WoJ

This blog has been on my heart for a week, but I've not been able to write it. I probably could have, but I knew that it would be better if I let my spirit calm down a little bit before I started it, because the truth is that I was mad...very. mad. So, hopefully I've been removed enough from the situation now that I can state my point without being too ugly! I pray in advance that this post does not portray judgment because that is not my intention. I am not perfect...I will not be perfect on this earth. But, I got some "righteous indignation" stirred up inside of me recently and I just have to share!

April 8-10, Sam and I went to the Women of Joy conference. It was AMAZING...and I plan to post about it very soon!  It was at this conference, however, that I really saw what a terrible state some of the women of faith are in!  During our first session, we sat over to one side right by the aisle because neither of us enjoy being in the middle of large crowds of people. Charles Billingsley lead worship and did his complete best to usher us into the presence of God. It was such an uplifting experience...or, it would have been...except women kept getting up by the droves and going to the restroom! Once the speaker came up, I thought, "Surely things will calm down now". But, NO! This beautiful woman of God who is absolutely hilarious (Liz Curtis Higgs) had spent who knows how long preparing and planning and praying over exactly what she wanted to share with this audience, but people still got up throughout her speaking time to use the restrooms. This continued throughout our time at the conference. I completely...COMPLETELY...understand that some people have small bladders or have issues which require them to get up immediately and go when they feel the need. But, there is no way that in a room of only 7,000 ladies, several hundred of them have bladder issues which would require them to get up in each session.  Especially since during the Casting Crowns concert, no one left that I could see.  I cannot imagine that the bladder is a respecter of persons and would simply not cause an issue during CC. (It's not that I was like scanning the room and watching, but I think I've developed some ADD since I started taking ritalin or something. When people get up or move, my eye is drawn to them). I noticed ladies that would go to the restroom in groups of three or four, getting up and leaving as though there were not someone speaking at all. I also saw ladies get up and not go to the restroom, but go get coffee...or buy a CD...or get out to the car early (and the parking lot is another story...you'd think we were at an "It's all about me" conference once you got into the parking lot!)  In the last session, Thelma Wells was pouring her heart out to us and the lady in front of us was tracking her Weight Watchers points!  None of the sessions were any longer than a two hour stretch, so it saddens me to think that we cannot give two hours of our lives...just two hours...straight to Jesus.

See, when you get up in a service, even just a regular church service, you may feel like you slipped out quickly and quietly. But, you've caught my attention. You've made my thoughts go from "Lord, what are You trying to show me in this" to "I wonder where she's going?". We are too busy when we are too busy for the Lord. We are too stressed when we're too stressed to focus on Him. We are too prideful when we think that our comfort and our agenda is all that matters. What an awesome opportunity this conference was to completely change lives and spark revival in homes and churches and I KNOW that God did some work in the conference. But, how much more could have happened had we all completely surrendered our thoughts and hearts to Him for the weekend? What's the point in going just to leave the same way you came?! 

Again, please understand that I know I'm not perfect. Knowing me, I'll type this today and then next weekend will get sick and have to walk out of service (God, I pray that's not the case). I'm just saying that I know things come up...I know that sometimes it's necessary to leave a service or cause a disruption, but we as Christians need to be more mindful of the fact that what we do affects those around us as well as our own spiritual walk.