Passion 2010...

Rachel and her friend and I got to attend Passion 2010 in Atlanta last weekend. There were somewhere between 21,000 and 26,000 in attendance (I heard various numbers) and it was absolutely amazing! What blessed me more than anything else was to see that many 18-25yo people who love Jesus enough to travel to Atlanta (many of them from foreign countries) in order to worship the Lord and learn more about Him! It made me cry more times than I can count, in fact I cried numerous times throughout the weekend and I am not even a big crier normally!

I loved all the musicians and all the speakers and the Lord allowed me to take home something from each one. I have to say the thought that most resonated in me as the message that EVERY human being needs to hear was when Andy Stanley said, "You can't decide where you want to go and what you want to do until you decide who you want to be!"

Just let the truth of that sink in for a minute! Don't you see how profound it is? So many people spend a lifetime trying to figure out what to do and where to go before they have ever determined in their heart WHO they want to BE!! We know middle aged men and women that it is clearly evident have never made this determination in their hearts because their lives are a shambles and they are chasing the temporal to try and satisfy the eternal need they have.

I know it has only been in the last few years that I have determined who I truly want to be and with that understanding has come incredible freedom. Freedom to be who He created me to be and freedom to be the kind of person I want to be without bowing to the constant expectations of others. It doesn't mean I never have days of struggle or second-guessing, but there is not the constant flip-flopping back and forth while trying to be a people-pleaser!

I still have my areas of insecurity and I had to deal with some of them last weekend a couple of times. I did deal with them, though, as I came to Him AGAIN and laid them at His feet and then I watched as He gently moved them from my reach so that they were hidden in the shadows of Him!!

Of course, with any mountian-top experience there is the expected re-entry that goes with it, but it has been a joy to come back and continue to praise Him and depend on Him in the confines of my own home with my own family! I am thankful beyond words for the opportunity we were given to attend Passion and pray I don't ever get over the things He planted deep within my heart during that time!

Mark 12:33 (MsgB)
And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"