Better Late than Never

I thought I should share a little about my Christmas Break, yes I do know that we are coming upon the end of January and this post is late, but better late than never. Christmas break was extremely relaxing, but going home always is. I was able to hang out with a few old friends, which is always great when you can get your old crew together. It is amazing to think about how even through the years of having to move on or things in your life change....having a baby, getting married, working non stop....even though all of this you can still go back to your roots and it seems like your friendship never changes. You can look back on your past and what seems like forever ago, a little part of you wishes you could go back, but these you can laugh because those experiences of stupidity and spontaneity have shaped who you are. I am so grateful for them, for those same girls who have been there and continue to be there.
Being with Family is always great. There is absolutely nothing normal about my family. Christmas Eve was spent a the grandparents house. Entertainment came from my brother, Christopher, who did wheelies in a wheel chair and told his ever exciting trips to Wal-mart and the salvation army acting like a cripple. As you may be able to figure out....we don't need much to be entertained!
I spent a week in Nashville attending the New Years Conference. You can not go to a conference like this not go away changed. I have learned in the past that in order for God to release and give more of his knowledge, it is you that has to be willing to seek. I went to a seminar about prayer and intimacy with Christ. One of the things Kenny shared with us was the higher you are trying to grow and get that higher level the deeper the foundation has to be. In order for me to grow in Christ there has to be a foundation....a foundation for getting in the word, for prayer, for fellowship. I saw that all these different things that were once projected to me as things on a wheel. If there were areas that i wasn't getting enough of or spending as much time doing, my wheel would not spine properly or even be able to pick up speed. For a year i had been driving on a newly pathed  road, but each day air was beginning to escape from the tire. As the days went on of choosing not to get in the word or going before the Lord....my perspective on my life and the perspective of others began to change..I became the victim, I began to wallow in sin and being able to find joy in my life here in Jonesboro was nonexistent. My life became something I walked through day end and day out, i was driven by my circumstances...there would be good days, but they never steamed from Christ.
The intimacy with Christ had stopped, my obedience in some aspects had stopped. I no longer respected authority, I became my own Lord and the opinions and directions of others went in one ear and out the other.....It is amazing how easy it is to put on a mask and act like everything is okay, because I'll tell you that I am really good at hiding. It is still hard to believe that even through all of this, God still wants me! He calls me to be intimate with him..... Which takes me praying through Psalm 63, that I would EARNESTLY be seeking God, my soul would be thirsting for him gazing upon his power and majesty and experiencing his love in its full capacity---> Viewing his Love better than Life.
Building a Foundation that is build around Christ....brings me to my Faith! During NYC and even now a verse that is really hitting home is Luke 9:23-24. Faith will and always cost you something. So right now,I am asking God to show me what my life is costing me and recognizing his authority over my flesh. 

"If any of you want to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give your life up for my sake, you will save it."

As we deny ourselves we recognize the authority that Christ has over our lives. Christ is far above any ruler, all things have been placed under his authority (Eph. 1:21-23). As I submit to Christ's authority HE makes me full and complete......This is just some of things God revealed to me over the Conference....I can't say that it is a summary or even half. Below are some Photos from the Conference.



ASU GroupPhoto

Tedashii Concert