IF

Um, yes, I look a bit tired.  But WHO CARES!?!?!
It's JEN HATMAKER!

It's not very often that I find myself speechless.  This will come as no surprise to many of you.  I am a lot like my dad in the sense that I'm pretty sure people want to hear me talk about anything and everything.  However, last weekend I found myself in the presence of my BFF, Jen Hatmaker, and I found myself a bit speechless.  Star-struck if you will.  I wish I would have just remained speechless, but instead I rambled on nervously about how my friends think I stalk her, and on and on and on.  Oh.my.lanta.  Just stop talking my head is telling my mouth, but I can't.  I'm already in too deep and she is already thinking I am beyond psycho and worth filing a restraining order on.

But then.

She stood up in front of 2,000 women, and spoke the words God gave her.  And I could hear God telling me that she, although quite amazing and cool, is simply doing what He has called her to.  She doesn't demand fame or fortune, nor does she live a lavish life.  She is just following hard after Him.  And all the sudden she went from becoming my invisible BFF who I truly do stalk, to a human walking down a narrow path in a broken world, who said yes to God, the same as I could....IF only I would.

How do I explain this IF:Gathering I attended last weekend with 2,000 other women locally, and hundreds of thousands of other women electronically from all over the globe?  It's hard to do at best.


Women of Faith on steroids?  Perhaps that is accurate.


Beyond anything I have ever attended?  You could say that.


God-inspired?  Definitely.

Full of the Holy Spirit?  Yes, He was there.

Moving and inspirational?  Quite.

Challenging and life changing?  Certainly.

Ready for our 6:30 flight out of Des Moines.
Austin, TX, here we come!

Last October my man surprised me on our anniversary with tickets to this sold-out event, airline tickets, and hotel reservations.  Be still my ever loving heart.  This man is a keeper.  To top things off, my partner in crime for this event was arranged to be none other than my mom.  Hear me when I say, I was weeping like a little girl in Bravo after opening such a fab gift.  What a rarity to get to take a trip without my littles, and just my mom.  Bless my man for making it happen.

The minute the event started on Friday afternoon we knew there was something happening at this Gathering.  Something big.  God's spirit was there among us, and it left us sitting on the edge our seats in eager anticipation of what was yet to come.

We sang amazing songs, such as Break Every Chain, Good Good Father, Oceans, Even So Come, Sovereign Over Us, and more.  Listen to them.  They are good, and will move you, even while you sit at your computer and pretend to read my blog.  And go ahead and sing along with them, God will be pleased with your worship, even if you're in your jammies with your hair in a messy tail and no make-up on.  God still loves you woman.

Speaker after speaker blew us away with what they spoke based on the topic of FAITH, and to be honest, I would never be able to hold your attention long enough to lay out what each one said.  I'm just not that cool.  So, without further ado, here is my
Top 10 Take-away Quotes from my weekend:

1.  "Move from lives of sight to lives of faith" -Jennie Allen, session 1

Jen Hatmaker

2. "God is good.  You know it's true in the day, you find out if it's true in the night." -Jen Hatmaker, session 2

3.  "Surround yourself with those who will surround your bed on your last day." -Bob Goff, session 2

4.  "God is the Holy Here." -Ann Voskamp, session 2

Christine Caine

5.  "I am not the God of I was, I'm the God of I AM." -Christine Caine, session 3

6.  "Service is the key to destiny.  It means you trust God more than you trust your own marketing." -Christine Caine, session 3

7.  "Faithful does not equal fearless.  It means you have more faith than fear." -Christine Caine, session 3

8.  "Results are God's responsibility, response is ours." -Bianca Olthoff, session 4

9.  "Impossible situations are not intimidating to God." -Bianca Oltoff, session 4

10.  "God gives us the grace we need for right now.  Not tomorrow, not next week, right now." -Lynne Hybels, session 3


The theme of the whole event remains "IF God is real...THEN what?"  So I'm asking myself the same thing.  It's one of those scary questions that you maybe would rather not ask, because if you ask, you might will get an answer that takes you way, way, way out of your comfort zone.  And it is there that you realize you need to have faith in a God that you cannot see, so you can accomplish a purpose that is impossible on your own.

IF you dare ask yourself what your life should really look like if God is real, then take comfort in this verse as you move forward, because trust me, you will need something to cling to when God calls you to do something crazy...

I am before all things, and in Me all things hold together.

-Colossians 1:17

Please note that my feelings were only a little hurt when Jen Hatmaker didn't address me by name when I met her.  It's hurtful when your BFF doesn't acknowledge you in public, but I'm over it.  

Um, this cutest little necklace
was our ticket to the event...