While I definitely didn’t intend for my blog to be (always) gushing about James River Assembly, the church I attend in Ozark, Missouri, I can also share that sometimes you just know when certain things are inserted into your life and this church continues to breathe influence into my life that couldn’t be more well timed.  We just finished the 9th annual Designed For Life Women’s Conference and it was AMAZING!  We heard from Charlotte Gambill who leads Life Church in England, John & Helen Burns, who started Victory Christian Centre (now known as Relate Church in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada),  Nancy Alcorn of Mercy Ministries, Donna Crouch of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, Marilyn Skinner of Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda in Africa  and Debbie Lindell of James River Women, a ministry under the umbrella of James River Assembly.

Every single message contained life-giving words….God-inspired truths that resonated across the hearts of the 5,500 women who were there.  We heard:

• That God is looking for movement through us.
• You have to choose your position in life AND your disposition in life.
• That the best part of life is who you get to do it with.
• That some of the greatest pain in the world stems from “Dad” issues.  That every child is born connected to Mom but their self-identity and strength comes from their Dad.
• That everything we need to live a full and abundant life is already in us in seed form.  It takes the Holy Spirit to water and fertilize each individual seed to help us have a life that flourishes that can then feed others.
• If our children had to live on the power of our words, would they be able to?  A person’s childhood is the reference point of their life.  We must take responsibility for the atmosphere in our homes.
• Time is the currency of life. (LOVE this one!)
• Relationships should be based on commitment not convenience.
• Pressure has a way of revealing exactly who and what we are made of.

I was especially excited about Project 12, which is an initiative to help encourage and inspire us to make a difference in the lives of others around us.  We have been talking at work alot about this same type of focus for helping people around us and this will help us take it to the next level.  The fundamental belief is that if we Impact ONE person in our community we will make a difference in the WORLD.  I love the following quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson….

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882); Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

It goes without saying that I simply can’t wait for next year’s DFL Conference which is being held at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri.  Debbie’s goal is to have 10,000 girls there and given the revolutionary hearts that her conference sparked this year, I would guess that she will hit that mark!