His Proposal 2013

Everywhere I go, people say... "How was the conference?".
I say "great!". 

I don't know how to describe the weekend. It seemed like stepping out of time and into another dimension for me. I prayed every morning for God to bring the girls and He did. He brought them to a place where they hardly knew anyone, away from the busy-ness of their lives and into
His Presence!
The behind-the-scenes prep takes a long time. The months leading up to the conference, I am constantly asking myself...what am I doing? Yet, I have to. I am COMPELED to. I am commanded to.

 "These older women MUST train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,  

to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God."

Titus 2

As I have studied this passage over the years, the Lord has been very clear about what to teach at the conferences...

What God tells us to teach younger women... 

(A look at the Greek)

1.Love YOUR husband (not somebody else's) 

   Be his FRIEND (phileo love).

2. Love your children 

3. Be discreet (sober, of a sound mind/self-controlled)

4. Chaste (modest, clean, pure)

5. Homemakers (working at home, keeping watch of the home)

6. Good (pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy)

7. Obedient ( a military word meaning to arrange under the command of a leader, to voluntarily yield to) their own husbands.

Why? So the Word of God cannot be spoken evil of.

(God, help me to LIVE this. Not just teach it!!)

So, the weekend consists of teaching the girls how much God loves them, how secure they are in His love, how He wants them to live, what pleases Him, what doesn't, how to produce fruit, how to walk in forgiveness, how to date, God's design for sex, etc...

One of my favorite things about these conferences is that I get to see some of my most favorite people IN THE WORLD. It is like a reunion. We have been serving the Lord together for years and it is always a blast. Serving as a team is a gift. Chase (the worship leader) is amazing. Allen (sound, worship, servant) is always used by God in cool ways. Jennie (we always have fun... no matter what we are doing but co-laboring in the fields with her is A BLAST). Mellette (our sweet gift from God whom we have watched grow from newborn spiritual baby into MORE MATURE than we are!!!). Abby (our single girl representative/ high octane/ lover of Jesus/ world-changer). Kaysie (discipling machine, Word-girl). Tim (my dream-boat husband who moves mountains to get the gospel to these girls every year). The team is great. There is no strife. Only common goal as we are unified in vision to reach the lost and the captives and to strengthen the faith of the girls so that they can THRIVE.
Not to mention all the ones

who come to serve, counsel, pray, and give their time and money to be a part of what God is doing!

This year, we met (in the middle of nowhere) at a camp (which was FABULOUS!)
 where the girls slept in uncomfortable bunk beds with people they didn't know. I was so proud of them. They hung in there as we taught from the Scriptures....MORNING until NIGHT. These girls were hungry... they had ears to hear. They were PRECIOUS.

On Saturday, Kay Arthur walked in while I was teaching. 
I threw up some, about went into labor, and then trusted the Lord to help me speak truth. I should be way more nervous teaching in front of Jesus but there is something about teaching in front of someone who knows God's Word inside and out!! She is so cool though. So beautiful and gracious. I am still stunned she was willing to come and spend the day with us. She rocked THE HOUSE when she taught for 2 hours on Saturday. Good grief... I pray I can finish well like she is. God used her in a huge way in my life and in the lives of the girls. Wish I had her talk recorded for everybody to listen to. 

I have seen so many miracles over the years of ministry with college girls. I have seen the DEAD raised to LIFE before my eyes. Girls who look totally different at the end of the conference than when they came because they have been eternally CHANGED from the inside out. Serving God is better than smoking crack! There is nothing that compares to seeing the power of God performing miracles right before your eyes. 
Captives set free. 
The dead raised to life. 
Hope for the hopeless.

Girls set on fire for God!

I always say, "there ain't no high like THE MOST HIGH!".

This is the couple who took me in and discipled me.

They taught me to love God's Word and how to study it. They showed me true discipleship... it cost them time, energy, and sleep... to deal with a VERY needy college girl (me). It is so awesome that 16 years later, I get to pour into their daughter. I can never thank them enough. Mark is my favorite Bible teacher. You can listen to his teachings HERE.

 Teaching on John 3:16 here... the greatest love story ever told.

Oh that we may KNOW the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge!!

 Jennie and Brian. Lovebirds and ministry partners...

 Sweet Abby... carrying the torch. Being a MODEL.

 Kay Arthur.
(I am still in shock.)

 Some of the girls...

 

 A dream...

 Chase... blowing the roof off the chapel. :)

 Now that is is over, I REST. 
Rest in what God will continue to do in the hearts and the lives of the girls. I love watching Him grow the seeds. 

"So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."

1 Cor 3:7

The girls who hear the Word, receive it, and OBEY it are so blessed. I want that for every girl yet it is up to them to choose how to respond to such a GREAT love. 
I wish I had the words to describe last weekend. It was glorious. Next time, you will just have to come.

Oh, how I pray for a harvest of righteousness in their lives!! 

For YOUR name's sake, Jesus. Raise up a generation to walk with You and serve You!!

 And I WAIT... 

wait on God to make things grow, wait on Jesus to come back for us, and wait on my BABY to be born!!!! 
(I am 3 cm dilated or at least I was the other day...) 
I am so grateful God let me be a part of the conference. He sustained me by His grace and gave me His energy. I have no doubt. I am starting to unravel now. I have been so tired. I pulled a muscle in my back (EXCRUCIATING) and I am worried about delivery.  

We are in the middle of football and soccer season so life goes one. And I don't want to miss a second!!

Homeschooling is hard (but I love it). Jennie and I agree that it can best be described as "trying to push a piano up a muddy hill naked everyday"... Lol. She has the best descriptive imagery. Discipling your children demands ALL of you. More than ALL of you. All of HIM in you. I am so thankful I am just a clingy branch and HE IS THE VINE that will meet all of the children's needs.

 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.

Zec 4:6

  Tim is a HUNK.

 

Now, I will just sit here and think happy thoughts... about the beach. :)
And try to go to my "happy place" as I prepare to deliver our 6th little "love explosion". 
Please pray for baby to get here safely.

This part is so exciting. Baby could come at any second.

This part always reminds me of the coming of Christ!

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

1 Cor 15:51-53

Be Blessed~
Steph