THE BOLD VENTURE

I just came back from Lee Grady's Bold Venture women's conference and I want to share with you the fact that my life has been transformed! I don't say this lightly. This conference was probably the most effective and productive conference that I have ever been to. The reason I believe this is because I saw with my own eyes a transformation, not only in myself, but in every one of those women. I saw a purity of transparency. I saw a hunger for God like never before. I saw godly humility. And most of all, we experienced the presence of God in such a magnificent way that I will never be the same again! I will never again be satisfied with the status quo. It truly was heavenly! I hope that I will be able to impart to you, in some way, this power of God that makes a person become radically and totally committed to His purposes for their life, less likely ever again to be discouraged, disheartened, or doubtful of God's amazing love and power! It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane things of life and forget what Christianity is all about. It's about having a relationship with God. It's about KNOWING GOD and getting close to Him. It's about developing the intimacy He so desires to have with His children. One of the speakers at the conference talked about having intimacy with Christ. She mentioned an old hymn that gives us a picture of what it can be like to be close to the Lord. It's called, "In The Garden" and it was written by a man named C. Austin Miles. He had a photographic dark room and would go in there to spend time with the Lord in prayer. One day, he had a vision of Mary Magdalene going to the garden with Jesus after leaving His tomb. Mr. Miles said that he was deeply and physically shaken. He immediately began writing down the lyrics as quickly as he could. The song goes like this: "I come to the garden alone; and the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share, as we tarry there, none other has ever known..." (google "hymn history" for more info.) Our walk with Jesus is acknowledging His presence in the everyday things that we do. It's in the place of desperation for intimacy with Him, that we find Him. It's when we spend time seeking the face of the Almighty, searching out His Word for truth, and clinging to Him for life, that we come into the fulness of His power to overcome in this world. We will then experience His presence and proceed in grace to fulfill His great plan for our life. The conference speaker emphasized the need for not only walking in an awareness of His presence all day long, but having a designated place to seek Him daily. We must wait faithfully on Him in expectation. I pray that this blog will help stir you up to press on and press deeper into intimacy with our creator, Father, and lover of our soul. I want to leave you with the lyrics of another old hymn that touches my heart and I pray will touch yours too! "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." Oh for more of the light of His glory and grace in my life! Have fun on your BOLD VENTURE! It will be the journey of a lifetime! I love you all and He does too!