Confess your sins to one another...

I'm humbled by the way God uses me. I am honored. I am in awe. I see His hand at work in so many people around me lately, and I am humbled that I get to witness the great work He is doing.

Since the conference (almost 2 weeks ago), the Lord has done a lot of heart work on me. There has been so much fruit already. As the Lord has granted repentance to me and many other women around me, I have seen a supernatural love come alive in my community and family. There is so much freedom in confession. James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed..." I have been witnessing this everywhere lately. While I was at the conference, a lot of us women confessed our sins to one another and prayed for one another. There was so much healing in just that...but even more healing came in continuing in the way of confession and repentance after the conference.

I came home and asked two friends for forgiveness because I had sinned against them before I had gone to the conference. There is something so crucial about confessing your sins aloud. It is as if your offense is made that more real when it comes out of your mouth...especially if it is being said to the one sinned against. My apology was graciously received by both friends, thankfully.

Today two co-workers come to me in tears (at different times), asking me for forgiveness because of the way their indwelling sin effected our work relationship one day. There's something really humbling and powerful about saying "I forgive you". When you just shrug your shoulders and say, "It's okay, don't worry about it," you are condoning sin. Sin is sin, and we love each other best when we call it that and call it out in each other's lives.

Tonight, the same thing happened in my small group of girls. There was confession, and with it came freedom. It is a glorious thing when all things are brought out into the light. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. Praise the Lord for light!

Too long

It has been too long. I feel like life has been especially crazy in the past couple months. I'm exhausted, but I'm anticipating a break starting today. Although I am still working "full-time", I now have every Wednesday off. Also, tomorrow I will be leaving for the True Women Conference in Ft. Worth, TX. The Lord's timing is always so perfect. Months ago I had the option to go to this conference with my small group in September, or go with my mom and sister and my mom's church in October. I really felt like I was supposed to go with my family in October. And now that it is here, it couldn't have come at a better time. I need to get away and to rest and to be surrounded by encouragement.

My soul has been weary the past month. I am excited to just leave my every day life. Traveling does wonders for me. It clears my head and helps me focus on the Lord. I will blog about all that I learned when I return. If you want to see what I'm up to while I'm there, check out the site: