Deeper Still-Priscilla Shirer

I have failed to blog about the rest of the sessions from the Deeper Still conference I went to a few weeks ago. So today I wanted to share a few points from Priscilla Shirer's lesson. Before the conference, I had heard that Priscilla was amazing and taught as powerfully as her father, Tony Evans, but I had never had the pleasure of hearing her speak. The praise was correct because she was soooo good. She was definitely my favorite out of the 3 ladies. She has some fantastic Bible studies at Lifeway Christian Stores if you happen to be in the market for a new study to kick off the new year.

Here is a shot of Mrs. Priscilla...

She taught a lesson on walking by faith and boy, did I need to hear that message. I was reminded that I have to connect my faith with action to see God's power in my daily life. There are just too many days that go by that I simply don't feel like I am living the victorious Christian life that I am suppose to be living. Does anyone else feel that way? She said that there are over 8,000 promises in the Word of God that Christians can claim as our own. Those promises are not placed right in our hand, but rather within our reach. We have to go through a process, a faith walk, to grasp them. We don't want to do that. We pray for miracles and for great displays of God's power and then we desire to stay out of situations where miracles will be necessary, claiming that we aren't equipped.

She based her session on a Bible story found in 2 Kings 13:14-25. I will give you the very short version of the story. Elisha, the prophet, the voice of God to the people, was on his deathbed and Joash the king of Israel came to him, weeping, saying, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen." This was a title given to Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12 and now used to refer to Elisha, referring to their power. King Joash meant that Elisha was Israel's best defense against the nations that would come against them in war. He ascribed the nation's well being to Elisha rather than to God Himself.

Elisha told Joash to take a bow and some arrows, to shoot one arrow eastward and then to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. The arrow that he shot eastward would symbolize victory over the Syrians, who had occupied Israel's land east of the Jordan River. Joash then started to shoot the remaining arrows to the ground, but stopped after three. Because Joash had struck the ground only three times instead of five or six times, apparently the number of arrows he would have had in his quiver, he would strike down Syria only 3 times. If he had struck five or six times, the threat of Syria would have been totally eliminated. But he lacked perseverance and endurance and victory will always depend on our measure of obedience....our action...our faith.

I could apply this to a lot of different things in my life, but one area is just being a mom ,a wife, and wanting to be actively involved in ministry. It is overwhelming, isn't it? I talked about this the other day in my post about asking for wisdom, so I won't belabor the point. But, on any given day, I feel so ill-equipped to do what God is calling me to do. I want to scream that I am only one person and I just can't balance everything and be successful with each thing. I constantly tell God what I don't have (my weaknesses), instead of focusing on what I do have (my strengths). In relation to the story, I have every arrow that I need in my quiver, I just have to offer every one of them to a Holy God, let Him consecrate my offering with His power, and then let Him work on my behalf.

The king held some arrows back and I hold back all the time. I have to be willing to shoot every arrow that I have and then give God my empty quiver because that is when He can show up in power. It is so much easier though to hold back, to keep a few arrows, just in case God doesn't show up. That doesn't require as much faith, does it? Being in the "safe place" never does.

I am the world's worst about trying to figure everything out on my own before I take a step. I am a worrier, I am a planner, and I want everything in a nice little order...that I can see....before I step out in obedience. And this applies to so MANY situations in my life! All the while God is saying, "Trust Me. I have given you what you need for today. I will continue to give you what you need tomorrow. Empty your quiver and trust Me."

She shared a few powerful verses that brought me to tears...

2 Chronicles 20:12 "O our God...For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but OUR EYES ARE ON YOU." (Life is hectic and days are busy and I feel like I have a great multitude coming against me. In those moments, I have to keep my eyes on God. He will fight the battle for me.)

2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that HE MAY STRONGLY SUPPORT those whose heart is completely His." (As I simply seek Him, He will give me the support that I need. I love that...now, if I can just remember that!)

She challenged me in other ways too. Here are a few other points that she made...

*Know your Bible....and then put yourself in situations where you will see the Bible work.

*Surround yourself with godly friends, friends who will support you and inspire you to be strong in the Lord.

*Don't try to figure everything out. It is OK to be in a place where God HAS to come through. That is where I will grow the most in my faith.

*We believe little because we've seen little and we have seen little because we believe little. Lack of faith is a vicious cycle.

*Psalm 20:7...Trust in the Name of the Lord. He is all I need.

*Believers should be marked by "peace"...not worry, not doubt, not fear. We are aliens and strangers in this world. The peace should be obvious to a lost world around us. It should mark us and make us different.

The weekend was powerful and just what I needed.

I am not going to share Beth Moore's lesson because it didn't speak to me the way the other two lessons did. I am sure that she "spoke" exactly what many other people in that arena needed, just as I feel like I was meant to hear what Priscilla taught through God's Word. God is like that and personalizes specific messages for each individual person.

Priscilla Shirer's website is www.goingbeyond.com just in case you are interested.

Until next time...

Our Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken in October by Ashlyn Williams of AshlynJoy Photography. She is a college student and family friend in the student ministry at our church. She recently started her own photography business, all while being a full-time student at the University of Mobile, and I think she does a fabulous job. You can go to her web-site HERE and schedule an appointment with her.

I haven't posted any of these photos because I knew I wanted to use them on my Christmas card. So now that the Christmas cards have gone out in the mail, here is a sampling from our session. (I couldn't make the pictures any larger, but you might can click on individual pictures to make them bigger.)

I just loved all the pictures and bought way too many...if you can have too many pictures of your family!

Until next time...

Our Christmas Card

I wanted to share our Christmas card for this year. I wish I could afford to mail one to every single person that I know, but unfortunately, that isn't in our budget. I love sending people Christmas cards to show off our little cuties and I love getting picture cards in the mail, especially from friends and family that I never get to see. I am always amazed at how much people, especially the children, change in a year's time.

The pictures were taken by Ashlyn Williams of AshlynJoyPhotography and she did a fabulous job. We just loved them. She did a whole session for us and I hope to post those on here too...when I figure it out. Ashlyn gave me permission.

Here is the card... Sorry for the flash in the center. You know I had to take a picture of it because I am too cheap to buy a scanner.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love,

The DeVaughn Family

Asking for Wisdom

I don't know about the others mothers out there, but I feel like I am constantly second guessing myself when it comes to being a mother. On any given day, there is just so much to think about, so much to worry about, so much to plan, and so much to do. I mean I get one chance in rearing my children and I won't get a "do-over".

Let me give you a few examples...

Nutrition- I have been thinking a good bit about the food that my two little precious ones are consuming. They are both so picky and despite my best efforts, they just do not want to eat vegetables. They will eat yogurt and a few fruits, but their favorite foods are chicken nuggets and the like, that are probably hardening their arteries at an alarming rate. I know that children go through phases, but it is still difficult to think about their little bodies and the nutritional gaps that they are sure to have. I am always thinking about healthy meals that I can cook, that everyone will eat, and healthy snacks to have around the house. Of course Reagan only wants chocolate chip cookies for her snacks...sigh. I am also reading about supplements and trying to figure out which ones are best and which ones will fit into our budget. It seriously makes my head hurt. I just want to hand them the chicken nugget and pray that "God blesses it to the nourishment of their bodies" and be done with it.

Discipline- Oh my goodness! Who knew that discipline could be so difficult. Daily, I ask myself if I am being too hard on the girls or if I am being to easy on the girls. The discipline they receive as they grow up will determine the kind of young adults they will grow into, and that is a lot of pressure for one Momma. Gracen is starting to enter an ugly whiny stage and she makes it clear when she is not happy, Reagan has started with the attitude and I actually got my first "eye roll" from her yesterday, and both girls are figuring out that it is fun to irritate one another. I want them to love one another and be kind to each other and if I recite one Bible verse on the subject, I just might scream. I know that I have to persevere though because the purpose of discipline is to teach them that they HAVE to submit to the authority of their parents, which lays the foundation that one day they will HAVE to submit to the authority of God.

Spiritual Development- I want to introduce both of my girls to Jesus Christ. I pray for their salvation every single day. I read Bible stories to them, pray with them, listen to praise and worship music with them, watch for teachable moments that are easy gateways to discuss the things of God and take them when they come, and faithfully take them to church and church activities. I also try to live out an authentic Christian walk before them and allow them to catch me praying and reading my Bible. Is all this enough? Is it too much? I don't know.

I am a perfectionist in some areas and I think about things way too much. Other things on my mind would be maintaining a strong marriage, keeping my house clean and organized, my own healthy eating, finding time to exercise, spending quality time with each member of my family, etc. It is exhausting!

And today I was reminded that I don't have to figure everything out on my own. I read a verse in my Bible that jumped off of the page.

James 1:5 says, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

That is a great "mom verse" and one I plan to hang on to. I have got it written on a note card and I will read it when my mind starts to race with all the issues that I listed above. God is with me and He will give me all the wisdom that I need as I take every concern to Him. He will show me the way and help me to walk in it! Every single morning I will ask God to give me His wisdom as I make decisions all through the day.

I trust that He will answer.

Changing subjects...My younger sister Lindsay wrote a blog entry today on Christmas memories and how our family celebrated Christmas as we were growing up. It brought back such great memories and reminded me again today how blessed I am to have the family that I do. I have wonderful parents and two great sisters. I love you Mom, Dad, Lori, and Lindsay! You can find the link to her blog on the side of this entry...."My Little Sister, Lindsay".

Until next time....

Weekend Wrap-up

We had a busy weekend....a good weekend, but busy!

It started Friday with the College Christmas party at our house. My plan was to blog on Friday about Priscilla Shirer's session from the Deeper Still event, but with all the cleaning and cooking that day, computer time didn't happen. I made 75 pigs in a blanket, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, opened all the fixings for smores and had that on a large tray, and bought hot chocolate, flavored coffee, and drinks. We had a great group come and they all brought food too. Reagan was in "hog" heaven! Every time I saw her she had something sweet in her hand. I am still surprised that she didn't throw up...glad...but surprised. Both girls had a great time and stayed awake until after 10:00. You would have thought they would have slept late on Saturday morning....but NO!

Saturday morning I had to clean the house again and then get ready for a wedding at 1:00. Bryan Easley and Shelia Horne got married and it was beautiful and a little emotional. We got home around 3:00 and then headed to Montgomery to clean my sister's office...something I do once a month.

By the time we got home, it was time to eat supper, get the girls ready for bed, pack the bags and iron clothes for church and hit the sack.

On Sunday, we had a busy day of worship, with great music and preaching in the morning and evening service. Bro. Glenn made several announcements that have received interesting responses...
1. Bro. Michael, our music minister, has accepted a job in Colorado. Gene and I love Michael and his wife Nicole, and we love the music aspect of the worship service so this was really sad news for the church as a whole. Their last Sunday will be January 2nd.

2. Bro. Jerry, our school "headmaster" has accepted another job and will also start at the beginning of the year. The job doesn't require a move, so they will remain an active part of our church which is a huge relief and a blessing for all of us.

3. Our church will no longer have Sunday night services. I have been really surprised at some of the negative feedback that has come from this decision, and some of the biggest complainers aren't even faithful in attendance, at least not to the DT hour. Bro. Glenn is trying to do something positive for the families in our church to alleviate some of the busyness that our culture imposes on us. Families with children especially feel the pressure with sports and homework and the school schedule and church functions, not to mention that in most homes both parents work outside the home. Family time at home...together...in a non-rushed way is so limited. What a gift to have Sunday evenings at home! It never occurred to me that some people would be so negative and disrespectful to our pastor about a positive thing for our families. A few families are talking about leaving the church.....
Really? Leaving the church...... A church you have loved and supported for years and years.... A church where your children have close friends.... A church where you have a support system... I don't get that....at all! How fickle people can be! I guess it is "their way or no way", which is not biblical submission.
Sunday evenings in the nursery have been really difficult with anywhere from 5 to 8 workers NOT showing up and the DT attendance has been terrible across the board. Our faithful workers are burned out and there is no need to keep doing something just for the sake of doing something. I am praying that Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings will become even more powerful and life-giving to our families and that those who are so upset will start to see the free evening as the gift of time. I would also love to see small groups develop where people can be discipled, rather than just slipping in a worship service and slipping out. I wouldn't want the groups to be long term, every week all year long, which would defeat the purpose of family time. But rather maybe cover a topic for a month and then take a month or two off for a time of refreshing, etc.

We plan on having a family devotion time and family activity time on Sunday evenings...not just another evening to plop in front of the television. Hopefully many other families will choose to do the same thing, with fathers stepping up to lead this time.

And while I am on the subject, let's try to keep all our negative comments and opinions off of Facebook. It really just puts your testimony at risk and hurts the body of Christ.

Until next time...

Deeper Still-Kay Arthur

I am still reading over my notes from the Deeper Still conference this past weekend and wanted to share a few highlights with you. There was so much to digest. I am always amazed at how much there is to learn about God through His Word. I have been actively pursuing Him through in-depth Bible study for at least 10 years now, and I feel like I have just scratched the surface. I made a commitment this past weekend to go "deeper still" in my walk with Him...to daily read His Word...to pray....to actively pursue Him so that my roots will be strong.

Kay Arthur taught on Friday night. She is a 77 year old pistol for God with a strong passion for His Word. A friend of mine sat on the front row and I copied one of her pictures of Mrs. Kay... She kind of looks means in this photo, but she isn't.

She basically taught through the book of Matthew, sharing the gospel message and the urgency to trust in Jesus and be authentic in your walk with Him. An hour and a half flew by in a blink of an eye and I literally took notes the entire time. She started off with some statistics..

There are roughly 310 million people in the United States...(Lori, is this number correct?)

9 out of 10 say that they believe in God. (that shocked me)

75% call themselves "Christians.

If these numbers are true, then why is our culture so immoral?

Could it be that we don't know what true Christianity is?

She gave many examples....professing Christians divorcing their spouses, drinking, smoking, cussing, getting into large amounts of debt, accepting homosexuality saying it is their right, accepting abortion due to the other person's freedom, etc.

What change should Christianity make in our lives?

There should in fact be a change.

I am Southern Baptist and we always get the bad rap of being legalistic, following outward rules, etc. I wholeheartedly disagree with that. I think Christianity should make you different from the lost world. There should be a stark contrast to your life before Christ and your life after Christ because you are a new creation in Christ. And it is more than the outward things, but inward issues of the heart as well. I don't struggle with any of those outward issues listed above, but I am definitely a work in progress when it comes to the inner issues. I struggle with contentment, pride,keeping my mouth closed, worry, self-esteem, etc.

I have an example of such a "stark contrast" in my house. My husband, Gene, is such a radically different person today than he was the day I met him over 21 years ago. That change is attributed to Jesus Christ. The day he got saved at age 23, the bondage to alcohol, tobacco, constant cussing, womanizing, etc was GONE. His life was different. He was no longer drawn to the same things. Yes, there were temptations, but he was able to overcome because of the Holy Spirit living within him. I am so thankful that we were not part of a church that thinks drinking is OK because alcohol was a huge weakness for him, and keeping the door open to alcohol would have sucked him back in to a very dark place and would have been a doorway for other sins to enter back into his life. I am thankful that we were taught to lay those things down because we BEAR THE NAME OF CHRIST and we are called to be holy as HE is holy.

I have also watched him devour his Bible. When he was first saved he didn't know where the book of Genesis was and as he prayed for understanding and for a hunger for the Word, God faithfully answered those prayers. Today his love for the Word is immense and knows the book cover to cover. That desire to be in the Word is a fruit of salvation. If you have no desire for the things of God, like reading/studying his Word on a daily basis, you may not be truly saved.

There are too many places in the Bible that talk about true repentance and bearing fruit for the kingdom to think that it is OK to continue in the same lifestyle.

Matthew 3:7-8 talks about the call to "bear fruit in keeping with our repentance"....repentance means that you make a change, you turn away from sin, you start living for the Kingdom of God and stop living for yourself.

Matthew 7:19..."every tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire..."

Matthew 7:20..."Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." I am not called to judge the salvation of another person, but I don't recognize godly fruit in the lives of many people who call themselves believers....which according to Kay is an epidemic in America, especially with my generation.

Phil. 1:27 says that we should walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ and I don't see how getting together with friends while you drink and cuss and smoke your cigarettes is "a manner worthy of Jesus". If that makes me legalistic, then I'm OK with that.

Kay stressed that it is really about "religion vs. relationship". Too many so called Christians just go to church on Sunday or every other Sunday or the occasional Sunday....and that is it. There is really not much else to their faith. They go to church simply because it is a culturally expected thing or to make themselves feel better. They do the God-thing for one morning a week and God is forgotten for the remainder of the week. There is no prayer, no Bible reading, no Bible study, no service, no ministering to other people, no giving, no tithing...you get the idea. That's religion....not relationship.

Jesus is not something that you add to your life as you would add salt to your food. He is not an accessory that you pull out when it is convenient or needed. He IS your life. He IS everything.

America will be held accountable, and Kay believes that is coming soon. Matthew 3:10 says that the axe is laid at the root of the tree that does not bear fruit and she believes that the axe is laid at the root of America. Sobering thought for the future of our country, especially since I have two young children. We will be held accountable for the truth that we have heard and have chosen not to obey. Jesus is coming back and we will be called into account! Christians need to get serious about their faith and be prepared to meet God.

Jesus' message in the book of Matthew is to accept Him and repent...the kingdom of God is at hand.

That message HAS to affect everything I do and every decision I make as a woman, as a wife, and as a mom.

Kay's teaching lined up with two powerful books that I have read and have talked about before... two books that I highly recommend that you read:

1. Crazy Love by Francis Chan

2. Radical by David Platt

Read both of these and be challenged in your faith!

Until next time...

Weekend Wrap-up

I had an incredibly busy weekend. It started early Friday morning, as Gene and I headed to Children's Hospital in Birmingham at 6:45 am for Gracen's 6 month check-up on her kidneys. She is doing really well and hasn't had even one urinary tract infection or kidney infection since she was hospitalized back in April, so I was anticipating good news. The news wasn't terrible but it wasn't what I wanted to hear for sure. Her condition is still considered mild with a good chance to correct itself without surgery, but there are some irregularities in her kidneys that we will still have to watch closely. Her left kidney is too small and her right kidney is too big, due to the reflux of urine. A person needs their kidneys, so this situation makes me a little uneasy in my spirit, but I am taking this concern to the Lord every single day in prayer. I lay my hands on her stomach every night and pray for healing, while she looks at me like I am crazy. I want to ask you, my friends and family, to pray for her healing as well. We go back to Children's in June for another ultrasound and catheter test.

After we left the hospital, we stopped at the Galleria to Christmas shop and eat some lunch. Here is a shot of Gracen in the parking lot. She was so sweet the entire day.

After lunch, my older sister met me at the Galleria for some more shopping and then we headed to the Deeper Still event later that night, with awesome teaching from Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, and Beth Moore, not to mention incredible worship. Gene headed home with Gracen to begin two days as a single dad...and everyone survived. He even remembered to brush Gracen's teeth this time.

This trip was a gift from my sister. She called in the middle of the last week and said her church was taking a group of ladies and they had a cancellation. I could go to the event for free.... conference ticket, hotel stay, and lunch. Thank you, Lori! We had a fabulous time, hearing some deep truths about God and spending some much needed quality time together.

Here is a picture of us in the Birmingham Civic Center on Saturday afternoon.

I want to share some highlights from each session, but I don't have time today. I have to go get ready to meet some mom friends and their children at Pump It Up. But here are a few snap shots from our very high seats.

This is worship with Travis Cottrell. This time gave me chill bumps...to hear 14,000 women singing praises to God with arms stretched up to heaven made me think of what heaven will be like as we collectively worship the KING.

Here is a snap shot of Kay Arthur as she teaches.

And Priscilla Shirer....Tony Evan's daughter

And Beth Moore

I can not say enough about the weekend. My spirit needed to hear what these women taught from God's Word in the worst way. I loved every second of it and hanging out with my sister was an added BONUS. We don't get to see each other enough.

I got home after dinner on Saturday evening, just in time to bathe the girls and be there to tuck them in their beds.

And Sunday was a full day of church.

Later in the week, I will share a little from each session, but like I said, I am headed to Pump It Up to chase after two kids for two hours...pray for me.

Until next time...