I went to Southeast Christian's Summer Blast last night and had an amazing time. I purchased my ticket for the event last week on a whim (or more like a nudge from God...) not knowing what the event was at all. Thinking I could go be surrounded by other Christian women and get to worship my God among them was enough for me. I went alone, not knowing anyone, hoping to make a new friend or two in my experience. This is way out of my comfort zone, I am not one to just walk up and introduce myself and start talking...I know some of you that know me might be thinking, "Yeah, right!" but it terrifies me to put myself out there and possibly be rejected. But in this instance, I was in God's house, and he had brought me there for a reason, so I really didn't have anything to lose. I walked around through the many tables until a couple of ladies caught my attention and I asked if I could join them. They said yes, and guess what? One of them is a High School teacher right here in my little town! Talk about a God-thing, he is so into the details!! He puts us in front of people he wants us to meet, to either learn something from them or to help them through something, or to just give us a fresh face to enlarge our circle of Christian girls to hang out with. Frankly, I don't know or really care which of those it is, I'm just excited to get to know my new friend!
We started the night with some table talk, and the humor highlight of the evening was Kyle Idleman's description of what we have in our purses (he was trying to act like he didn't even know what his wife's lip gloss was...but have you seen his hair??? He knows about beauty products...he went on to "act" like he didn't even know how to hold a purse for her...but he seemed most comfortable with it just over his shoulder like we carry it...just kidding...all in fun, I love listening to him speak) and how we don't realize that in today's time, we have idols... Not the Old Testament kind of idols where people made actual carved out pagan idols, but our idols are more based around what we spend our time on. Do you work a lot to make sure you put your career first to get as far ahead as you can? Do you put your personal outward appearance first, and spend way too much time making sure everything is perfect? Do you sacrifice time with your family working extra hours to drive a fancy car? Do you put your kids before God? What in your life, do you do, that takes away time that you should be spending with the Lord? He went on to say that while some things are "good" things, they can become idols if we don't keep our focus on the Lord... It was a great, thought provoking talk and it really got me thinking that I need to spend some time in prayer to ask Him to show me what I need to get back into perspective so I can truly put Him first. Our God is a jealous God and he wants to be first in our lives....Exodus 20:4-5 says "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." God created us, and knows every part of our story, what has passed and what is yet to come... He should rightfully be first in our lives, He knows us better than we know ourselves and we need to build that personal relationship with Him, and keep Him above all else!
As the evening progressed, God got ahold of me and moved me in a way I hadn't felt in a while and it almost brought me to my knees. I was so overwhelmed by His presence and his love that I couldn't contain my tears. The continuously rolled down my face throughout the testimonies that were shared and the praise music that we heard and sang, I could relate to each woman as she shared her story on her modern day idols, from worry and fear, to putting too much weight on what defined her as a woman (a career in this instance), ... to a definition of success that had nothing to do with being who God wanted her to be... Each of these women have found their worth in the Lord, and have been able to cast away their idols and put Him first, how encouraging is that??? No matter what we are devoting our attention to, what we are using to define ourselves, God is always there, never forsaking us, just waiting for us to realize HE is why we are here, and HE is the one that needs to be first, not stuff, a job, a relationship, children, NOTHING defines our eternity other than our personal relationship with our Savior. Then the worship music began and nothing speaks to me (other than God's Word) like music does, no matter what I've gone through, or how alone this world can feel, God always shows me He is enough, he loves me like no one can, he will protect me like no one can, he will provide for me and my children like no one can, he wants what is best for me like no one does.... When someone or maybe everyone in your life fails you, and people WILL disappoint you, God never will. He will always be there to pick up the pieces, to catch every tear you cry, to hear every desire you have, to heal every hurt, to bring you joy in the midst of pain, to fill that place in your soul that only He can fill. If you feel empty and alone, like there is something missing, it's Him...let Him have that rightful place in your heart! Please don't try to fill that place with something earthly...He is the only one that can bring you true joy, peace and contentment!!
"But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me."
Psalm 14:5-6
We started the night with some table talk, and the humor highlight of the evening was Kyle Idleman's description of what we have in our purses (he was trying to act like he didn't even know what his wife's lip gloss was...but have you seen his hair??? He knows about beauty products...he went on to "act" like he didn't even know how to hold a purse for her...but he seemed most comfortable with it just over his shoulder like we carry it...just kidding...all in fun, I love listening to him speak) and how we don't realize that in today's time, we have idols... Not the Old Testament kind of idols where people made actual carved out pagan idols, but our idols are more based around what we spend our time on. Do you work a lot to make sure you put your career first to get as far ahead as you can? Do you put your personal outward appearance first, and spend way too much time making sure everything is perfect? Do you sacrifice time with your family working extra hours to drive a fancy car? Do you put your kids before God? What in your life, do you do, that takes away time that you should be spending with the Lord? He went on to say that while some things are "good" things, they can become idols if we don't keep our focus on the Lord... It was a great, thought provoking talk and it really got me thinking that I need to spend some time in prayer to ask Him to show me what I need to get back into perspective so I can truly put Him first. Our God is a jealous God and he wants to be first in our lives....Exodus 20:4-5 says "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." God created us, and knows every part of our story, what has passed and what is yet to come... He should rightfully be first in our lives, He knows us better than we know ourselves and we need to build that personal relationship with Him, and keep Him above all else!
As the evening progressed, God got ahold of me and moved me in a way I hadn't felt in a while and it almost brought me to my knees. I was so overwhelmed by His presence and his love that I couldn't contain my tears. The continuously rolled down my face throughout the testimonies that were shared and the praise music that we heard and sang, I could relate to each woman as she shared her story on her modern day idols, from worry and fear, to putting too much weight on what defined her as a woman (a career in this instance), ... to a definition of success that had nothing to do with being who God wanted her to be... Each of these women have found their worth in the Lord, and have been able to cast away their idols and put Him first, how encouraging is that??? No matter what we are devoting our attention to, what we are using to define ourselves, God is always there, never forsaking us, just waiting for us to realize HE is why we are here, and HE is the one that needs to be first, not stuff, a job, a relationship, children, NOTHING defines our eternity other than our personal relationship with our Savior. Then the worship music began and nothing speaks to me (other than God's Word) like music does, no matter what I've gone through, or how alone this world can feel, God always shows me He is enough, he loves me like no one can, he will protect me like no one can, he will provide for me and my children like no one can, he wants what is best for me like no one does.... When someone or maybe everyone in your life fails you, and people WILL disappoint you, God never will. He will always be there to pick up the pieces, to catch every tear you cry, to hear every desire you have, to heal every hurt, to bring you joy in the midst of pain, to fill that place in your soul that only He can fill. If you feel empty and alone, like there is something missing, it's Him...let Him have that rightful place in your heart! Please don't try to fill that place with something earthly...He is the only one that can bring you true joy, peace and contentment!!
"But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me."
Psalm 14:5-6
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