Tag Archives: redeem

My Weekend with Royalty

Wesley Feb 2013

This weekend I had the pleasure of spending time with an incredible group of young ladies from the Stephen F. Austin Wesley Foundation.  They were the first to test out my new retreat package YOU.  I always consider it a great blessing and honor to be able to stand in front of a group, whether big or small, and speak encouraging words over them.   It seems as though I get just as much from them as they do from me.

It’s amazing to see that I took so much more home with me than what I walked in with.  Because this event was different than the ones before, I was able to spend time listening to these girls.  I watched them interact with one another.  I enjoyed stories they told about their lives.  I watched as each one found something in the message that spoke directly to them.  I took home a little piece of each girl who touched my lives at some capacity.

This retreat was also different from other events because I was once a part of the Wesley Foundation.  We sat at the table for lunch, and they allowed me to reminisce of the days when I called the Wesley my home and the people of the Wesley my family.  They, too, had some of the very same stories that will one day become wonderful memories they’ll cherish forever.

Secret Language
Do you remember when you were little and had a “secret language?”  Surely I wasn’t the only one who did that.  My friends and I tried so many different types of codes to speak or write in.  Looking back, I’m almost certain we were easily understood, but at the time, we felt we were the only ones who knew what we were saying to one another.  This weekend, I felt at times like we were speaking in code: Mau, spoons, 4 on the couch, bigger and better, service of bread, God’s grace is free, you can have a tree but not leaves. . . Interesting how these few words bring up a vivid picture in my head, and although I haven’t been a part of the Wesley Foundation since spring 2002, I immediately had a common bond with these girls because of our secret language.  And maybe you hear those same words and know what I’m talking about, but the difference with these girls and myself is that we’ve played these games in the same building, in the same van, and quite possibly on the same couch.  Although we’re a generation apart, we have a common bond that quickly brought us together within only a few minutes of meeting.

This weekend reminded me of things I had forgotten.  It reminded me of where I came from.  It reminded me of who I was years ago and who I’ve grown into today.  Tom and Susan Teekell (pastors over the SFA Wesley Foundation) were major stepping stones in my spiritual walk.  It was in my years with them I learned that I could have a real relationship with God.  I learned he didn’t want me to formally come to him with a rehearsed prayer that meant nothing to me.  I learned I could go to God and talk to him about anything and nothing just as I would my best friend.  He only wants to hear what’s in my heart.  It was in those years I grew immensely as I fell in love with God and found friendships unlike any I’d ever had before.

I’m thankful for the experience to go back to what I consider my roots and help build stronger roots for future leaders – future warriors.  I looked across that room and saw princesses in front of me.  Maybe they never realized they were princesses before this weekend, but I do hope they know without a doubt today that they are royalty. 

I believe the world will see big things from the ladies of the SFA Wesley Foundation.  The room was filled with leaders who are each called to work at different capacities, and it’s my belief they will be the ones to step up and say, “Here am I, Lord.  Send me.” 

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If you would like to learn more about this group or see what wonderful things they’re doing, check out their website http://www.sfawesley.org/WF/Home.html

If you or your organization is interested in booking a retreat of your own, please contact me through any of my social networking sites or through email mistygatlin @ ymail .com

We were, um, very serious at all times.

We were, um, very serious at all times.

What Defines You?

Because of my job working at an alternative school and being a youth leader for high school girls, I hear all the time about the regrets they have and things about themselves or their families that they don’t like – things that define who they are.

If I were to ask them, “What defines you?”  The majority are most likely to respond with either something about their family or something related to decisions they’ve made (good or bad).

Is that an accurate response to that question?   Do the decisions you made in the past define who you are as a person?  Do the decisions members of your family have made in the past define who you are as a person?

Absolutely not.

I think most problems begin when you let your actions define who you are.  You certainly can’t allow those someone else made to define you.  You have no control over that.  Although you do have control over your own decisions, you cannot live your life in that moment — the moment of the bad decision.  That is not who you are.

God said that when you come to him and ask for forgiveness for a mistake you made, he throws that mistake as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).  That means it is gone forever and never to be brought up again.  Why are you still using that mistake to define your worth today?

Look to the one who made you.  Any time you feel like you aren’t worthy, for whatever reason, look to the loving words he’s left just for you:

Matthew 10:28-31 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin?  But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

I want to point out a few people who didn’t allow themselves to be defined by their family’s choices or their mistakes they had made in their past.  Instead, they allowed God to redeem them and use them for his plan and purpose:

  • Joseph – poor guy had brothers who were jealous of him and plotted to kill him and tell their dad that he was eaten by a wild animal.  Instead they sold him as a slave.  In the end Joseph was placed in a high position by the king, and his brothers had to come to him to beg for food.
  • Moses - killed an Egyptian and later became an annointed leader who led many away from the despair placed on them by Pharoah and into the promised land.  God spoke often to him, and he is one of the most well known leaders in the bible.
  • Rahab – a prostitute who went against her people to help Joshua and other followers of God take over her city.  God spared her and her family because of her help.
  • Paul – not only hated those who believed in God, but he killed them.  He ended up being one of the most powerful leaders probably in history.  He became a Christ-follower and led thousands of people to Christ.

God will bless you regardless of the decisions you’ve made.  You are not defined by your past, and it’s not too late to change the path you’ve been on.

How do you define yourself?

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