Exhaustingly Refreshed!

I am exhausted.

Physically.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

But I am good. Very good.

As my previous post shared, our dear friends Paige and Michael embarked on their newest life adventure when they left for Ohio on Monday. That meant our weekend was filled with helping pack and move them, hosting goodbye gatherings, and trying to keep our emotions in tact as our last moments together came to a close. I was doing pretty well with all of it until they were turning the corner to leave. Seeing that big moving truck getting farther away and hearing Paige screaming final goodbyes and I loves you's broke me! I lost it! I just bawled like a baby! I miss them so much already but am also very excited to see how the Lord's plans unfold for their lives because, if there is anything I've learned from all of the transitions God has taken me through over the years, it is that our life in Him will always mean change but that is a good thing. Change means we are moving forward and not stagnant. It means we gain a new perspective on Him and get to experience more of the life we were created to live. It is an adventure and one that only God can take us on.

One of the hardest parts of the Baileys leaving when they did was that Zach has been out of town on business since Monday morning. So as they left I then had to go back into my empty house and spend the night all alone. Not good for a saddened heart. So, in addition to missing the Baileys I am missing him terribly! I always think that I'm going to use the time he's away to relax and get some of my personal tasks accomplished. I actually look forward to it before he leaves. Then the day comes for him to go and I start missing him the second he steps out the door! He will be home in a couple of hours and I can hardly wait! I just love that man to pieces!

On this occasion he was able to request the days he'd be away. He chose this week because I was also going to be away. (Not that that makes being apart any better!) Our school had a retreat for us outside of the city (It so reminded me of IV retreats from back in the day!) and now being in Houston I appreciate those escapes more than ever. There were so many trees! And so few buildings and people! It was so lovely! I can't say it was restful (hence the opening of this post) but for as much as I feel exhausted in my physical body, I know my spirit has been refreshed.

We were only there one night but what a night it was! Two of our pastors, Bob Phillips and Billy Burton, came to be with us. Along with them was Leif Hetland. He has spoken at our church on many occasions but I have never appreciated him as much as I do now. He is often referred to as "The Apostle of Love" and he lives to proclaim the Father's love to the world. It just oozes out of him! At the retreat him "simply" shared with us some of his testimony of his encounter with with the Lord that transformed his life and ministry. Then he and the pastors came around and loved on us, spoke blessings over us, and spoke into us as Sons and Daughters. (My next post will be about what the Lord did/showed/shared with me during that time.) It really was one of the most powerful, sweet, amazing, precious, revelatory encounters I've had with the Lord. I am eager to see the fruit of this time spent focused so purely on pursuing His heart.

So, here I am now resting up some and reflecting on the past week's events. Oh! That reminds me. Last week we had Judy Tuyman speak at school. She spoke on the prophetic and we did many "activations" to better "go with the flow of the Spirit". It was a blast! My biggest revelation came through realizing when in, for example, 1 Corinthians it tells us that prophecy if for the edification of the church. Basically, I just really had this understanding of why God would even want to move in our midst in this way. It really all does come back to love. It is to edify...encourage...build people up! The Truth of of this really hit me because after three days of "practicing" all of this, we were all so overjoyed and felt soooo loved! I could literally see the Body being edified.

Now, I know this post is crazy long already but I just have to add one more thing...

My prayer going into this school is that the Lord will transform me. That He will soften all the hard places in me. That I will be so in love with Him and have such a radical invasion of His presence in my life that I can effortlessly love the world around me. That His love will be dripping from my being! So, with everything we learn and all the times I'm with the Lord I can't help but think about how things like prophecy and healing aren't just for the "fun" of the church or "our inheritance", but they are ways to reveal Him to ALL people. I kind of see it as using our privilege of relationship with the Father to introduce Him to a world of people who so desperately want nothing more than just to be loved, to know they belong, and are known. These are things I've known with my head for so long but I believe a true understanding is coming. It is exciting!

With that I will stop. I need to go pray! Ha!!!! Love it!