The "Wower" of the Weekend!

A couple weekends ago I went to Fort Worth for the Passion 2011 Conference. It was incredible in so many ways, but the HUGE wower of the whole thing for me was...(drum roll) Kristian Stanfill!!



I love him! Well, his music that is. :)

Seriously, worshiping with him was so great. You could see his heart and love for God. And I love that the songs he sang weren't just about what God has done, or is doing, etc. They were about Jesus. That's it. Just who He is.

So, I'm in love with Kristian Stanfill...or at least his music. You should check it out! kristianstanfill.com

Getting Set Up

Ok. I know what this feels like. Maybe you do too.

Someone you know says, "Hey! You should meet so-and-so! You'd be great together!" or something similar.

My instant reaction is to close up, disappear and maybe they will forget they were even talking to me. One time I literally got under my desk while this guy told me about a guy I'd be good with. No joke. There were witnesses.

Last weekend Francis Chan (at Passion 2011) talked about this very thing. His family had a young lady living with them. After a few years he thought, "We need to get her married off."

She was a good sport and would do just about anything Francis came up with. He'd introduce her to all kinds of guys and never missed an opportunity for a possible relationship.

One time, he told her, "Ok, there's a plumber coming over today. I want you to go make some brownies and at just the right time, come out with them and act surprised that we are there."

And...she did! Though, every "set-up" that Francis tried one of them would be like, "Yeah, she's great!" or "He's ok..." He just couldn't make them fall in love. No matter how many times you set-up just the right scenarios, you can't make someone fall in love.

He related this to Jesus. Sometimes we try to bring someone to church, maybe even on a weekend where they are giving away free stuff, showing a movie, etc. We try to live our lives in a way that makes them want it. Granted, yes, we should live our lives in a way that reflects Him and makes others want it. But, you can't make someone fall in love with Him. It has to be their decision. They have to "get" it.

They may say, "Yeah...He's nice..." Then we're like, "Really? That's it? Don't you see what I do?"

So, our role is to stop setting people up. Seriously...you can't make love happen. When they have a real encounter with God, their eyes & hearts will be opened. We just need to focus on our relationship with Him. He's not just an idea, a nice story, but a person. Whom we love and have a personal relationship.


Oh, and that girl found a guy on her own and they are expecting a child soon.

This is ridiculous

I went to Passion Fort Worth this weekend and was so refreshed! It would take at least 1 book to explain what happened and what God showed me personally, not to mention the other 11,000 people who were there as well and what happened to them.

I heard amazing worship from some of my favorites: Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Kristian Stanfill, Charlie Hall, David Crowder & even LeCrae! All of these people inspire me.

I heard moving stories and sermons from Francis Chan, Louie Giglio (My fav) and John Piper.

I made some awesome friends, which I didn't think would happen, and I'm hoping some of them will be lifelong.

I'll blog more later about Francis Chan's story about setting people up & God's love for us. I'll talk about the 1 person who gave me the "WOW!" factor of the weekend. I'll share Louie's awesome message about carrying Jesus' name.

I could tell you countless things about all of that, but what it comes down to is...Jesus.

Something was mentioned about what God thinks of us & I realized I need to let that sink in. Not just have head knowledge of it, but to "get" it, in my heart. Here's the list I came up with in about 3 minutes:

You love me, personally.

You are crazy about me.

You love EVERYTHING about me.

You love being around me.

You love my laugh.

You think I'm beautiful.

You believe in me, even when I don't.

You love my voice.

You love when I sing to You.

You think I'm gorgeous.

You know me.

You think I'm enough.

You think I'm smart.

You see HUGE potential in me.

You listen no matter how long I talk.

You love me when I mess up.

You love me when I'm simply a mess.

You love me when I don't love me.

You love me when I question You.

You are my biggest fan.

You still have a plan for my life when my life is falling apart.

You are beside me when I wonder where You are.

You are my friend when no one is friendly.

You make everyday more than good.

You are my joy.

You inspire me.

You forgive me, every time.

You are my source & provider.

You will always be my home.


Man, it takes me a whole day just to let ONE of those sink in! And then the next day I have to learn it all over again, like I have short-term memory loss!

Yet, everyone of them is true. For me. For you.

Look at the list again. It's ridiculous! It really is. Who else is all of that and more? I only know One.


What do you need to grasp from this list? What do you need to add to it?