God Is On the Move

God has been doing all sorts of things in my life, which I think I should share. It started when we were in Florida. I felt anxious + a heaviness on me for a couple of days and I couldn't pinpoint the reason because our trip was going very well. I prayed about it and it didn't go away. After a couple of days of feeling depressed, I was like, "Ok. This needs to leave now." I went into our bedroom and asked the Lord what I was supposed to do. He told me to read + pray Scripture out loud and to tell the spirit of oppression to leave. It didn't take more than 10 minutes of that and suddenly the heaviness lifted off of me. Thank you Jesus! Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I also felt during that time that God wanted to purify me as there was a lot of junk + ugliness inside of me that had been there for too long. It's not fun to face those things, but it's so worth it to be washed clean!

After I got back, God started working in some of my relationships and resolving issues that had been left unsaid for too long. Again, that was hard, but so freeing!

Then, our church went on a retreat this past week-end and we TOTALLY met with God.

Dining room with the afternoon sun streaming in

It was SO awesome to see His power at work! The speaker spoke on "Filling the Waste Places with God's glory." He defined waste places as "Any place in God's creation that isn't a habitation of His glorious presence." He defined the glory of God as:

1. The revelation of His character

2. The demonstration of His power

3. The manifestation of His wisdom

He used an example of how sometimes when he goes to eat at a restaurant, he'll ask the waitress if there's anything he can pray for her. I was very challenged! He also talked about when God gives us a

1. Promise...then often a

2. Problem...arises which is followed by

3. Provision...and then

4. Fulfillment...of the promise

During the last session, he expanded on the verse 1 Peter 4:8-10 "Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins..." The Greek word for fervent is Ektenes which means "stretched out." He said "stretched out love" is:

1. Looking beyond faults, quirks, + failures

2. Offering hospitality - investing our resources into

relationships

3. Serving one another

I totally need God's help because I can't do those things on my own. There was a lot more said than that, but those were the main points. It was a very refreshing time and I felt spurred on to keep growing in my faith and sharing it with others. Despite a lack of sleep (our bed was shaped like a bowl) I had an amazing time!