Are you ready?
For God to do something beyond imagination?
For God to bring women together in only ways that He can?
Then grab a chair, some coffee, and settle in because you guys I am so excited about this!
This is something I am extremely passionate about and I really have no reason to be. I don't know these women other than following their blogs & following them on twitter. But, I believe in their vision. I believe in what God has placed upon their hearts. Oh, I believe. They are women. Wives. Moms. Daughters. Sisters. Friends. They have a passion. They aren't afraid to dream. They have a calling and they are ready to live that out.
I can't remember exactly how I first learned about it or even when I first learned about it, but from the moment I did, I knew I had to be part of it.
Once I heard I had to know more. Something about it resonated with me. I had to read every post, every blog. Once they had a date out there it was in my calendar...yes, even the old school paper one I had (I've since joined the 21st century, thankyouverymuch!).
You see, I know I am not the only woman who was caught up in this IF movement. The IF:Gathering ladies are on to something. They have struck a cord among women. There is a need and IF is touching right on the center of it. A need for authenticity. A need for all women to come together without worrying about fitting in. A need to throw off everything that we've known and grasp hold of the unknown.
So, Monday comes...registration day! You guys, I. Am. Ready. I've got my computer set up. I've got my alarm set on my phone. I text my friend, Melissa. See, we had it all planned out...a little girl time and a whole lot of God time. I received the email that registration was open and bam, we were off. There were some technical issues that threw us for a loop at first, but it didn't hold us back for long. We refreshed our screens, entered the info in again and pushed register. We did this over & over & over.
Then Melissa texts me, "I got in! Keep trying. I am praying."
Oh man, the pressure was on. I am feverishly typing and praying and hitting the enter key. Over and over and over. My heart is pounding. "Please, God, You know how badly I want to go." Over and over and over.
Until...
I get the message... "Sold Out".
NO!!!
Tears began to flow. I know how dramatic this sounds. If you are reading this and rolling your eyes, I get it, I really do. But, I just had to be there. This IF:Gathering was tied to the time in my life that I finally answer God's call...when He asked me to step out on faith and follow Him and become a speaker/blogger for Him. There was a connection with this event and that calling. I felt that and I was devestated. I can't explain it.
Then I get this feeling...it's not over. You see the cool thing about the IF:Gathering is that they are making it available locally through a live simulcast. I knew this, but that wasn't MY plan. I immediately threw my arms across my chest and stomped my feet...yes, like a 3 year old saying "I don't wanna".
All along God had a different plan. MY plan was IF:Austin. HIS plan was IF:Local. I had to sit a while and come to grips with this. I'll be honest. It scared me to death. So many things ran through my head. So many what ifs...
I realized God was ready for me to step out of the boat again. Now I am ready. Ready to see that same vision be accomplished here...locally...IF:Southeast Texas! I couldn't just pick one city...would it be held in Port Arthur, Groves, Nederland or Port Neches? What about Beaumont? Or how about Bridge City? What if we got several groups together?!
How cool is that?! How cool is God? My heart is beating so crazy fast right now.
Are you ready? I want to welcome you to my home on Friday & Saturday, February 7 & 8...for a time of worship, teaching, communion, and authentic relationships with other women. It's new, there might be glitches, we might not know each other, but I will guarantee that it will be a sweet, fun time!
You can help us by being in prayer for God to open wide the doors not only here, but for IF everywhere. Let's see just what God can do throughout this world with women who are ready to live out their calling.
Feel free to email myself or Lori with questions
lori@carpentersway.com kristiburden@gmail.com Check out Lori's blog: http://lorilehrmann.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/271/