Post If:Gathering

I promised.
I promised to sit down and write a post about If:Gathering. I have a billion things I could write about.
When I imagine coming together with a room full of women to actively participate in something, I am as giddy as anyone. We could be baking...we could be wrapping gifts...we could be watching a movie...but nothing, Not. A. Thing. could be more important to me than being together with a room full of women who are like minded in their love for Jesus. It's a true treasured moment.
I drove from my house to Royston, Georgia. Past Commerce, but before you get fully in to Hartwell. Y'all...there is no Chick-Fil-A and no Starbucks there. Seriously, y'all...for a few minutes I wasn't even sure I was going to have cell service. However, my sweet friend lives nearby and she had worked tirelessly on being an IF:Local host for the Hart/Franklin area...I wanted to support her and I wanted to watch the Gathering with other ladies. And..she let me bunk at her house, so no money lost there and I got 36 hours of refocus. Last year I had watched it from the privacy of my own living room...and although that was amazing, I was itching to experience it with other ladies. So, off to Hart/Franklin I went.
As I got there early, I sat in the parking lot taking on the most spectacular view ever. God seldom lacks in creativity with the painting of the sky, and He did not disappoint then either.
When we began to gather, I sat at the table with my friend Amy, the hostess, and another friend whom I haven't seen in years, Sharon. I also met three other sweet ladies at the table. Their love of Jesus and their honesty in answering the questions was just what If is all about. Sitting at the table sharing your heart and passions, being real and authentic with where you are and what you really believe.
Every speaker loves Jesus. You can tell that when they open their mouths. Their humble spirits and attitudes are real and they are passionate about what they speak of. Beginning with the words from Jennie Allen, whom is so adorable. I mean, if you have ever listened to her, you just get the sense that she could be your best friend immediately and she is just so blown away at what a calling can do in someone's life. The weekend centered around the story of Joshua and Caleb, with each speaker building upon the previous. Angie Smith, Jo Saxton, and Rebekah Lyons each offered their own personal stories in the context of Caleb and Joshua's story...comparing the giants and grasshoppers. I think the most powerful statement during that was "May we not be the 10", referring to the other 10 spies that we were with Caleb and Joshua who said "Oh NO! We can't enter the land - the people who live there are powerful and they are stronger than we are" (Numbers 13:28, 31 my paraphrase). 
I went to bed that night thinking, am I one of the 10? and if not, what if I am surrounded by the 10?
Jen Hatmaker never disappoints. Opening with how her father "overloved" her and her siblings was down right hilarious. Jen spoke primarily about our Faith and the battle it is to believe at times. 

Faith does not mean you understanding everything and never have any doubt. Faith does not demand that God always explains Himself. ~Jen Hatmaker

Powerful. Very powerful. She also pointed out that "Suffering is a tricky bedfellow with a statement of "God is good."" She then spoke of her mom's cancer. Beautifully raw telling of it.
And then she examined the other 10 spies for a minute or seven...starting with them being in bondage for so long, freedom just seemed to much for them to even hope for. She left us with four words - 
Capable.  Higher.  Good.  Trustworthy.
Oh Lord, you are all those things.

We rounded out our morning with Bob and Maria Goff and their story of how they are loving people. and then Shelly Giglio, Lauren Chandler, and Debbie Eaton led us in a prayer time - the desire was to come before God with a broken and contrite heart, saying that He is Enough.

I turned the page in my journal and wrote this:
I want you to say Yes.
I was sitting there staring at it and praying when I wrote this:
Lord, I am saying this to you...I want you to say Yes to me, Yes to my prayer, but as I wrote that all I can hear is you wanting ME to say YES to you.

My mind was circling. I felt the Lord's presence in a new way and a new dialogue began as I started praying about what it means to say Yes to Him.

Welcome to the stage, Christine Caine. This chick never lacks in enthusiasm and fervor for our Lord. I always enjoy listening to her and hearing how God is moving in her life and what word she will bring. She started in Joshua 1. I was writing down things as fast as I could:

Until we are ready and willing to serve, you are not ready. Service prepares you for battle. Service is the key to our destiny. 

And then she stopped at the podium. And this is what I heard:

Sometimes you are here and you are waiting for God, and you just figured out He's actually waiting for you.

Amen.
Wait. What? wait, what? I actually took a different pen to that statement in my journal because I wrote WHAT?
I can honestly say I can't recall anything she said after that. I was completely stunned sitting there thinking Lord, is that you? Are you waiting on ME? 
Overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. I knew in my heart God was calling out to Me to say Yes to Him. I wasn't sure what all of that meant honestly. Was/Is he asking me for something specific to say Yes to? 

Bianca Olthoff closed out the time after an amazing discussion with a handful of chicks discussing Unity and Racial Bridge Building. We need friendships with people who don't look like us, it gives us all value that every story has a face and a name and it helps us to build deeper and better friendships. Bianca ended with Joshua 6 and the promises God has made for all of us. 

As I drove home that night, I was just talking out loud to God. I wanted so bad for him to just answer me, but all I kept hearing him say was "Say Yes." I flooded my mind with all the possibilities that He may want me to say Yes to. I won't bore you with my vivid imagination. But just know my dreams were BIG. All of this swirling in my head, warranted a phone call to my mentor Linda. As I purged all the details of the weekend, I kind of knew what He was really trying to say. He just wanted me to say Yes to Him. Not to some thing or some idea. Just a simple Yes to Him.
She confirmed those thoughts and gave me this verse to mark my weekend - I took my marker and a rock, and wrote YES LORD. Colossians 2:6-7 from the Message:
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
My rock sits on my desk, a small reminder each day that I am saying YES to Him. 

-Karen