Cinderella

In my last post, I spoke about the Women's Event I went to. I wanted to share one analogy I heard there.

So, we all know the story of Cinderella.

Cinderella was poor, a servant, a maid, and a nobody.

She went to a ball and lost her shoe.

BUT, the Prince took that shoe and went on a search to find Cinderella.

The Prince searched the ENTIRE kingdom for her.

When the Prince finally found Cinderella, He got down on His knee to put the shoe back on.

The Prince asked her to reign in His Kingdom with Him the rest of her life.

Now pretend you are Cinderella and the Lord is our Prince.

You might feel insignificant at times, or unloved, or not good enough, or just plain bad. BUT the Lord loves you. He searches to find you. He searches the entire Kingdom for you. And when He finds you, He kneels before you. (what a beautiful picture!) The Lord asks you to be with Him the rest of your life. FOR ETERNITY.

Remember: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE WANTED. THE LORD IS SEARCHING FOR YOU. OPEN YOUR EYES. SEE HIS LOVE. FEEL HIS LOVE. HE IS KNEELING BEFORE YOU. YOU ARE HIS.

HOLD UP!!

Today I went to a Women's Event called "She Worships: Overflow" at my new church Mosaic in Birmingham! It was my first ever Women's conference type of deal.

First, we came in and mingled. Which, since I came alone, I had to put my big girl pants on and meet new people. It's always hard being the one who no one knows. BUT, I met so many precious women who absolutely LOVE Jesus.

After the mingling, we worshiped and sang songs for a little bit. Then we broke up into different groups. I chose to be in the prayer group.

We talked about what prayer is and how there is no particular way to do it. It could be really short or really long. Out-loud or silent. Sung to the Lord or said in sentences. It does NOT matter. You are just talking to your daddy.

Well, after talking about prayer, we just started praying. Some people out-loud and some people to themselves.

After I had prayed for a while. I looked up and me and this woman met eyes. She saw me and came over to where I was sitting.

She asked, "what's your name?" And I said, "My name's Lindsay." She asked me, "Lindsay, could I pray over you?" And of course I said, "YES PLEASE!!"

She put her arm on my shoulder and I bowed my head.

There was silence.

She didn't start praying.

I looked at her and then I was like, "OOHH, she is praying over me silently...that's cool!"

NOPE.

I was totally wrong.

She looked up at me 45 seconds later and said, "Lindsay, I think the Lord has given you much wisdom. You understand and have grasped who God truly is. You understand and you love to teach others about Christ."

HOLD UP!

Let's think about this. This lady does NOT know me. We have never met. SO, how in the world does she know this about me?!?!

This lady puts her head back down.

45 seconds later, she looks at me again saying, "Lindsay, BUT you struggle. You are worried about your future. You are on the right path, but you can't see what's coming next in your life and that makes you scared. You need to ask the Lord to shed some light on your path. Ask Him to show you what to do."

HOLD UP AGAIN!

How does she know that?!?!

Everything this lady said to me, was correct.

I am scared about my future. I don't know if I am to be a nurse or not. I am scared. I have been worried for a long time. How did she know?

THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE LORD. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SPOKE TO HER.

That is the only thing I could come up with. The Lord told her what I needed to hear. The Lord interceded for her.

So, pretty much the Lord is telling me, "Lindsay, STOP FREAKING OUT. I have it all figured out. Rest in me my daughter. No need to worry."

I WAS FLOORED.

I sat back in my seat after hearing her speak to me and just felt in AWE.

How amazing is our God?

He is so good!!

Just thought I'd share my amazing radical moment.

Remember: The Lord is powerful. He understands.

HE LOVES YOU WITH AN OVERWHELMING LOVE.

Mission-Oriented

For some reason I LOVE going to church by myself.

Odd right?

Most girls that I know go to church with a group because they feel awkward going alone.

BUT, I'm different.

Don't get me wrong, I love inviting people to go with me and sometimes people will ask to come with me and I LOVE it too!!

I just love those moments sitting in church by myself because I feel I can keep my eyes completely focused on Christ. I feel so much closer to my Daddy.

Well, this last Sunday I went to church alone and Man, did the Lord show up!!

He came and captivated me.

First off, worship was perfection.

We sang some songs I had never heard of and fell in LOVE with them.

The entire church was lifting their hands, kneeling, letting go of themselves and dancing for the Lord in their own way. I love my church that God has given me. It is a place I can go to get prayer, learn about my Heavenly Father, and let myself go and fall into my Father's love.

After worship, there was a special speaker who preached.

He was from an organization called "MountainChild."

There motto or purpose is, "Carrying Hope to the Himalayas."

He and his family help kids in villages by sharing with them Jesus, help them through problems, heal their physical and mental wounds, and show them God's love.

So, here's what I learned:

Did you know that there are people in our world that don't know Christ? They have never heard the word God. They have no idea that a God loves them and created them. How Sad?!

We are to go into the world and "herald" the word of God.

When he said, "herald," I had to sit back. Why did he use this word? Don't we ALWAYS hear the word "tell" or "show?" Why did he use "herald?" Well, I looked it up and it means "an official messenger bringing news."

WE ARE OFFICIAL MESSENGERS FROM GOD.

How amazing is our job?!?!

Let me digress.

He told a story of when he was first in the Himalayas. He was on a trip, and he ran into some men. These men were on there way to sell a bunch of kids into the sex-slave-trade. When he heard this news, his heart immediately broke. He knew at that moment that he had to do something about it.

He gave this great analogy of our world as a whole.

Pretend that each country or state or city in the world is a key on a keyboard. Granted this would be a really long keyboard, but stay with me.

The angels have this keyboard in heaven and are taking notes.

Whenever a country or state or city is told about the Lord, the key would be able to make sound. If an angel was to hit a key and it made no sound, it means that that country/state/city had not heard the word of the Lord.

This keyboard still has many keys not yet played.

So, let's make music and spread the word so that the piano can be fully played! Let's make new music tones!

What a cool analogy! I had never heard it put that way.

Moving on.

He pointed out that ANY DENOMINATION CAN DO SOMETHING.

That is powerful to me because it shows us that WE can join together on this journey. WE ALL believe in the same God. We are all loved by the same God.

Lastly, it say in Romans "How shall they hear without a preacher?"

We are called to GO and herald the word of the Lord.

This sermon was a whole lot to take in.

I personally grew up in a mission-oriented church. I am a mission-minded person.

I love the idea of someday going to wherever the Lord calls me and evangelizing, healing the sick, and above all loving them with God's love.

If you are called, GO!

Pray. Seek. Love.