Revolution - A Chapter

One of the reasons that I haven't blogged much this past month is because of this weekend. I was a part of a women's conference at our church called The Revolution. It was for girls, ages middle school and up, and it was about sex.

That's right. I was asked to speak at a women's conference, and it was about, of all things, sex.

Here is the text that was used to advertise the weekend leading up to the event:

We are going to look at the Biblical definitions of intimacy, purity, and sexuality. We are taking a stand for Biblical standards. We are done allowing culture to be the loudest voice on these issues. We are done allowing the enemy to have a stronghold in our sexuality. We are taking it back. We are starting a REVOLUTION!

Since joining this church, I have been asked to help out with several different things. It's one of the things that I love most about this church - they expect believers to be in the habit of serving, and they give you every opportunity to do so. I have been asked to sing, asked to greet, asked to serve food, asked to serve people. I was asked to be a group leader for the women's conference last year. Last year I said no. This year I said, what??? I have no idea why I, of all people, would be asked to speak at a conference about sex. There is nothing about my life that would indicate that I have any special knowledge on this subject. I've only been married 3 and half years. But when asked why, I was told that they had been praying about who should lead for months and that I was one of the names that God laid on their hearts. So I trusted God and I said yes.

That was months ago. I've been a nervous wreck ever since! haha. Seriously though. We had had lots of meetings, I had read two books, I had taken notes and I had prayed, but until Thursday night, I still wasn't sure what I was going to say on Saturday. Praise the Lord, we were teaching in teams. The two hour afternoon session for singles that I would be a part of was being lead by myself and a sweet girl names Lesli, who is also married, and who I had come to know in the newlywed class at our church. But though we had met, and sort of had a plan, it was not a plan that I was comfortable with. She wanted us to keep it comfortable and casual and have a lot of open discussion, and that all sounded great, but my borderline type A/B personality need more structure than that. So Thursday night, at 10:00, when I got home from coffee with one of the singles who would be attending the weekend, I sat down with my Bible, the book that the weekend was based on, a pen and a notepad. What followed was something that I have never experienced before.

It is absolute proof that countless women were praying for this event. For the leaders and for the women who would be in attendance. I flipped through the book, compiling the notes that I had written in the book and writing them down on my notepad. I wrote down scripture when I had something in mind to accompany the book. And then at 1:00 in the morning, I came in here, to my computer and started to type. 4 hours and 7 pages later, I had a packet and enough material to fill that two hours comfortably. It was amazing. Truly amazing. I believe that every moment of our lives is foreknown by God and that we are all a part of his plan, but this was like nothing I had ever felt before. Being in a moment and knowing that God was going to use it for his glory. It was incredibly humbling and very powerful.

The weekend went really well. Friday night we met at the church for some time of worship and for a message by a great speaker. Her name is Beth Cannon and she made herself very vulnerable and spoke very openly with us.

Yesterday went just as well. We had about 30 singles come to both sessions and I think that God spoke to a lot of women all over the church from every walk of life.

I was so thankful to be a part of this event. God taught me SOOO much. From the very beginning he showed me areas in my life and in my marriage that needed healing and change. I feel like blinders were taken off and now that it is over, I am seeking the Lord and his direction for the future.

Satan is already attacking our marriage. He does not want healing to take place. But my prayer is that God will foil his attacks and we would use the moments of disunity that Satan throws at us to grow and learn and become stronger.

Outside of myself, my prayer is that the church would no longer treat sex like it is a sin before it IS sin. By not talking about it, we give it a sense of mystery and danger that God never intended for his beloved. I would not stir up passion before it is time, but I hope that believers would not be afraid to ask questions and find answers within the church. They get messages about sex everywhere else in this world!

The book that most of this weekend was based on is by Linda Dillow and Loraine Pintus and it is called Intimate Issues. The singles version of this book is called Gift Wrapped by God. If you are looking for biblical answers about sex, they are good sources.