Spending a day at Cedar Spring Retreat is a blessing all by itself, especially if it's sunny and the swans are out...but add to that friends, daughters, God's Word, wonderful singing, books to bring home a devour (I brought home "Created to be His Help Meet" by Debby Pearl and I might even start reading it tonight!), winning a beautiful coffee cup as a door prize and listening to inspiring teaching, and it becomes a day you not soon forget!
She had so much to share with us, and I took tons of notes...the girls talked about using their notes for their quiet times for a while (there's hundreds of scripture passages to read in there). Here are some of the highlights of what I took to heart and hope to use to make change in my heart, mind and life...
Pursue a close relationship with the Lord - Press on to know Christ
If the devil can't make you bed, he will make you busy...
When we compare ourselves to other around us, we may look pretty pure, but when compared with the pureness of Christ, our "righteousness" is like dirty rags
An idol is anything that takes God's rightful place in our lives (hobbies, recreation, people...in and of themselves they are wrong, but if that is what we go to first in our day/free time, then we should really take a look to see if they have become an idol)
"Purity is always smart, impurity is always stupid" (I can't remember who she was quoting)
Amy Carmichael said "Our feelings do not effect God's facts"
Know what you and believe and why
The one thing that just stunned me was when she asked for someone in the audience for a pencil...she was handed the pencil and she took it and broke it in half...shocking! She then pointed out that it was really her pencil...she went on to say that when the pencil seemed to belong to someone else it was not OK for her to break it, but if it was her pencil then it was OK for her to break it, right?
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." I cor 6:19 & 20
WOW...now there is food for thought...
Well, I've got to go to bed...I'll try to blog more about what I learned today on Monday...have a blessed Sunday!
We had a blessed time as well! You described it so well! Thank you for sharing how God worked in your heart through the teaching. There really was A LOT to soak up! I love the idea about reviewing the notes. That would help us to really apply it. The quote, "If satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy" was memorable for me since it was so convicting as she talked about what distracts us from the Lord. I also really appreciated the part where she spoke about out emotions. One thing i wanted to remember to do was to talk over these things individually with my daughters and ask them their thoughts. I don't want to assume I know where they are in all of these highly important issues and i do want to be there to help disciple them in the ways that the lord is working in their hearts. I'm so glad we got to share this day with you Ruth. i t will definitely be one of the highlights of this year for us!
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