I arrived home today after spending another full and fun weekend at Muskoka Baptist Conference Centre (MBC) located near Huntsville, Ontario. The last weekend in May and the first 2 in June are ladies conferences. The weekend there were close to 400 ladies there and by the noise we caused that's no surprise!
The speaker this weekend was Carol Kent and the messages she shared with us were AMAZING! This weekend we learned that we all have situations that are unique to us and how to have 'Joy in the Midst of our New Normal.' We often find ourselves in unexpected places but God is always there in the midst of them with us. He is there for each and every one of us regardless of what is happening in our lives and He wants to help us through it. Nobody knows this better than Carol herself. Carol Kent's life changed forever when her twenty-five year old son, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a lieutenant in the navy with an impeccable military record, shot and killed his wife's ex-husband.
Can you imagine? Carol is beautiful inside and out and shared her heart wrenching story and journey with us. Through this devastating set of circumstances, Carol learned ten transformational power principles that God has taught her in the midst of all her agony. For the first time, best-selling author and popular speaker Carol Kent is ready to share her story with the world. It will change the way you think about personal challenges. Her story is written in a book entitled, 'When I Lay My Isaac Down.'If you want to read an outstanding book of how God is with each of us in every circumstance, please read this book. (Note: You'll want to grab yourself a box of tissues before you begin!)
The really, REALLY neat thing is that I heard Carol share portions of her story in October when MBC was hosting a conference in a city just west of Toronto. One of the questions she asked during the first session was, 'Who Is Your Isaac?' Who do you need to give fully to the Lord and trust Him with? In my notebook on October 19, 2005 I wrote, 'Who Is Your Isaac? - Baby Hannah.' October 19th was when I was still in the midst of searching for God's Will when it came to the adoption. The November 1st date that I'd set to remove my name from my agency's list if I was still unsure of my deciosion was quickly approaching.
BUT, GOD WAS and IS, IN CONTROL! Just 2 day....TWO DAYS later I received peace from God that He wanted me to proceed with the adoption and everything began moving ahead full speed, no looking back! God is good all the time! All the time, God is good!!! Another in the long, long line of examples of God's perfect timing!!!
The weekend was further enhanced by the beautiful music ministry of Marlene O'Neill. She's a ton of fun and has an amazing ministry! She and I have become friends over the past few years and I always enjoy it when we end up at the same place for a day of ministry. (I was even able to take a step back to my teenage years and short-sheet the bed in her room! What fun....haven't done that in years!)As mentioned, this is just the first of 3 wonderful weekends of friends, fellowship, sharing and laughter! I have much more to share about what I do to keep myself out of trouble those weekends (too late...short-sheeted the bed) but I'll save that for another post. I am so thankful for MBC and the wonderful people there! Looking forward to going back up Thursday evening and preparing for the next group to arrive!
As Marlene says, 'God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!'
WOW!! Sounds amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI think I need a few weekends like that!!