My Walk Mondays

This last weekend I had the privilege to attend the Elizabeth George conference. It was such a complete and total blessing. Elizabeth George is one of my favorite authors. Some of my favorite books of hers are: Putting on a Gentle and Quiet Spirit, Loving God with all your mind, and Beautiful in God's Eyes. I love her books because she is not only a great author, but she always points the reader straight to God's Word. Her grace combined with truth is truly captivating.
There were a few things which she spoke on which stuck in my mind. The first session of the conference was titled "First things First." She spoke of how we need to be in God's word because we constantly need to be renewing our mind. We also need to spend time in prayer with the Father just as Jesus did. She also mentioned that we need to be a person of "one book." This is interesting because she has written over 50 books but she pointed people to God's word first and foremost. This is key because there are so many great books out there on so many different subjects, but we need to put his Word first. She explained how she has counseled and trained women up over the years and how she has encouraged women in their walks. She also attributes her success to God's word simply working in women's lives. She knew it had nothing to do with anything she has brought to the table.

She also spoke on another discipline which centers around Philippians 4:8. This is the discipline of the mind and how we need to love God with all of our mind. To love God with the mind means to think on things above. We need to train our mind to meditate on truth. We need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

True: (e.g)Matter of Fact-God's Word, His promises, His character
Noble:
Right
Pure:
Lovely:
Admirable:
Excellent:
Praiseworthy:

She shared about her struggle with depression and how common it is for women. She shared the importance of disciplining one's thoughts on the things of God, and not focusing on the past or future. It is amazing how women can often get bombarded with the past and how they could have done things differently. The "if only's" are a very sneaky trick that Satan loves to use to trip up women. She emphasized the importance of memorizing God's word which helps to hide the word(truth) in the heart.
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."
She also shared the importance of praying God's word. This is true because we need to pray God's word when we are going through various trials of life. We are not to focus on our emotions or how we are "feeling" because feelings are not real. We need to focus on God's character which never changes. We need to remember the promises of God and pray according to His word. This is major because trials are inevitable in the life of the believer. They just are. We are either going into a trial, in the middle of one, or coming out of a trial and we need to constantly focus on the Lord, not our present circumstances, and pray accordingly.

This conference was such a blessing because I am reminded to Love God with all of my mind which includes what I meditate on. I am a new creation in Christ because I believe 2 Corinthians 5:17. My friend Terry has this verse as her actual email address because she lives out what the Bible says. It is vital to actually "live out" what God's truth states because Satan is the accuser of the Brethren(Rev. 12:10) and he is by his very nature the "Father of Lies" according to John 8:44. He would love nothing better to walk around accusing people and tripping them up with their past or their future. She also brought up a good point at the conference. Some women can get into trouble in their thinking because sometimes they don't "feel forgiven." She was really funny and hilarious throughout the conference, but she made a good point. We should never let our "feelings" run our life or place themselves above what God's Word says. If we do this we are actually saying God did not die on the cross for our sins and this act was not in fact enough.

Women can also easily fall into the trap of worrying about the future. This is a major cause of stress and anxiety especially in this day and age.

I am reminded of the famous quote by Corrie Tin Boom, "Look outside, get distressed, look inside, get depressed, look to Jesus be at rest."