Mom and I went to Pigeon Forge this weekend and attended the “Women of Joy” conference. It was our first ever Christian conference together.
When I get time with mom like this….I soak it up.
It didn’t take my dad’s death to do that, but his death emphasized it.
This is us on the way up to Pigeon Forge enjoying all the changing leaves in the mountains.
Earlier this year, I asked the Lord when things would be back to normal? I heard “October.” Here we are and Covid cases are continuing, but somehow we are in our new normal. Seasons in life that we wouldn’t necessarily welcome but that invite us into new normals.
2,300 women gathered in the LeConte Center with 6 feet distance between chairs and masks shod. Never did I think I would look at my neighbor’s mask that had “Faith over fear” on it and think “Oooh, I want a mask like that.” But welcome to 2020. Here we are.
Natalie Grant said it was her first performance since February. Matthew West said him and his band were glad to be employed again. I thought about how cool it was that in October, we get to see, people coming out again and having their firsts back to our new normal.
Both of our favorite seasons is fall. Over the last 18 years of being a missionary, there is no guarantee I will get to be home to see fall, but not this year!
Angela Thomas was the first speaker. What stuck out to me was “He is always present for the rescue. Stand still so you can watch the rescue. The Lord brought you here this weekend. Hey, baby girl…I made promises…turn your eyes upon Me. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. I am about to rescue you.”
Alli Worthington spoke about the 5 ways we numb our fears. 1. Stay busy. 2. Blame 3. Binge 4. Bury (avoidance, denial) 5. Brood-think about something over and over again. And to rectify that, we need to 1. Be aware Be alert. (YAS! 2020 to a tee) 2. Ask Jesus for help 3. Attack and worship like you’ve never worshipped. (And of course avoid the 5 ways we numb our fears.)
Jennie Allen talked about speaking at a church and on the break, a woman came up to her and said “You need to stop talking about us. We’re coming for you.” Jennie asked her “What are you talking about?” And she responded “You know exactly what I am talking about.” (Jennie had been talking about demons prior to that.) The lady manifests in the hallway after that. Warfare is real.
I found a video where you can hear Jennie talking about this.
Jennie learned warfare after that, gets fired up and evangelizes. But after that would struggle with doubt for 18 months that she didn’t take seriously. Ann Voskamp eventually told Jennie “You are under attack” and Jennie learned to fight.
We must know before and after great times of victory, there is warfare. If we aren’t experiencing warfare, I would wonder if we are in the arena. Only those willing to stay in the arena are the ones fighting. ~TT
My mom was singing to one of the old hymns during worship and I wondered how she knew the words. She told me when she was breastfeeding my older sister and I, the only thing that would be on TV was church on Sundays. There she listened and learned these songs. I think that is interesting that my older sister and I heard that worship as babies and now both love Jesus so much today in 2020.
I recall growing up in Catholic church, my mom would worship her heart out. I remember looking up at her singing with such passion. Then I think about the influence that was….and how much I loved to worship beside my mom at this conference as she worships so passionately.
I love what Charles Billingsley said leading us in worship “Go back home to your churches and worship the way you do here. Not out of control, but out of a coma.”
Matthew West made up a song about how it felt to be a male in a room full of all these women and eventually sang “I feel like a woman.” Charles Billingsley said after that he approached Matthew and said “I feel ya brother, I have been a woman of Joy for 17 years.” LOL. We laughed so much. That was a theme of the conference. So much joy (Women of Joy) and laughter. I think we all needed that.
People got saved when Jennie and when Matthew gave a call to follow Jesus. LOVE.
Thank you Jesus for this blessing with my mom. All the laughs, us dancing, walking by the river, eating meals and talking about all kinds of things and most of all when we worshipped and turned our face towards the One we stand in awe of….You.
That is what really makes us Women of Joy.
It’s You.
