Lessons from LIFE retreat

I am excited about this blog post. I have just had a super great weekend and I want to record some of the details so I can look back and remember what took place. I hope that when you read these words you will be blessed.

I had the honor of being a part of a LIFE group this semester at Church of the Highlands. The 12 weeks spent in this group have taught me a lot of things. This past weekend was the LIFE retreat which was just a culmination of the whole 12 weeks with the opportunity for a lot of prayer and receiving freedom from a lot of junk. I want to talk about the retreat itself, what I was freed from and what I am thankful for.

Sometimes, at retreats there is a great amount of talking. This retreat was different. There was speaking but almost all of it was straight scripture and the majority of the time was spent in worship and prayer. Each person at the retreat had the opportunity to pray with someone about each topic/issue that was discussed. It was great.

The first area we discussed was Lordship. During this time, I realized just how much I try to control. I just really let that go. This is probably one of the hardest areas for me because it is so easy to pick it back up because new things come up all of the time that I feel like I "need" to control. I realized that I have to be cautious about picking the control back up and I really have to let God have it all.

The second area was rejection and unforgiveness. This was the first moment when I was given the opportunity to really praise the Lord for what He has done for me. I have struggled with unforgiveness but I have moved past that. I was grateful for that reminder of what the Lord has done.

The third area was purity. This was another moment when I was really able to thank Him for what He has done in me. I am blessed that the Lord has really protected me from sexual sin. As a single person, I do have to guard against impure thoughts. It is so easy to let my mind wander and before long I am way down the wrong path. I am proclaiming that "I have the mind of Christ!"

The fourth area was shame. Shame is not from the Lord. God gives revelation so we can use that revelation and allow Him to change us. Shame comes from the enemy. I was one of the last people to go forward for prayer because of the way it was set up and I was so thankful for the time to pray and ask God to search me. I was shown that I had shame over the way that I have treated my parents in the past. There have been times in my life where I disrespected them and did not consider them valuable because they didn't think like I did. I also felt shame for my lack of spiritual maturity. Satan really tried to hit me with, "You've been a Christian for this long, you should know more than you do." I am taking captive those thoughts and rejoicing that I don't have any condemnation in Christ. I am moving forward and am grateful for God's goodness.

The fifth area was healing for a broken heart. I went to my prayer partner and I was so thankful again for how God has protected me. I haven't suffered any kind of abuse. Praise Him.

The sixth area was mammon. I told the lady I prayed with that I am grateful for the timeliness of this talk. As I get ready to begin my first "big girl" job, it is a big time regarding finances for me. I will go from making nothing to making a living that will support me and possibly a family one day. I have to guard against materialism and the spirit of mammon. From the first cent I make, I want to honor God with that money. I want to let Him show me what to do with it.

The seventh area was fear. I must say at this point that I realized that every woman I had prayed with was the perfect person for that specific time. I love how God does that. God brought to mind the fear I had of never getting married and also the fear I had of being rejected when I shared the things of God. My prayer partner really spoke some amazing things over me and reminded me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am a dynamic woman. God will bless me with an amazing husband and I will be a treasure to him. So exciting.

The last area was heaviness. I was super excited that after these other prayers that I didn't feel any heaviness. I had released what God had brought to the surface and He had sealed it with his blessing.

This entire experience was so good for me. I am excited about what is to come!

Until next time-

Les