I was blessed this past weekend to attend the Glenkirk Women's Refresh. It was a two night retreat that was filled with praise music, a wonderful message, and fun. The speaker this year was Dottie McKissick, who is a well know speaker in the area and taught Bible Study Fellowship for 35 years. Every person I talked to raved about Dottie, so I was excited to hear her message. Before the weekend, I discovered that not only is Dottie one of my neighbors, but we used to walk with her and her husband Marvin when the girls were young! In addition to that connection, she went to elementary school with my Uncle Ken Weston!
Dottie's message for the weekend, is that we are precious to Jesus. If we are lost He will seek us out and bring us back to Him. When we come back to Jesus, there is a rip roaring party going on in heaven! You can read all about the three examples of the lost and found in Luke 15.
Dottie also taught us that there is a call for us to rejoice in the midst of suffering. Not to hide the hurt, but to truly give it to God and be thankful for the blessings He gives us in the midst of our "hard place."
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
I think we have all fallen into the trap of begging God to get us out of a tight spot. The sadest thing is when a person has no relationship with God and just talks to Him when they need a quick fix. Do you just want God to get you out of your hard spot, or do you want to grow closer to God? Sometimes our biggest challenge is our greatest joy. You might be surprised at how many women I have talked to that would not trade their cancer experience because it has brought them so close to god. Dottie gave us a good way to remember an encouraging verse when we are struck with a challenge. "In a Fix, remember Philippians 4:6"
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God , which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7
I was deeply blessed over the weekend, and I think the memory of it will stay with me for quite some time. I also want to thank by roommate, Cindy Axton, who watched over me and made sure I took my pain meds and I did not push myself too much on the fun. We had a classic rejoicing moment when at 3am I woke up with pain shooting down my leg. I put on some deep heat (which she had packed into her big bag of goodies like Mary Poppins), and we laid in the dark talking and laughing to distract me from the pain. The pain went away, and the laughter kept on until 4:30 am!!!! Sorry if you were the room next to us!
Dottie's parting words were this, "Everything depends on the kind of God you worship. Joy in Christ rises above every situation."
Blessings to all,
Sandy
