IF:Gathering Week

A person's heart plans his way,

but the Lord determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Here we are, one of my favorite weeks of the year.  Another IF:Gathering is upon us and I get all weepy and giddy just thinking about it.  This is a busy week on so many levels - we have so much to do before we are ready to welcome some 300 women from our community and beyond into that Worship Center on Friday night, and thanks to the polar vortex, I feel like my semester is starting all over again at the very same time.  But you know, I couldn't be more ready for the work that's in front of us.  If IF has revealed any truth about God in my life the past three years, it's the power in His greater purpose to build His kingdom through His people, and the incredible beauty in the ways He weaves our stories and lives together when we say yes to that purpose.  Through the big and small, God is always moving in our lives, and IF is definitely one of the ways He's made Himself known in mine.  

It's all just too much.  I think about how my life looks different since that first IF:Gathering and I shake my head in awe of God's work.  It was there our IF:Table began, which not only built and strengthened deep and lasting friendships, but was the domino that nudged me to say yes to a group of college girls and such a life-giving connection with Carter and Sara and BASIC.  It was there the texts with Kate became more frequent, which soon led to family camping adventures, trips to Texas (where Kate wrote a letter to Jennie Allen herself, a letter that is soon to be used in her new book by the way), fifteen minute Voxers most days, and a beautiful friendship that God's hand is in every part of.  It was there I met Katie for the very first time, and how God put her at my table a week later I will never understand but am eternally thankful for.  A year later, at IF, we said a resounding yes to gathering at Panera for nearly two years to read the Bible.  And a year later, we sat in that same booth and prayed with a friend whose love for Jesus was taking her across the world to share Him with others.  God used IF to reveal more of Himself in my marriage, in my job, in my family, and in my church.  Beau's faith has grown in new ways, and he used his loving heart, his faith in God's plan, and a lot of Andy Stanley to see him through a few really tough weeks this past month.  And now, I get to serve with a pretty amazing team of women to share IF:Gathering with others in our community, and pray they walk away nudged by God to step out in faith in their own unique ways.  And the icing on the cake?  Jennie Allen, founder and visionary of IF, is coming in April.  How neat is that?!

Since as small as I can remember, I have known God.  I grew up in a foundation of faith with some strong guides who gave me Jesus through His word and their love.  But I learned later on that in order to mature that relationship and be able to carry it on for my people, I needed to come face-to-face with it all over again.  I needed to confront some truths, read my Bible, listen for God's voice, and surround myself with some people who were going to help me do it.  There has been joy and suffering, lots of questions and sometimes not very many answers, laughter and lots of tears, and a magnifying glass on my gifts and also the sin that grips.  But over and over again, as I learn to give him more of me, I in turn see more of His fruit - in the world around me and in the deepest parts of my heart.  

This year's IF:Gathering is all about celebrating, celebrating the many ways God has moved women in this community of faith AND celebrating the fact that “we get to do this” – to personally know God and play our own unique part in building His kingdom on earth. It’s pretty amazing that He invites us all to play a part and we have no idea whose lives might be touched in the process.  I am expectant about the ways God plans to move through the women who walk through those doors on Friday and the stories He will write beyond it.       

For more information on IF, visit here.  And to register for our local gathering, go here!  By tonight because that's when registration closes. ;)