Deeper Still

Courtesy of my sweet mother-in-law, Mary, I was able to attend Deeper Still with my sister-in-law, Beth, and some wonderful ladies from the Broadway Christian Church.  I'm a little sad that my very first Deeper Still experience was actually the very last Deeper Still event ever.  Oh well...  it was a fantastic weekend with some very timely messages.  I'll just have to continue attending my Living Proof Live weekends and now I'll be seeking out some Going Beyond events.  Also, LifeWay advertised some new events .Mom and Abundance that look amazing as well. 

Beth Moore                  Priscilla Shirer                 Kay Arthur

Friday night, Kay Arthur spoke about the reality of being a child of God.  We must break free from the chains of sin.  She led us through a graphic description of the crucifixion reminding us that Jesus bore all our sin.  She reiterated that a Child of God, Loved By God, must LOVE OTHERS.  For 77 years old, this woman was quite impressive.  It is obvious that she lives, breathes, probably even eats and sleeps the Word of God.  I'm not sure how many realized it, but even when she didn't have us flipping from Genesis all the way through Revelation, she was speaking in Scripture verses.  Oh to know the Bible like she does....  what I most took away from Kay Arthur was a desire to hide His Word in my heart as she does.

Saturday morning, Tammie Head led us in a devotion to start the day off.  She spoke of this constant dichotomy that we have as Christians.  Worship, Warfare, Worship, Warfare - and it seems that we can experience them both within mere seconds.  Well, I can assure you with Travis Cottrell and the praise team there was a lot of worshipping taking place at Deeper Still.  Wow - what a gifted musician!  I'm always brought to tears by thousands of women pouring our their hearts in praise, and without fail, Travis always leads us before God's throne of grace.

Priscilla Shirer was next on the speaking docket.  I LOVE HER!  She is passionate, speaks with conviction, and is so very relevant.  Her topic was taking a Sabbath rest.  To open her session, she simply asked... "Are we addicted to chaos? stress? exhaustion?"  Hmmm....  She spoke of being free from the things HE has given us to enjoy, so we may actually enjoy them!  In fact, in some areas, we may need Shabbat - which means to cease, stop, pause, allow to come to an end.

Using Deuteronomy 5:12-15 as text, Priscilla offered 3 ways to to implement Sabbath.

1. Resist the urge to continue
2. Remember you were a slave
3. Remember you were delivered by a strong and outstretched arm

Finally, she challenged us to create a margin and space in our lives.  14 minutes each day of Sabbath, and 14 inches of space.  I've heeded these words.  Obviously, 14 inches isn't even making a dent (I need 14,000), but I've cleaned out a few dresser drawers, sorted through some files, and trashed several things.  Yes, this will be an on-going message, but so timely.  I also took away a reminder that while my kiddos are little... it's ok to say NO.  My priority is my babes :-)

Last but definitely not least, Beth Moore took the platform.  I've seen her multiple times, and she never disappoints.  She is definitely an anointed speaker, she gives God all the glory, and He uses her mightily.  Her text was 2 Timothy 1:1-14 concentrating on the Lois, Eunice, and Timothy generations and our need for one another.  To create a visual, she invited 3 ladies to take the stage to represent each generation and facilitated a dialogue among them.  They each commented on the greatest challenge of their generation and then told the other two generations what they most needed from them. 

Beth spoke of how we have not only a natural lineage but a spiritual lineage, and I was very struck by that.  She spoke of how we needed spiritual grandmothers, mothers, and daughters.  While there are strong women of faith in my natural family and women I look up to within my spiritual family, I can honestly say, that I feel like I have a hole.  I don't believe a "grandmotherly" or "motherly" spiritual figure has really come alongside me to "do life" so to say.  Oh there are wonderful women I know, and I believe, if I reached out to them, they would probably step in.  However, I believe, the role of "Minister's Wife" which I've been wearing nearly a decade plays in to this.    Naturally, due to my age, I should probably just have some young spiritual daughters or better yet little sisters - which I have a handful of that I absolutely love! It was so great to walk them through those high school years and now see what fine young women they are in college now.)  Although, wearing the minister's wife hat, I'm very often in the position to cross the generational lines and be that spiritual mentor.  I'm explaining why bad things happen to good people, I'm comforting, I'm supporting, I'm listening, I'm speaking truth to and praying for, etc.  It's been a privilege to serve in this capacity and I'm thankful God chose to work through me in these situations.  I just now see the gaping hole where my spiritual grandmother/mother could be.  Hmmm... so in this time of transition - maybe I seek this relationship out?  Something to ponder.  It does make me very thankful for my spiritual sister/very best friend Jane (haha - we'll see if she's actually reading this!).

As you can see from my little snippets, this weekend really did encourage me to go Deeper Still.  It was a blessing to have a Girls Night Away.  Of course, I missed my hubby and three little ones and was eager to get home!