Church & Family Life

We recently had the great pleasure of attending the 2021 Church & Family Life Conference on The Theology of the Family. *edited: topics are listed in the June 18, 2021 post, along with links to messages: http://causeme2hear.blogspot.com/2021/06/theology-of-family.html.

Every single message was such a blessing and we all learned so much from them.  They were edifying, convicting, hopeful.  But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Kevin Swanson's message, “A Family Mess and a Hidden Mercy.”  It is definitely a must-listen!  You can listen to it here: https://vimeo.com/553806503. It's less than an hour and well worth every second spent.

We had such a great time reconnecting with so many old friends.  (I can’t believe I didn’t get a family photo!!!😳) What a joy it was to see long distance friends again.  I'm always amazed that we just pick up right where we left off, like no time has passed at all and there's just such a comfort level there.  

Late night Hymn Sing at the outdoor amphitheater...SO sweet!

There have been LOTS of weddings in the past 2 years (last year's conference was cancelled because of the mess).  It was fun to hear all the stories.  I spent quite a bit of time talking with an old friend who, after only having sons marry, was thrilled to have a daughter marry and enjoy the blessings that have come with that.  You know the old saying, "A son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for life."  Her stories made me laugh (and cry) but also made me think about where I'm at.  I have seen a couple of mothers let go of their sons well and I am already praying that I will be one of them.  I know I have a lot of helpers who will keep me in line...🤪

I pray that they choose Godly women who will make them a better servant of Christ, always pushing them to a closer walk with Him, with a focus on eternity, not temporal.  Incidentally, that's what I pray for my girls, too. 

It's always hard to wrap it up and head home to real life.  It would be so nice to live in a daily environment of just soaking in life changing messages and fellowship with other believers in an atmosphere of reverence and worship.  Daily family worship is wonderful but there's just something amazing about a large group of believers coming together to study and live God's Word together.

After the conference, we stayed for Hope Baptist Church's worship service.  Carlton McLeod’s message was The Blessings of Perseverance, Matthew 15:21-28. It was a timely, pointed, desperately needed message.  Have you ever had God send a message directly for you?  This was mine. https://vimeo.com/555372960 My big takeaway is that we MUST persist in holiness, persist in godliness. We must not quit. Quitting is so easy because:

   ・The difficulty of what we’re pursuing is greater than our desire to pursue it 

   ・It takes no effort to quit, but can take tremendous effort to carry on, thus it makes provision for the flesh

   ・It’s the way everyone does it. Who really walks in the kind of discipline it takes to persevere?

“There is a blessing in sticking it out. Don’t let your sanctified ego get the best of you. How might personal offense and pride be limiting you?”

I’m already looking forward to next year! And we’ve been going over notes for the last 2 weeks, talking about implementation and sanctification. I’m actually ready to start listening to them all over again! ❤️