This past month has been exciting, frustrating, scary, blessed. We’ve had up and downs. But Saturday it happened. The seventh annual Searching for the Beauty Within seminar. This was a very exciting and new experience, even though it was our seventh seminar. It was held this year at Gaston College. We have held the event at our church for the past six years. We have been supported and welcomed, and there’s no hidden agenda behind the location change. It’s just the place we believed God would have us hold the event.

Last week was full of activity. We practiced and prepared constantly. Prayed. Wondered at times if decisions we had made were best. When I say “we” it was under the leadership of Holly. I’m not going to go into details of Beauty Within, or UNBOUND. If you don’t know the story, visit www.unboundministry.com

As I said, Saturday finally came. Lots of things that I would call unexpected or better than expected happened. I’d say the praise band was one. People praying before during and after, just filled me with blessings. Pictures taken by Ashley. The dance team. The banner Jill did. The jewelry that Abigail sold to benefit the Home Foundation. The volunteers. The shoes that Emily made to give away. Believe In Abilities jewelry along with Jenny’s incredible decorations. Megan Blanton making so many things happen that HAD to happen, that all of us were clueless about. Mark at the last minute getting my father-in-laws equipment to video. Ray making something to hold the banner up with!! So many other things.

We blindly went into this, because for some things we didn’t have a choice. And guess what???????? God used that blind faith as trust and He took over.

Roger preached yesterday on the vision for our church. Well, preached and challenged us to take part in the message. He questioned “why are you at church? Do you have expectations? Does it matter in your own personal life? Does it matter to people around you?” He challenged us to pray for what vision our church should have, and explained he wasn’t talking about personal preferences or desires-which I was SO glad he said. Lots of people agreed yesterday in their hearts. Agreed that we want what God wants.

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision the people perish.

What’s clouding your vision today? World opinion? A friend’s opinion? Sin? Discouragement? Rejection? Struggle? None of these things are more powerful than God. None of these things stop God. But, when they invade our lives and we begin to focus on them, our vision is compromised. Roger taught on our 50th Anniversary Sunday from one of my favorite passages Romans 12:1-2. But, I saw something I have never EVER seen before last week. I shared with Vision on Wed. that I have for about the past year felt internally like a battle was going on. I’ve begged God for help, asked Him to show me what to do. Well last Sunday He spoke to me.
Romans 12
Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

See what He said to me. “Gina, focus on me. Become fixated on me. Become obsessed with me. I will change you inside.”

I know that so many of you are like me. You feel like if God doesn’t intervene and change your circumstance, you’re not going to make it. But could it be that if you focus on Him you might be able to find total satisfaction in that place you find yourself? YES!YES!YES!

Will you try today? Will you trust today? Don’t worry about tomorrow. Just today.

God, please help us to desire You above any other person or thing.

Show us what that means, teach us what that means.

Thank you God!

We love you God!