Michelle,

I just blogged about Priscilla's message last night! I took very detailed notes -- tee hee -- and I think I "redelivered" her message on my blog.

Feel free to pull anything else from there that you want!!

It was an awesome message and worth repeating!! :)

Blessings, friend. I was so thrilled to hug you in Atlanta. It was a highlight of my weekend!

Dori

Michelle,

I forgot to ask...

Is Lifeway going to market the CD's for Atlanta like they have Nashville or is too soon to know? I would love to have these messages to listen to again.

Blessings,
Dori

Thanks Dori,

If you don't mind making a comment and giving your blog link we can let the ladies check out your notes by choice. Right now, I am trying to help our Atlanta Deeper Still gals reflect and not give away too much for our Las Vegas gals that will join us in September for Deeper Still! So, Las Vegas gals don't look at Dori's notes!!! I'm sure Priscilla will change things up a bit, but we still want you to hear with fresh ears!

Okay, but now that you put it that way, I don't want to give away too much, either....Yikes! Didn't think of that!

But anyway -- if anyone is interested....

www.doricook.wordpress.com

Blessings,
Dori

I am right in the middle of the wilderness right now and as I stated before, I attended Deeper Still with seven of my best friends, each of whom lost a child this year, each of whom I met in the blogosphere and each of whom I met face to face for the first time for this event. Pricilla's message was so powerful for me. I am working through the book of Exodus now trying to see what else God may have for me there!

Kristy Bolte
www.babybolte.blogspot.com

Still praying for you Kristy...praying that as you go through this wilderness that God is preparing for something bigger, something mountainous (is that a word)...praying He gives you direction and guidance to take you to that mountain of transformation.

Thanks Michelle!

I covet your prayers! The wilderness can be really tough, but I can see God more clearly now than ever. It is amazing. Deeper Still has played a HUGE part in that. I am still reeling from that experience. Thank you for meeting us! It was great to see you face to face and hug you! God is good!

Hi Kristy,
I was thinking about you and your friends during the message on Friday night. Someone told me that you guys were there and that you were all in a very similar wilderness experience regarding your pregnancies. I was so sensitive to you while I was teaching and was praying that the message and my many illustrations about kids and pregnancy wouldn't be frustrating for you.
I am praying that God's will, will be accomplished in all of your lives and that you will be encouraged as you see "The Mountain of God" during this season of your life. Only He knows what He is up too and why He is up to it. I am so thankful that we can trust His heart even when we can't trace His hand! Praying for u!
Bless you
Priscilla

Surrender. Without a doubt - surrender.

Pricilla's message about the wilderness was very timely for me! It opened my eyes (and heart) to the reality that God has our family here for a reason and that it is not neccesarily because of our bad choices. We have had a crazy year with some bad things happening in our business, 3 failed IVF's, and a move across the country. So, to rest in the reality that God is in control and that I need to surrender is very freeing.......now I don't have to feel guilty anymore. The question that continues to ring is "how will you respond?"

I found Priscilla's message to be most appropriate to where I am in this season of my life. Although I enjoyed all of the messages, this one was especially encouraging.
I came to Deeper Still, Atlanta, alone. I bought my ticket in March, in faith that God would provide someone to watch my children (3 and 5 years) for the 30 or so hours I would be away. (I was doing 'Discerning the Voice of God' when I bought it.) And clearly God was faithful to provide.
I met 4 wonderful ladies from Charlotte, NC, who took me under their wing, included me, and encouraged me as well while we were at the conference.
My wilderness began 4 years ago when I found out about my husbands infidelity. In 2006, I cried out to God and he showed me that He had seen mine and my children's suffering, That He would protect and provide and I needed to wait on Him to renew my strength. He also showed me that like Nebuchadnezzar, He would deal with my husband's pride. My husband had bought into the world's philosopy and had a love for the things of the world. I had a peace as I left it with Him.
My husband's behavior became more distant, moody and deceitful. I began to see the old patterns of behavior from His previous relationships. Once again I cried out to God and asked what am I to do now? I had fought so long to try to keep my family together. I was determined that Satan would not have the victory over my family. But I was tired of being the only one trying to stay committed and beating my head against the proverbial 'wall'. I had become weary and was at my breaking point. Or maybe God had to bring me to the point I was willing to give up my way for Him to direct my steps. Prov. 16:9, Prov. 3:5&6, and Jer. 29:11-14.
I struggled immensely with the emotional aspects of it all, and the consequences to my children. I finally said, "God I know you can be a Father to my children if they are without a biological father. I want to do what You want me to do." A few weeks later He gave me a peace that I needed to remove myself and my children from the current situation. I was so relieved but at the same time I had come to a point where my choices that I thought were right had bore such terrible consequences that I didn't trust myself to make the right choice. I had a sense of peace for a while and then began to ask God again, "Do you really want me to leave this situation?" Is this really from You or of my own making? A few weeks later, I attended a church where the message spoke directly to me on this matter.....I was not at the church I had planned to attend that day!! Again I had peace and again after a period of time passed I started to question if it was His leading or my desire for the struggle to end. He once again affirmed His message to me that I needed to leave. Thank God he is so patient with me. Only He knows what it takes to bring a person to the end of themselves, so I stepped aside about 10 months ago.
Although my husband has continued after the world, God has revelaed Himself to me in such an awe inspiring way.
Over the past 10 months I have had the opportunity to sit under a wonderful pastor who is committed, intelligent, humble, and has a love for God and His people. I have completed 3 bible studies by these ladies and am working on a 4th. I feel that I reached the 'mountain of God' 10 months ago. He delivered me from the oppression, lifted me up, and drew me to Himself...Praise God!!
During the 'Steppin Up' study God had used the Psalms of Ascent to give me a greater appreciation for Him and my relationship to Him and His sufficiency for me. I had listened over and over to 'Heal the Wound' by Point of Grace. Many times in tears of gratefulness. The bridge really stuck with me...."Don't let me forget the beauty in the suffering". If it takes suffering to bring me to a deeper relationship with and understanding of Him, then bring it on!!
During 2008, I came to learn through 'Discerning the Voice of God' that God's time to act is when He reveals Himself to you. I have to trust His leading even when I don't know where He is leading me. He sees the entire journey (beginning to end) and knows what paths I need to take in order to be where He wants me to be. God has given me a desire for the area of women's ministry for many years but I wasn't sure where I fit in. He has shown me during 2008, that He has allowed me to experience the things in my life to make me effective in the role He has for me. He has given me a burden for single parents and for young women who need to be nurtured and mentored both in their roles as mother's and spiritually. I have felt for the last 20 years or so that there is a great lack of mentoring in the church today, and God just reiterated that to me through my pastor's message today.
In a recent devotional He showed me that sometimes He shows us a need because He wants US to do something about it. He has drawn me into a wonderful ladies sunday school class where I have been the youngest by 20 years for the past 10 months. My sunday school teacher's daughter is now going through something similar to me and my teacher has been a tremendous encouragement to me. I hope and pray that things we have discussed will help her to support her own daughter through this terrible and difficult season in her life. After that I had a young woman with small children tell me that she was separating from her husband, and yet another who was trying to help a friend dealing with a similar difficulty. I had never realized how much this affects the church today.
Through all of this, and the messages at Deeper Still, I feel that God is leading me to try to create a ministry to single parents to assist them practically and spiritually. My desire is to meet their needs and draw them into the fellowship of the church where they can be mentored, encouraged, loved and brought into a personal relationship with Christ. And their children can be brought up in the love and admonition of the Lord and the nurture of the church. Young boys like my son can have Godly men who will set a right example for them and help them to become men of God.
Having grown up in an Independent Baptist Church/School, I really identified with the young man that Kay Arthur mentioned was a homosexual and had gotten saved but was so isolated in the church that he felt the need to go back to those who accepted and 'loved' him. This was one of my greatest fears in the being able to give up my idea of the 'ideal family'. I feared judgement by the church, because I was 'divorced', but I had to be obedient to what I believed God wanted me to do. Maybe God knows this is what it will take for Him to get my husband's attention, or maybe He knew I let my husband be in a place that He wanted in my life. That I obeyed my husband and he wanted to follow the world and that is not what God had for me. Maybe God knows that he will never change and He has other plans for my life.....at this point, I don't know. But God will reveal, as He desires, His plans for my life, all I can do is trust and obey!
And so as I have communed at the 'mountain of God' for these past months maybe this new path is one to draw me to my promised land. I pray that as Beth mentioned in the 'Believing God' study that I will be so in love with Jesus Christ and His Word that this hunger and thirst will not subside, and my suffering will be a testimony to the greatness of our God and what He can do when we let Him have control! Hallelujah!!
Thank You so much Ms Kay, Ms Beth, and Priscilla for your surrender, dedication, and obedience and for allowing God to use you to reach out to so many of us out here. God Bless You. You are in our prayers, and may Las Vegas be everything and more that the Atlanta Conference was. Our God IS an Awesome God!
P.S. Ms. Kay, If you read these, I apologize for not mentioning how much I did get out of your message, at the time I asked you to give the rope bracelet to Ms. Beth. Especially in relation to rearing children. Your passion for the message was inspiring and we wanted point 7 because we didn't want to miss anything God had for us because He had clearly stirred your fire. :)