home from ATI Regional Conference

There are not really words to describe how joyful my heart is right now. If I tried, I would fail. Someday I might read this again and think "that just didn't do it," and I would be disappointed that I didn't take more time.

The fact is that I don't have the time to "get it all right" because I'm ready to live it!

Wow! Amazing! Refueled! Refilled! Refreshed! Those are some of the words that come to mind when I think about the past week at the 2011 ATI Regional Conference. God worked amazing things through the speakers and we were so very blessed.

Before we went, we had been warned not to try to do "everything". So I started praying that the Lord would show us just those things that He wanted us to work on right now and over the next year and that somehow all the rest we would just be able to "nod" our heads at - in agreement with but just not feeling the need to go there right now. At this point, I can't even remember what those things were.

The things that we were confronted with filled our hearts with conviction and joy. One might think that those things generally don't go hand in hand, but in the case of the Holy Spirit and the Christian life, that's exactly how it happens. The joy is because you are so excited He is showing you the things that need to change in your life to bring you closer to Himself and to righteousness.

We were busy with sessions from sun-up to sun-down. It was a rigorous week. Honestly, if it had been any different, I'm not sure that we would have learned as much as we did, though I'm totally not overwhelmed.

I hope to process more of my thoughts in the coming weeks and months and share them here. My prayer is that my transparency will be a blessing to those of you who read my blog. I'm far from the perfect wife and mother and sometimes we just need to be honest about that. Another thing I hope to share is systems that Pete and I are going to come up with to make our lives a little less chaotic and a lot more streamlined.

That's just what Pete and I experienced this week. The children all had their own amazing experiences and we have had a chance to talk about what the Lord is speaking to them about. It was truly an amazing week and I saw the Lord do things I never imagined He would.

Be blessed this week as you arise to the High Calling the Lord has prepared your life for.