August 11th ..Detour to Willow Creek

Hello again...I tried to blog from America but those who know me will know that I can just about cope with techie stuff here in UK but big time NO NO in the States.!!

So....I am taking a detour via Willow in the next few entries as I want to process all that has happened and try and assimilate it into my life. It truly was an amazing privilege to be there and one I know will have huge repercussions on my future. If you are walking this journey with me my prayer is that some of what I share will be contagious and you catch some of Gods plans and purposes as you read .

I strongly encourage each and everyone of you to book into the Leadership Summit here in Bracknell...October 2nd and 3rd...details on Kerith Community Church website.I will only be able to give you a flavour...like tasting a spoonful of soup from a pot to see if it has enough salt...!!!...you need to sit at the table and eat the whole dish....so book in to come along and hear the speakers and be changed.

Let me share some "one liners"...I heard something like 13 speakers over two days and they threw out these one liners which if you take and chew on will make your mouth water and hunger for more.I am not going to attribute them to anyone person...you will need to come along to hear for yourselves.!!

The "normal" we ever knew or loved has left the building.
People aren't coming to church for a mild dose of God anymore.They want more.!
When you are down in the trenches it is easy to mistake your rut for the horizon.
Sometimes its not your sin which separates you from God its your damnable good works.
What can I give myself to for the rest of my life?
Common purpose is the best way to achieve optimum outcome.
Don't let fear prevent us from making bold moves.
What is my dream?
It is time for the church to get off its butt and be the hope of the world.
God is challenging us to go way beyond our comfort zone.
Misfits start ministry.....Marginals can lead masses.
Relationships trumps vision....we don't need more visionaries we need more relationaries.
Leaders are not called just to lead but to create a culture
It is essential to sometimes sit in the balcony and look at what is happening on the dance floor.
Say YES...every time I hear God ask me to do something.
Listen to God whispering to me.
Keep on developing gifting and do things that have eternal significance.
Stop complaining about lack of resources and be thankful for what we have.
T.B.U....True but useless.!!!
Who would have thought the sleeping giant could have run so fast.?

For next couple of entries in the blog I will be fleshing these one liners out and sharing some of what they mean to me ...altho it will take time for the impact of the conference to be processed into my life.Let me just unpack a comment that
one of the speakers shared that spoke to me re my blog...he said that a housewife somewhere in Ohio...( I think ) has a blog that has thousands of followers all over the world...she is an ordinary woman.... a wife and mom and just blogged about life and all its messy bits and good bits etc....but that somehow people were being drawn to her...how she influences people almost on a daily basis without even leaving her home....I felt God whisper to me that I could also be "a woman of influence."I don't have thousands who read this blog....(yet)...but that I need to get ready ...get prepared....I have always found it very difficult to believe that anything I say ...write or do...can influence ..but God is speaking to me and I am choosing to believe it is true ...I am a woman who can influence others...

My prayer for anyone reading this blog ."I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you,I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day till now,being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians ch 1 v 3-6

One last comment for today...I listened to a speaker called Dr Wess Stafford who is the President and CEO of Compassion International.....his title was "Leveraging your Past." For this speaker alone it was worth travelling all those miles and spending all that money just to listen to him. He has written a book called "Too Small to Ignore" which I plan to begin reading but the impact of his own personal testimony heard at Willow will be the most memorable moment of the entire summit.. I listened with my ears but also with my spirit and as tears fell relentlessly I identified once more with the pain of my own past...but this time my tears weren't because of what I too had suffered they were tears of great and deep joy that God and only God had healed me and as he talked about "leveraging your past" I knew without any doubt that with this blog and other things I am involved in ...workwise..churchwise and personally..I am doing just that...Leveraging my past .