Two pleasant surprises.

I can tell that I'm going to have to post about Deeper Still as I process the whole weekend, but this link will give you some of what we experienced. It really was great.

Personally, one of my most immediate responses is that I LOVED Priscilla Shirer! I knew absolutely nothing about her going in and was SO pleasantly surprised. She was funny, incredibly thought provoking, and just a big ball of energy up there, so it was easy to stay interested in her message. She spoke about trusting and seeking God in the 'wilderness' situations of life. While she spoke of the desert being dry, dusty and barren, she suggested camping out in those times and seeking God, stating that 'the wilderness is where intimacy is ignited. God leads us there so we will experience and trust God more fully.' That was a powerful statement for me because I can surely look back during specific 'wilderness' times in my life and see how diligenty I sought God, how I looked for His lessons and had a huge desire to follow where He was leading. It's hard to think that He would lead us into a time of brokenness like that, but I know when it happened to me, one time specifically, my priorities were WAY out of whack. And even if it's not anything like what I experienced, there are other situations that are out of our control, but God still wants us to use that time to trust and meditate on His word, His ways and His purposes and just remain obedient. When we come out of those times, it is a witness to others and a huge step in our walk of faith. She had a great message and I was thrilled to hear her. I can tell that one of the next books I read will be one of hers.

The other thing I was most struck by was Mandisa. I had heard her name from American Idol, but had no idea who she was. She has evidently has traveled with Beth Moore's praise team for years, but American Idol is what got her name out there. This post will give you insight into her sweet heart and her love for the Lord. I was just smitten with her and intend to either get a CD of hers or get some songs from iTunes for my ipod. She was fabulous. With that, this is just a taste of what she offered: Don't worry about today and it's problems....we have much to look forward to, after all.....

"It's Only the World"!



If you have a chance to see either of these two ladies, DO IT. You won't be disappointed!