it at those very ages. As I sat there crying, I started thinking now what do I do. Sure enough, out comes Louise DuArt and shares her story. As Louise tells her story she talks about forgiveness. I’m sitting there thinking to myself, right! But when God gives you a clear message how can you argue with it.

On the way home everyone was sharing what they got out of the conference. I sat there so nervous because there was no way I could tell these women that I barely knew what happened to me. After all, my sister didn’t even know my story because we didn’t grow up together. When it was my turn I got up enough courage and let them know that I was really touched by Sandi’s story and that God had really showed me that I still have some healing to go through. My sister said, “Oh yeah, I guess we’re going to have a late night talking”, and we did.

We talked for hours. She reminded me that when God tells us to do something we need to be obedient. Although I knew this I really didn’t want to hear it. I was raging my own war inside my head, trying to convince myself I didn’t really need to forgive.

After I got home and spent a few days in turmoil, I called my sister and asked her to pray for me. I told her my heart was willing but my mind was not. I told her I realized I couldn’t forgive on my own and that I had been praying for God to help me be able to forgive. She reminded me that the Bible says in (2 Cor. 10: 3 – 6 … even though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh.) And that Satan has a way of attacking us through our thoughts, telling us that it’s okay not to forgive because it was so bad. Then I remembered one of my favorite verses, (Think upon these things, whatever is true, … honorable, …right, …pure, …lovely, … let your mind dwell on these. Eph 4: 8).

Right then and there I knew everything was going to be okay again. As I process all that has happened in the last two weeks I just want to say THANK YOU for being willing to share your stories. Especially Sandi Patty, God’s grace is amazing.

Philippians 2: 1- 4

If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,  make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Shari

Showered with Grace

AMAZING, INSPIRATIONAL, UPLIFTING, TEARFUL, JOYFUL, INSIGHTFUL, AND WONDERFUL… are just a few words that can be used to describe the Women of Faith conference that I attended this weekend. The women there were full of texture, layers, honesty, purity, and the list goes on.

Their stories were often my own stories. Their struggles, their hardships, and their pain, reflected mine. I could relate to these women. And the good news is…well, it’s God’s good news…that none of these experiences are important anymore. He has showered us with his divine GRACE…his infinite GRACE. We have been cleansed by his grace. Whatever we have done, whatever has happened to us, it’s all been erased in God’s eyes. He sees us only as the beautiful, yes, I said beautiful, and flawless women He CREATED us to be.

Our own history, and the pressures we allow to be put on us by society, have tainted the vision we have of ourselves. If there was one thing I took from this experience it is that the ONLY thing that matters is what God sees in me. Yes, I have to live among many in this lifetime, and I will tend to care what they think and say, because I am human…but at the end of the day, when I am home, and in my quiet place with God, I will ask him to wash away those negative thoughts and restore in me the only thoughts that matter….HIS!

The woman that touched me most was Sandi Patti. She has a story to tell and she tells it well. She is probably the one I related to the most. She has a book called, LAYERS. As she spoke about some of the things she tells more deeply about in her book, I was struck between the eyes. I know about layers…I got a lot of them. We all have layers I think. Not to get too into it, you would need to read her book, as I have in 24 hours, but I realized that I have layers upon layers of shame, guilt, regret, abandonment, pain, and this list too goes on and on.

What Patti shared was how she peeled back those layers, a very painful process, and then allowed herself to be cleansed and renewed in God’s GRACE. What a beautiful image! So because of this weekend, I am now working on peeling back my own layers and replacing those feelings of shame, guilt, etc., with God’s infinite Grace. I’m replacing the negative views of others, and myself, that have been layered on me, with God’s perfect view of me.

In closing, I’ll just mention the amazing and beautiful Nicole C. Mullen. Look her up when you can. Her voice is so angelic and her music powerful and moving. Her music is for God, that we just get to enjoy. You must listen to “When I Call on Jesus”. This song will move through you. Enjoy! There will be a new Women of Faith next year, in Sacramento. You may want to consider heading up there for it. You won’t regret it. And the time away, focused on God will be worth the time and money! Blessings

Carianne

It Was Awesome!

It was my first time to attend and I was in awe.  It was so inspiritaional and up-lifting.  It was a great time for me.  I came home and have already talked to about 15 friends that I want to go with me the next one.  I couldn’t have picked anyone as my favorite because they all related to me.  Keep up the good work and God bless you all and in your work. 

Thank you so much.

Martha

Submit your own conference story by emailing it to stories@womenoffaith.com

Right Where I Needed to be!

I live in Maryland, my family lives in NC. I have 5 sisters; all 6 of us were planning to get together for WOF. One could not make it, so there were the 5 of us.  Before we got to the hotel, my son Jim called to tell me my precious daughter-in-law, Becky was on her way to Baltimore for a heart catheterization. After hanging up the phone, we began praying for Becky.

[Later] I returned to our room and heard a beep. I had left my phone to recharge the battery. I picked up my phone to see I had missed a message. It was from Jim. I read it and almost fell in the floor; my legs went limp. My sister asked what was wrong. I just handed her the phone and fell on the bed; I was a total wreck. The message said, “Surgery Monday…four way bypass…will call later.”

I did NOT want to go to the conference. I wanted to get back to Baltimore as fast as I could go to be with my son, daughter-in-law and 13-year-old granddaughter. My sisters and I had prayer for my family. I decided surgery was not until Monday, there was NOTHING I could do. So I would stay. But I needed to talk to my son.

Jim is also a Baptist Minister. So needless to say, his faith in Christ is very strong. He told me they had done a catheterization on Becky and she had an 80% and a 90% blockage. (I had a heart attack in October 2002, so I knew how scared Becky must have been.) My precious, sweet Christian granddaughter said, “Mommom, You are where you NEED to be. We will be OK.” My “mother’s heart” wanted to be with my babies and hold them. However, I knew she was right.

We had prayer again and then we left for the conference. Let me tell you, girl…..when you walk into the arena, YOU FEEL GOD!!!! WOW, Thank You, Jesus!!! I felt HIS presence. I raised my hands with tears streaming down my face and prayed my heart out. At the end, I said, “God, please don’t take Becky, take me instead.” 

All of a sudden, my sister Becky slapped me on the arm and said, “No God, Don’t listen to her!” Then she said “You get out of God’s way and let him work a miracle!” With that, we laughed, hugged each other and cried some more.

I asked everybody to pray for my daughter in law – the people I bought shirts from, the people that served food, women that were there for the conference. Hey, what better place to ask for prayer then a Christian Conference…right?  I totally enjoyed being at WOF in October….and YES, Amanda was right, it was where “I needed to be” Praise God!

Becky had surgery. The last thing she told my son before they took her in to the OR, “I will see you when this is over. If not here on earth, I will be waiting for you in Heaven.” To me, that was a true testimony, one that means a lot to me. Being a mother, there is no greater gift then KNOWING your children and grandchildren are born again and they will be with you in Heaven.

Becky is doing good. Her surgery went well, her healing time was shocking….she was out of the hospital in 3 days! God is working in Becky’s life. He is not done with her yet. I praise Him for letting her stay with us a while longer.

Thank you my WOF Sisters for having a conference for others to share their faith, song and thought in Jesus and get a little drink from Heaven.

In His Love,

Judy T.

A Wonderful Experience

The 2006 Contagious Joy conference was my first one. I had such a wonderful experience that I decided to volunteer for the 2007 Amazing Freedom conference.

Between the time I volunteered and the conference, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy in September which went very well (no lymph nodes involved). Praise God. I thought I was done. Then, I was told that I would need adjuvent chemotherapy due to the type of cancer (triple negative). I had my first round of chemo on Nov.13. It went very well. No nausea or anything. I went ahead and worked at the conference in product sales and I believe it was the best therapy I could have had.

I was placed in one of the children’s book sales tables and the experience was awesome. One thing that touched my heart was a woman who purchased a Revolve Bible for her granddaughter. Within minutes she came back up to me and bought another one. She had given the other one to a complete stranger, a young lady who was looking through one of them but couldn’t afford to buy it. Not only has God been merciful to me but He has revealed so much of Himself to me through this journey. Jesus truly does live in us and when we open our eyes and our hearts, He is visible.

On another note, the porch pals were amazing. It was so much fun to experience the final stop of the tour. As my Mom would say, they were somewhat “giddy” which I found delightful. There is so much more I could say, but this is getting lengthy so I’ll leave it as is. There is no doubt in my mind that, Lord willing, I will be at the next one.

Nancy B.