Sovereign Grace Pastors Conference

Some of you know, some of you don't know, that Daryl and I have been praying for a Sovereign Grace Church to come to the area as we would love to have one in Morgantown. I should also state that we LOVE our current church and are satisfied with whatever God does, but it is something God has burdened our hearts to at least pursue in some senses. This weekend we were able to attend their Pastors Conference which was probably the most fun thing I've done all year. I'll start from the beginning (although spare you the car ride, etc)...

Pulling into the driveway of Covenant Life Church surprisingly affected me! Anticipation of what was to come and amazement at God's grace shown to me via their ministry immediately bubbled up in my heart and I could feel my eyes stinging with tears of joy, gladness and gratitude - as they did much of the weekend!

The girls and I spent most of the weekend in the video room that SG had graciously set up for people bringing kiddos. We had not intended to bring the kids, but due to a change in plans, we had to. At first I was slightly dreading this because I really wanted to be a "part" of the conference side by side with my husband and not have to "worry" about the kids, but it turned out fantastic and I am actually thrilled that it worked out that way.

The kids were a delight - sure I had to run after Nadia occasionally to redeem another child's sippy cup or intercept her throwing away one of Anna's My Little Ponies, but all in all, I was able to follow along with the speakers and enjoy some of the worship.

Once Anna and I were more or less alone in the room and she sat with me and sang, and I cried because she was singing about our precious Savior (I will surely cry more if God should graciously allow these truths to really be owned by her as she ages!). I also thoroughly enjoyed she AND Nadia clapping and putting their hands to the sky as this is how I feel the most connected to God via worship and we do not get to experience that on a weekly basis. Anna loved the guitars, particularly the red one :)

More than hearing the sermons and announcements and being able to follow along though, I got to meet some awesome moms (a great plus of bringing the kids). I only met one other mom in there with 2 children, most had 4-6. No lie! It was such an encouragement to me and a reminder to fight cultural tendencies. After getting to talk to one woman for a while I learned her husband had helped write some of the children's music and adult worship music for Sovereign Grace. I was beyond excited, not because they are superstar's of sort :), but because I had the opportunity to put a real face to those who have provided such a HUGELY beneficial resource to my family and thank her for that. Wowzers.

(some of my dear lady friends - and my exhausted children)

The fact that they make tons of the music we love (because of it's lyrical and musical excellence) is one of the reasons I love Sovereign Grace ministries so much. Here are some more....

While the ministry is NOT perfect or the ONLY ministry, God has chosen to use them to impart much, MUCH grace to our family. From kids music and adult music that is doctrinally sound and Christ centered and FULL of joy, to pointing us towards awesome resources for family devotionals, practical tips on serving my family, Biblical roles, to awesome preaching that has benefited my soul and helped push our family further to Christ, to helping us recognizing idols and cultural traditions and helping us fight to surrender them, to providing deep, intimate relationships that I am excited to grow in, they have served us so well. And the example of those we have met and the care we have received from them...such a blessing. HUGE.

No matter what the future holds for our partnership with Sovereign Grace, God has been more than kind to us through their specific ministry. I am forever grateful and certainly forever changed by God's great grace towards us via their ministry.

I can't quite explain it, but God's presence is so thick whenever I am at one of their conferences and I always leave with lots to think about, process and be grateful for. Three more of my favorite parts -

Each registered attendee received a free copy of this book -
and I was about to buy it full price! YIPEE! The author is one of SG's own and he has written this book to help us parents share how each story in the Old Testament points forward to God's story of salvation in Christ - in just ten minutes a day, five days a week - and, he's going to finish the story :) So, more to come! LOVE IT!

The message one of the speaker's provided on Evangelism was the best one I think I have ever heard. Fantastic. PLEASE download it here.

Lastly, they had a ladies only luncheon one day. The girls were exhausted during this as this was day 2 with no real naps :) and so I wasn't able to catch everything (although the tomato bisque was lovely), but I did here CJ encourage us that God remembers the ways we serve others (I believe he quoted Hebrews 6:10, but again, I wasn't able to pay complete attention, so I'd hate to be wrong on that!), but in contrast, He DOES NOT remember our sins. Sweet, sweet reminder.

To check out more about their ministry go to any of the following sites:
The Main Page - from here you can access their beliefs, where their churches are and resource store (again - all their music, books, studies - fantastic)
The Girl Talk Blog - their blog on Biblical womanhood for ladies of all ages
CJ's View From the Cheap Seats - the founders blog...he also is linking up info from the conference and all the talks are free for download.

I would be remiss not to invite you to come check it out yourself. We have a SG Bible study at our home on Sunday nights led by the Pastor of the church in Franklin, WV. We would LOVE to have you. Let me know if you want more info.

Finally, I would like to throw in some shout out's at this point:
Daryl - Thank you for wanting your whole family there even though it meant being less convenient :) Thank you for loving us, enjoying us, and serving us so well - even getting the double stroller down in freezing rain, jacketless, multiple, multiple times). Thank you for your sincere desire to love Jesus, exalt Jesus, and do His will. You are the best and I am proud of you and thankful for you!
Anna and Nadia - You are SUCH troopers! You missed so much sleep and were still sweet and happy and excited to be there. You not only brought joy to me, but you also brought joy to others and I thank you. Anna, you were so obedient and sweet to other children and I love that you wanted to make crafts for everyone there you met. Nadia, your smile is incredible! Thanks for sleeping in your stroller at times, too, so I could sit with Daddy, and for being patient with us as we talked with others, didn't feed you so well, etc :) I also would like to thank you girls for sleeping in this morning until 9am and 10am respectively as we did not return home until 2:30am :)
Steve and Linda - thank you SO much for your investment in us and love for us! Linda, thank you for all of your service with the girls. It was so nice to have you with us in the video room, help with Anna during the luncheon, etc. Daryl and I are very grateful for your sincere servants hearts - that you serve for God's glory, not your own. We are very thankful for your love for us and our kids.
Stephanie and Gabe - how VERY fun to see you. Stephanie, you bring much joy to me - just in seeing you face to face!
Leo - what a delight to have you join our family for the weekend! You are a great encouragement to us all and we love having you around! We are confident God has great things in store for you (Phil. 1:6)