The Priceless Conference - Recap

I can recall months ago, asking the Lord about the hurts of my past. I pondered the things that clouded my vision and influenced my decisions in my teens and early twenties.  I wondered what the purpose was in all of it.  I’m so grateful that the Lord has healed those places of my heart that were broken.  But I still couldn’t see what the benefit was going to be for having endured those trials.  I wanted to know how the Lord was going to redeem those days... And in my quiet moments, the Lord revealed to me that it all had a purpose.  That what I had gone through, it was to help me to point the way for others.  That He would bring beauty from the ashes of those long ago days.

I think that is why teen girls have such a special place in my heart.  I’m well aware that the issues today’s youth face are drastically different than what you or I dealt with. (Shout out to the Class of ’94!) But at the heart of it all, when you drill down to the core issues, we are all the same – the teens of past generations and the youth of today. We all wonder if we are loved, if we are special, if we are seen/understood. I’ve often felt, if I could only share with teen girls what I had learned on my journey to adulthood, what the Lord has taught me; maybe it might help them right where they are now.

God placed the vision for the Priceless Conference in my heart about 10 months ago.  And this past Saturday, He brought that vision to LIFE!

Our team of volunteers could not wait to get started on Saturday morning! We were welcomed into the beautifully decorated sanctuary. Our time together kicked off with live worship led by the awesome West Ridge Worship Team.  Then I had the honor of giving the first message of the day. 

For me, the opportunity of sharing God’s Word is not one I take lightly.  I believe that the biggest thing the Lord wanted me to tell the girls was how deeply He loves them.  So I shared a bit of my testimony but most of all I reminded the young ladies just how deep, wide, and amazing God’s love for them is.  I also touched on the topics of how Jesus loves us and how we as ladies are to respond to that love.  Caring for your body, what you wear, how you act, and even social media were all points I brought up.

At the end of each message, all of the speakers had different labels for the girls to come up to the altar and take.  I told them that they could place the label on their phones, journals, etc. – basically anywhere they would be reminded of the messages from the day.  The labels I had set out for everyone from my message said, “I am loved.” I have to say, it was such a beautiful moment to finish speaking and see all the girls come up to take their labels!

Small group discussion was also a part of the day.  It is so vital for the tweens and teens to be able to process out loud their thoughts and “take-aways” from each session.   Our conference was blessed to have a dynamic group of women to lead each small group.  These leaders engaged their groups in meaningful conversations and helped the girls to review what they heard in the messages.

 

After small group time we took a break and broke for lunch.  Next came our second session.  Following more worship, we welcomed our next speaker of the day.  Our second speaker, Nicole Yoder, began her message by having the girls write down on note cards adjectives that they would use to describe themselves.  Nicole shared how the world sometimes sees us one way, but God sees us another way – as His masterpiece.  She reminded us of the importance listening to God’s Voice, and how to tell the difference between what He says to us and what the world tries to say to us.  Following the conclusion of Nicole’s message, she invited the girls to come up and take labels declaring, “I am a masterpiece.”

We broke then for another small group session. Following small groups, the girls were guided to the craft area.  The young ladies were instructed that they were going to be making collages revealing who God says they are. It was so cool to see how each collage was unique! Everyone took their time in creating their beautiful works of art!

Once craft time was complete, it was time for dinner.  We all enjoyed conversation and laughter over a delicious meal.  Once our bellies were filled up, it was time to begin session three!

After our final worship set for the day, the Bloom Ministry’s Pastor, Jennifer Goebbel, shared with the young ladies the last message of the event.  Jennifer shared with the girls that just as we get dressed with various items of clothing each morning, that there are spiritual things we need to remember to “wear” throughout the day as well.  She encouraged the girls to be bold in loving others well, to share Jesus with other people, and to live a life that is set apart.  She reminded the girls that if we as believers look like everyone else, how will anyone see Jesus? At the conclusion of her message, Jennifer invited the girls to come up for their final label of the event: “I am priceless.” But she also challenged the girls, asking them to stand revealing their desire to live life for Jesus!

We wrapped up the event with another round of small group discussion.  Then it was time for dessert and parents to arrive!

I’m pretty sure I am not the only one who left the conference Saturday evening exhausted but so, so joyful.  I witnessed girls worshipping our Lord, encouraging one another, and engaging in real and honest conversations. You guys, it is such a beautiful thing watching this next generation draw near to Jesus. But what brings me the most joy is knowing that God is going to use the Priceless Conference to transform all who were there. From the tweens and teens who attended to all the volunteers, I am confident that God will use the Priceless Conference to impact all of us for His Kingdom purposes!

Post by: Marcy Gates

I’d like to just give a shout out to each and every person who volunteered their time, talents, and efforts to the Priceless Conference in one way or another.  What a blessing it was to have so many wonderful volunteers give up time on a Saturday to serve the Lord and the youth of our community.  You all are awesome and have the Bloom Ministry’s deepest gratitude!

Enjoy some more photos from the Priceless Conference!

 

Time Well Spent

My husband, Donald, and I went on a breakfast date the other day.  We have a special, out of the way place that we like to visit often. As we sat across from each other over a table of pancakes, bacon, and fried eggs, we reminisced about what our “dates” used to look like not that long ago...

Back when we only had two little ones, Donald and I used to work opposite shifts.  Even with our crazy schedules, we still had to utilize daycare.  Did I mention that our two oldest daughters are only 15 months apart? Well, they are.  That meant we had two babies in diapers at once. On top of that, one was on very expensive, super-special formula.  (One would have thought that each can was painstakingly crafted by hand by some sort of powdered formula artisans and packaged in a 14 carat gold canister, but I digress.)

Anyhow, we had no extra money at the time.  Like zilch.  That meant there were no movie dates or fancy dinners out.  Plus, since we worked opposite shifts, we really couldn’t take advantage the free babysitters we had. (Shout out to all the grandparents and Auntie Jill!)

Donald and I reached the point where we needed some way to have a “date” without leaving the house and without spending extra money.  That’s when I had the idea to start renting movies from the library.  It was free, I could request whatever we wanted to watch, and we could watch it at any time.  Plus, did I mention it was free?!? That’s when we also discovered that Aldi has some tasty (and inexpensive) snacks!  So for our “date nights” we would watch a movie and eat our special snack.  It wasn’t super fancy but it was exactly what we both needed at the time. 

Looking back I treasure those at-home “date nights”.  I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  Those evenings brought us time together as a couple to reconnect, have some laughs, all while we snuggled up on the couch.

Now we find ourselves in yet another season.  The season of all three kids in school all day.  The season of me staying home and Donald having a day off during the week that we can use to catch a matinee movie or enjoy breakfast out. And it’s amazing.  I like to think that we are even closer now and stronger as a couple for having endured that season of our marriage back then. Investing in your marriage in the here and now will always pay off as the years go by. 

And I like to think that’s how it is with our relationship with the Lord as well.  There will always be different seasons.  Seasons when you can dig down deep into His Word with no regard to time and seasons when maybe all you can read is but 5 minutes before the baby starts to cry.  Times when you are experiencing incredible closeness and times when you wonder if He is near (which, He so very much is, by the way). Seasons when you are on the mountaintop, praising Him and seasons when you are in the valley, crying out in prayer.

But can I tell you, it is so worth it to keep that relationship going.  It is so worth it to adjust and figure out a new way to spend time with the Lord when what you are used to gets mixed up. Maybe that means hanging out in your car just to get a moment alone and singing along to some worship music.  Maybe that means shifting your prayer time from the wee hours of the morning to the end of the day.  It could even mean putting down your phone (eek!) and picking up your Bible. Because the thing is, the closer you draw near to God, the closer He will draw near to you.  Your relationship with Him will grow deeper and stronger. And I promise you, just like a date with your sweetheart, it will never be time that is wasted but time well spent.

“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.” Proverbs 8:17 (NLT)

Post by: Marcy Gates

The Names of God

When I was a little girl my Pappy would call me his Peach or Peaches. My dad had a nickname for me too, he called me Buckaroo. When I played basketball in middle school my nickname was Little Red. In high school some of the kids called me James. While in college I had a group of friends that would switch the first and last initials and we would all call each other different names. I was, Limmie Jee. I fondly remember all these names. I can remember the person who started the nickname and look back affectionately on those relationships and what they meant to me at the time. 

I met my husband in college and quickly learned that names were also important in his family. The funny and also sweetest thing is how their nicknames for each other would morph. I can’t remember all of them. The best way for me to explain it is that they started out as one name, take Kenyan for example (my husband’s running nickname), and morphed into something completely different, like Yommers. Kenyan to Yommers? See hard to explain. Nonetheless it was an endearing quality I experienced in his family and he somehow now affectionately calls me Bagel. You’ll have to ask him how that started! (Because I can’t remember) He mostly just calls me babe though and rarely calls me by my actual name, Jimmie Lee. 

My oldest calls me “Hey Mom” and my youngest calls me mommy. 

That is approximately 9 different names I have had over my life time, not including my actual name. I have a feeling you might have some nicknames amongst your people too! Now let me tell you why I’m writing about names today...

Way back in October I participated in something called a “Hand Lettering Challenge” on Instagram. This consisted of using hand lettering to create a piece of art for each day’s prompt and then posting a picture. The prompts for that month were some of the names of God. Did you know that God has a whole lot of different names?! 

Each time I would hand letter the name for that day, I would also look up the scripture for that particular name. And it occurred to me that each person God has a relationship with has a different name for him. Many times it came from a promise or God’s faithfulness in that person’s life.  It made me think of all the different names I’ve had and all the different names I’ve had for people in my life and it just clicked and made sense. 

Each name had a special meaning to that person. For Hagar it was El Roi, the God who sees (Genesis 16:13) For Abraham it was Jehovah Jireh, God provides (Genesis 22:14). For Jesus it was ABBA, Papa (Galatians 4:6-7).

And of course during this season, it’s no different. He is Jesus, the babe who came through Mary. Emmanuel, God with us. Christ the Messiah. Prince of Peace. Yeshua, Deliverer. And so much more!

I have heard people be confused about how God could have so many different names. But I’m excited that through this hand lettering venture, God taught me a simple explanation that I’m so grateful for! 

Which one of God’s names resonates with you? What promises has He fulfilled in your life that brought you deeper into relationship with Him? How have you seen His faithfulness?

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni

A Better Way

There are two specific subjects that I don't really write about or speak to, it's like my own unspoken rule for myself. Those two subjects are parenting and marriage. There are plenty of experts out there who have things to say about these two very important subjects and I am not one of them. In fact I sometimes joke that I really have no clue what I'm doing I'm just figuring it out as I go. I have this feeling that maybe that's true for... most of us! (Even the experts!) Recently, this little thing in the book of Matthew regarding marriage caught my attention and it has been on my heart ever since. So, I'm breaking my own silly made up rule and I would like to share what the Lord showed me with you. 

There is this passage in the book of Matthew, chapter 19, where Jesus is having this conversation about marriage with some Pharisees and his disciples. These couple of verses are packed full of truth and life so let's take a look...

First Jesus lays out the original plan, 

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV)

And the Pharisees question "Then why did Moses allow divorce?" Then, Jesus gives them a really good answer…

“Jesus said, “Moses provided for divorce as a concession to your hard heartedness, but it is not part of God’s original plan. I’m holding you to the original plan, and holding you liable for adultery if you divorce your faithful wife and then marry someone else. I make an exception in cases where the spouse has committed adultery.” Matthew 19:8-9 (MSG)

And this is where this passage really caught my attention: “Jesus’ disciples objected, “If those are the terms of marriage, we’re stuck. Why get married?” Matthew 19:10 (MSG)

This is where I found myself asking questions. It seemed to me like they were saying "Well, if there's no way out then why lock ourselves in in the first place?" "Why commit if we can no longer do what we want?" 

We have heard that the statistics say that at least 50% of all marriages end in divorce. In the year 2017 are we still approaching marriage the same way the people of Jesus' day approached marriage? Would we be like the Pharisees or the disciples and say "If divorce isn't an option then it's just better not to marry!" Are our hearts hardened toward the truth of marriage? 

Let's see how Jesus responds to his disciples...

“But Jesus said, “Not everyone is mature enough to live a married life. It requires a certain aptitude and grace. Marriage isn’t for everyone. Some, from birth seemingly, never give marriage a thought. Others never get asked—or accepted. And some decide not to get married for kingdom reasons. But if you’re capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it.” Matthew 19:11-12 (MSG)

I just love how Jesus wraps it up! "...if you are capable of growing into the largeness of marriage, do it." I just love the truth and life in His answer. Marriage may not be for everyone and that is okay, but if you feel called into that ministry then do it! This changes the way I approach my marriage. It moves me from the mindset of "We have to get it all right, right now, or that means we're failing somehow." to the mindset of "We are growing into the largeness of something God has set before us." It reminds me that there is something bigger than myself and that's why I keep at it. To me, there is such freedom in His words here. And oh my goodness we could sit and unpack all these truths for days, but it's already been a bit lengthy, so I will leave you with this... 

Ultimately what this truth says is that Jesus gives us a better way. The law may have laid out one way for us, but when Jesus came, He fulfilled the law. This, gave us a better way! Throughout the New Testament, you consistently see Jesus showing us a better way to do life, we just have to follow Him!

I would like to encourage you to sit with this passage this week. Read Matthew 19:1-12 and see what part stands out to you. Where is God leading you? What is He teaching you? I know for me reading this passage was a reminder that it is about the heart we are approaching each season with. Am I trying to live this life in my own strength? Or am I looking to Jesus and following a better way? We’d love to hear from you! What is the Lord showing you here? Leave your comments below!

Post by: Jimmie Lee DiIanni