This post is the original longer version (that needed to be cut down in size) that Terri penned for the retreat brochure. All you ladies out there should seriously pray about coming to this retreat--even if you're from way beyond KC. There is an amazing team of women from all over our city (and from various churches) who have been brought together to host this event--they are a formidable force for Jesus and the beauty of His kingdom! Check out the website for more info and to register. There's only room for 300 and the reteat center is very fine. http://www.shalomministrieskc.org/fullyalive/
Beauty. Virtue. Well-Being. Passion. Connectedness…
These are a few desires all women share no matter where they were born or what kind of society they live in. We are born to radiate beauty, to embody virtue, to live in and to give well-being to those around us. We can sparkle with passion, exude love and forge connectedness with others in such a way that the quality of life is changed for all. Women everywhere have been uniquely fashioned by God to carry and birth life – not just through our bodies but also through our hearts and souls, to be givers of life and love in our families, friendships, and communities.
What would it be like for a woman to live from a heart FULLY ALIVE? What would it be like to “fully live”? Because we know we are far from perfect and we live in such an imperfect world, we so often settle for what “is” and stop hoping for what could be. We’ve all tried hard, failed hard and been hit hard by painful realities in life. It feels sometimes like the easiest thing to do is let our hearts get hard, to resign ourselves to being less than we know we could be. Do we even dare to look beyond what is to what could be?
It seems that God had a better plan in mind all along, explained here in Hebrews 8:10 in the Message Bible:
“This new plan I’m making isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone: This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people.”
Amazing, His “plan” for our lives “carved in the lining of our hearts” through Christ in us, alive in our hearts and us alive in Him. Everything we need already inside of us. Now that’s a plan!
When God our Father sent His son Jesus to earth, He sent the greatest soul who ever lived to change the world simply by being Himself. In His life, in His death on the cross, and in His resurrection He lived out His destiny as the one and only Son of God. On the other side of the cross, He turns to us and offers us eternal life and a quality of human life we cannot find any other way but by freely receiving it. He made it possible for us to discover our own identity and live out our own destiny. Might we, like Jesus, on the other side of the cross, become ”great souls “ who would change the world simply by being ourselves? Could it be that by “grace plus nothing” but responding to God’s loving initiation we would be transformed into the women we long to be?
Can you hear His invitation in this Scripture from the Message Bible?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest…Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30
What are we carrying around that is “heavy” and “ill-fitting”? Maybe things like guilt, shame and condemnation for our weaknesses and failures. How about the “ill-fitting names” that have mis-named us, keeping us from knowing our true identity? Something about “keeping company with Him” enables us to live “freely and lightly”. When you know you are “safe” and loved with no requirements or limits, the pressure comes off of your heart. You can let down and be free. The gift of unconditional love is already yours. You just have to receive it. It’s free, no strings attached.
That gift of God’s love comes to us in as many forms and as many times as we need it. It is always free and there’s always plenty. More than that, we can “off-load” all the false names, guilt, shame, and condemnation we’ve been carrying around in exchange for everything we need. He longs to tell us who we really are, to have us hear His voice speaking to us about our true identity, revealing our true beauty, affirming His love for us over and over again. He longs to see us live “freely and lightly”, dancing to the unforced rhythms of grace. Do you sense Him drawing you, can you hear Him calling your name? “Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life.” He just asks that you “keep company with Him” so you can come to know His voice and experience His disarming, transforming love. The more we know who we are and how much we are loved, the more we can rest, let down, and give loads of love and life to those around us.
Corrie Ten Boom once told a story about some missionaries she had visited in another part of the world. She said, ‘I noticed that they had given all but not taken all”. Fully Alive is about receiving personalized gifts from the limitless store of God’s grace to awaken and unlock our hearts, restoring our souls to the beauty, identity and ability originally intended for us. He is calling your heart forth to dare to hope once again, that you might become the giver of life, the fully alive woman you long to be.
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