AWAKEN

This past weekend, we had a prophetic conference at our church. I always love these weekends...so here were the highlights for me!

1). Worship. I am blessed to be able to sing on our worship team and even more blessed that God is calling me to a higher level in leading worship (this was actually part of the word that was prayed over me this weekend...exciting and a bit nerve-wracking!). One of the songs I got to lead this weekend was really a prayer, about waiting on the Lord and seeing Him break the chains that bind people-fear, addiction, hatred, loneliness, depression, on and on and on...as I learned this song before the conference, I knew that God had given it to me to sing. I have experianced His freedom in my life--seen the chains broken from many different things holding me back--am still experiencing them--and the joyful rush of the Holy Spirit flowed forth through me as I sang. To see and feel a church full of people worshipping the Lord with awe and passion--I pray and believe that this is what is coming for our church on a weekly basis, to be seen every Sunday, and not just when we have a conference.

2) Words and pictures from God. Before each worship session, the team prayed together. God gave me visions during these times of things happening in Durango and inside our church. Some of them were for others, one for our city, and some just for me-but just the fact that my God loves to talk to me like this is beautiful.

3). Friday night. After the session, we had a meeting for the youth that showed up. Adam and I are over the youth group at our church, and we wanted our kids to be able to experience having a prophetic word prayed over them. We've both experienced this several times in our lives, and it has always helped to guide us, bless us, and encourage us. So after service, we headed next door to our youth room with about 12 kids and a few leaders. I loved hearing God speak to these kids...tears came to my eyes as I listened to the words He spoke to them through Nick. We wrote down what we could while he spoke so the kids could have something to keep and remind them what God is speaking to them. Nick prayed over Adam and I, too...I am always so overwhelmed by God's love and excited by the glimpes of the future He shows me! We did an excercise with the students to practice hearing God's voice. This just confirms in me what I have always known--God speaks to everyone, young, old, male, female. We just have to practice listening, in order to know His voice from the others that invade our lives. God began to speak to me from an early age, both in dreams and in other ways, and I love to see the students we work with experience that, too. They learn to edify each other and let God speak through them to others at school, work, everywhere-and most of them are still young enough they havn't learned to be afraid to speak their minds. I love it!

4.) Sunday night. I know I'm skipping a lot here- and oh, my, there is so much more I could talk about! but in the interest of not making you read for an hour to get to the end...I'm being selective. Sunday night was a "family night", meaning it was just for those dedicated to our church. Nick spoke, as did our pastors, and we as a body dedicated ourselves to praying about things going on in the spiritual realm in our city (and will continue to do so). Afterwords, people stood in line for hours to have Nick pray over them, and as we fellowshipped with everyone my mother-in-law came to talk to Adam and I. What started as a fairly simple conversation soon blossomed into a deep talk between my mother-in-law and I. This may seem pretty mundane to some. But the two of us have never had a talk like this...not in any context. She opened up to me about desires to deepen her spiritual walk, to have the courage to stand for her Savior even if it could mean rejection from some she deeply loves; to have a deeper awareness and sensitivity to things of the Spiritual world but no fear. I thank God for this sweet time with Rebecca...to be able to share a bit of my spiritual walk with her, to be able to encourage her with words God gave me for her, and mostly just to listen. It was apparent she needed another woman to encourage and support her in her walk with God. Deeply in need of fellowship. Although I may not be her first choice, being both her daughter-in-law and not a peer, I was thankful that she still opened up. It was a very sweet time and I know something changed in our relationship last night. At the end of our time, I suggested that she have Nick pray for her, as well. Hesitant at first, she agreed- and the more amazing thing was that my sometimes very teenagerish 14 year old sister in law told her she thought I was right. So I went in line with her, introduced her to Nick (who was excited to meet Adam's mom, since he loves Adam) and wrote down what I could of what he prayed over her. The cool thing was that it was very similar and encouraging in the things we had just talked about. Afterwords she hugged me and thanked me. Out of so many, many beautiful, sweet moments God gave me at the conference, those with my mother-in-law just might have been the sweetest.