Back to Life....

The last two days I had the incredible opportunity to be whisked away for 48 hours of total girl time. Now to some, and usually to me spending 48 hours with 60 women does not necessary sound incredible, especially when it is 60 women I have never met, thats right complete strangers! You want to talk about insecurity? I will tell you anyone who thinks they don’t struggle with insecurity should go into a situation like this where they know not one person and see just how secure they feel.

In all honesty after the initial meeting I felt completely at ease. Matt is part of a youth pastors coaching group called the Cadre with Jeanne Mayo. It has been so good for him, but I didn’t really see how it would affect me until this weekend. This amazing, legend of a woman invited us (the wives and woman youth pastors) into her home, that’s right, her home for a complete 48 hours. She poured so much life and was so generous with herself that instantly we felt like family. I have no idea how she makes each and every person in the room feel like she loves them and believes in them completely but I hope that one day I can communicate love and Jesus in a similar way.

What she offered us this weekend was a community; I had a chance to meet people who understand exactly where I am because they are in a similar situation. We were 60 strangers, of all ages, church backgrounds and stations in life but we left as a community of friends and sisters who if we choose can continue to stay involved in each other’s lives. God connected us in our small groups and individually to each other, people who prayed for me and offered me encouragement. None of us lifted a finger the entire time, not to throw our trash away, not to get our coffee nothing, the team of Master’s commission students were completely and totally excellent in their service.

Maybe one of the most significant times for me was yesterday when we went to Victory World Church and the team there spent the better part of an hour leading us into worship. It was amazing. The worship pastor encouraged us from the beginning with Ps. 23. This is probably one of the most familiar scriptures but I want to write it out so that I remember what God spoke to my heart… 

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake…”

The worship team at Victory...Montell Jordan (yes that Montell Jordan for those of you who remember)

He restores my soul. That is what I really feel that God did for me. Because there was an environment created for me to focus on God, because there were so many amazing women who where generous with their own souls, they were open and honest and real. Because God shows up when we seek him. Amazing isn’t it that He actually does what the Bible says He will do??

A generous new friend with the same heart... Alyssa Shull

I woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m. and drove back to Macon. I got home to an amazing welcome from my husband and my kids. Quickly I realized life had gone on without me, the house needed to be cleaned up, the laundry needed to be folded (my wonderful man washed and dried it for me), half our house didn’t have electricity which meant no heat, hot water or appliances. Quickly the song came to mind…”Back to Life, back to reality”.

I know that life happens and it can quickly steal what God did the past few days, but I learned so much about the power of living a generous life and how it effects others. I will have the same opportunity to be generous with myself this weekend at our winter retreat. I am so excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of our teenagers!

If I could encourage you, friend with anything it would be this, be generous with your life. Give love and truth to people, be honest and be open. You never know how it will touch another person’s life and offer hope to their soul.