There Are Great Things In Lubbock (cont'd)

Hello readers.....so I am back to tell you all more about the great things there are in Lubbock!!! As I shared with you the other day, we attended the Women's Conference in Lubbock this last weekend and it was excellent! I shared with you what the conference speaker Margaret Feinburg shared with us in the opening session and a little bit about the first breakout session I went to. Today, I am going to share with you some points from the second breakout session and the closing words by Margaret. So here we go......

"This Side Of The Table"...
Have you ever thought of the importance of tables in our lives? You eat at them, maybe study at them, have family pictures (your heritage) on them and so much more. Tables were important in the Bible too. Psalms 128:3 "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house your children like olive plants ALL AROUND YOUR TABLE." She shared that precious family time is usually spent around the table which is the very heart of your home. In Matthew 26:7 Mary anointed Jesus as he sat at the TABLE. The very act of her pouring the oil over Jesus is significant, but when she did it she also wiped His feet with her hair. The act of her hair hanging down meant come to me my lover...her Lord! Jesus calls us to come to the table to be with Him (as Mary did) daily for intimacy and to be transparent before Him, like the alabaster jar that held the oil Mary anointed Jesus with. Alabaster is almost transparent.
The other table that most everyone thinks of (maybe you did too at the start of this) is the table that served for the Last Supper. Here's some very interesting facts about that table. The tables then were only 2 cubits (36 inches) tall, so everyone sat on the floor. Also everyone only sat on one long side and the two ends of the table. Think about the picture of the Last Supper...where is everyone sitting? Do you know why??? That is because the other long side is where they were served from. Also, the three sides of the table may represent: the trinity....Interesting facts for you the next time you are thinking about the Last Supper. Anyway, back to where I was......When people would serve their guests at the tables in those times, they would give EVERYTHING they had...not just food, but they gave of themselves too. And because they didn't have chairs, they reclined, relaxed, leaned on each other, even layed down. They were NEVER in a rush for anything, they just spent the time being together, being intimate with one another. Jesus invites us to meet him daily at the table of our hearts and share this same type of intimacy and fellowship with Him. That is why the heart of your home is at the table!
Psalms 23:5-"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over." Our speaker translated this to what it means in Hebrew: I will lavish hospitality on you; you will lack nothing and I will do it all before your enemies. I will provide ALL things to you both life and Godliness. I will provide ALL things to you both body and soul. I will be your bountiful benefactor.
He is preparing fresh manna for you daily if you will come to the table and be with Him. Go to the table, lean on Him, be intimate with Him and ask him, "What Lord are you going to serve me today on the long side of the table?" If you choose to sit with Him he will give you:provision, protection, confidence, renewal, grace, fellowship, hope, faith and the promise to sit at His table for eternity.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about this side of the table....will you ever think about tables in the same way?? I hope not, cause what she shared was REALLY good!

After this breakout session, we all headed back in for the closing words by Margaret...here's a couple things she shared with us. Exodus 3:1-4...what if Moses would have walked away from that burning bush? How would things have been different? We must listen to God's voice and if he is speaking do what he says. Too many times we choose to think that what he is thinking might just be a bit crazy, so we don't do it....be obedient to His voice.
Psalm 27:4--God's beauty is captivating. Be drawn into His beauty and seek him, dwell with him daily. God invites us to fix our eyes on Him, and not be swayed by the trends and things of this world. The final thing she asked us was: "What do you love about Jesus?"

So as you can see...there are great things in Lubbock!!

The conference was really good, and the van ride was EXTREMELY long, but it was soooo much fun. We stopped in Brownwood, both going and coming back, for a great meal, and we took the time for a photo op while we were on the way home!!


The van ride was tons of fun...I mean a little over 6 hours (each way) in a van ...what are you gonna do but entertain yourselves. We shared funny stories, laughed (a lot), had Missa sing us such "beautiful" songs (HAHAHA.....it was very humorous singing), took lots of crazy pictures, received up-to-the minute text message score updates of the UT/Tech game all the way home, and even had someone breakdance in the Humphrey Pete's parking lot (that's where we had dinner on the way home)....so all in all it was a FANTASTIC trip, lots of fun, learning and laughter!!!

May you have a great day!
Jessica

There are Great Things in Lubbock!!!

Yes, you read that title right...there are great things in Lubbock! Now if you have every been there you may be thinking....seriously, are you off your rocker here? Nope, I know there isn't much in Lubbock, TX, but this past weekend there were some really great things in Lubbock!! We had the privilege of attending Church On The Rock's Women's Conference and it was AMAZING!!



The conference speaker for the Weekend was: Margaret Feinburg. She is amazing and had so many wonderful things to share with us. If you have never heard of her or read any of her books, I highly suggest you search her up on YouTube or head out to the nearest Christian bookstore and purchase her book: Organic God....you will truly be blessed. The book is nothing like you may be thinking by that title...here is something she shared with us: "Organic means: natural, pure, and essential. God is natural, he is pure, and he is essential to our lives! So how do we know him organically?" She also shared this: "We give of many areas and God loves it when we give of ourselves in every way, because it is a reflection of Him. He is a generously outrageous God! God gives us so much more than we could ever want, need or expect. In Exodus 16:16-20--the Israelites were dependant upon God everyday for their manna. He provided for all their needs, no matter how much or how little they gathered. (check it out in Exodus...it is really good). We also had 2 different breakout sessions we could attend. The speakers for these were so awesome! The first one I attended was: Ordinary Women Living Out Loud For Jesus by a remarkable woman of God...Callie Boyd.

Here is just a brief breakdown of what she shared with us....we are all "just" women. "just" moms, "just" wives, "just" a teacher etc, but God can use us "just" women. For example Deborah and Jael...they were "just" ordinary women who God used in extraordinary ways (see Judges 4 for their story). If we are going to live out LOUD we must TAKE RISKS! Even if you fail at the time, you stepped out and did it and that is living out LOUD! Like Callie said, "I have laid hands on 7 dead people and none of them have come back to life yet, but God said I could lay hands on the sick and they would be healed and raise the dead, so even though I have taken a risk and it hasn't happened yet, I will keep doing it, because one day I know it will happen, because I took the risk and stepped out to do what His word says I can." And her last point was God lives inside of us, so anywhere you go or anything you do you are taking Christ with you. So, the next time you go to the grocery store, remember Christ is in the grocery store too, because he lives inside of you. The moment you enter in anywhere, the atmosphere has changed, because Christ is in you so that place will never be the same, because you and Christ were there! As Callie said...the moment you enter anywhere say to yourself..."Everything Changes!" And as Bill Johnson said (Callie quoted this)..."You are bigger on the inside than the whole world." and "God isn't looking for people who will invite him into a situation, but who will allow Him to be used in a situation."

I will leave you with those thoughts for today. Tomorrow I will fill you in on my second breakout session, which was: This Side Of The Table and the closing words that Margaret Feinburg shared with us!! May you have a remarkably blessed day and always remember that "EVERYTHING CHANGES!" the moment you enter in ANYWHERE!!

So in closing I will repeat.....THERE ARE GREAT THINGS IN LUBBOCK!!!

Be blessed....and remember to come back tomorrow for more!!
Jessica

Happy Tuesday!

Hello to everyone out there in blog world!!! I just wanted to give a shout out to you all and say "HAPPY TUESDAY!!" I pray you have all been having a very blessed week so far and have a remarkable remainder of the week!

That's it, nothing else...just wanted to wish you a Happy Tuesday!!


Smile!! :)
Jessica

Ha Ha Ha!

Don't you just love to laugh? Love it when something just tickles your funny bone so much that you just can't help but laugh out loud. Laughter is good for you. It improves your health and it takes a lot less muscles to smile than it does to frown, so come on...let out a big old laugh....one of those deep down belly laughs that just makes your side hurt!!! Not a LOL typed on the screen or a ROFL (rolling on floor laughing) typed, a genuine deep down laugh. Having a hard time coming up with something to laugh about? Just repeat the following out loud...haha, hoho, hehe...say it again, faster this time....haha, hoho, hehe...keep going till just can't contain yourself and let out a big old laugh! Now, don't you feel so much better!!!

I talk about laughing today, because one it is great to remember to laugh at life! And also because I am in the process of helping my parents update their church website....www.newriverministries.net....and I just updated the Heavenly Humor section, which is just some cartoons that I found online, but they gave me a great laugh yesterday and even today when I looked at them again. I just wanted to share them with you and hope they give you a laugh too!!

May you have a blessed, joyful day full of laughter and rest this Labor Day weekend!
Jessica