LETTING GO.....

    So back in the fall when the whole topic of Winter Retreat came up I was super pumped to trade in my crew here at home for the students going.  My thought process at that point and leading up to the actual day we arrived was getting my "girls" to see God in a whole new way. To experience Him like NEVER before and to witness their lives being challenged and forever changed.  BIG expectations I had, for "my girls" of course. My focus the first night was on them, not me. This retreat was for the students right? WRONG! It was for ANYONE and EVERYONE that was willing to HEAR the voice of God speaking. And He DID  in fact speak.  
     Before I go on any further, let me go back. Our "theme" verse for the weekend was...

~John 10:10~ "The theif comes to kill, steal, and destroy, BUT I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."   

 Satan, the theif, he was present at the retreat. His tactics never cease to amaze me, BUT God was there too. He was BIGGER, STRONGER, and working all around us. I watched Him move during the drama presentations, the times we were in the Word, communion, free time, games, quiet times in our cabins, in relationships that needed mending, and during the times of worship. For me personally, the times of worship were POWERFUL! I had a chance to give back to my saviour, but at the same time be reminded of all He has done for us. The one song that still rings through my mind is "Beautful Things". The words of this song are so comforting and promising. The chorus goes: "You make beautful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things out of us." Then a little further into the song, at the bridge it says, "and you make me new, you are making me new". WOW! Think about that for just a minute. God isn't finished with us yet. PRAISE HIM!!!!!! I for one have so much that needs changed and strengthened and worked on. Those words state that He is still making me new.  So let Satan come, and try and steal, kill, and destroy because Jesus promises that He too has come. He has come to give us LIFE to the fullest! We are the ones that stand in the way, NOT Christ. 

     The weekend was so much more than I ever imagined it to be. I had a chance to focus on the  areas of my life that were in desperate need of attention. The sin of anger has held me captive for so long. It has destroyed relationships in my life over the years and for the first time I felt God saying to let go. To stop allowing satan to kill, steal, and destroy who I am, BUT instead to allow Jeusu to give me the life He intended for me. A FULL ONE!  I'm not healed. Not yet anyway. It is a daily struggling to not yell at the 6 beautiful blessings in my life. I am constantly catching myself. I have to daily make myself ask Him for help and sometimes forgivness. I was challenged by a dear freind to find scripture based on anger and memorize it, for that is such a fantastic defense. So, the verse I am working on right now is; Proverbs 29:11, "The fool gives full vent to his anger, BUT the wise man keeps himself under control."  WOW! Nothing like being called a fool.
My challenge for 2011 is to let go and let God work in my life. To change me into what He wants for me instead of what I want. His ways are ALWAYS better and He promises us that He has come to give life to the fullest. We just need to allow Him to do that.