What an amazing Fatherheart Conference "Finding Contentment". The weekend just flowed with brilliant teaching from Helene, John & Jim. Unfortunately my guest speaker, Liz Carter, couldn't make it due to illness.
It was a reminder for some and new for others that our heavenly Father lives in us "I in them and You in Me" John 17:23. And because of that we need to live in the "now" because, whether we feel it or not, He is with us every second of every day. The past is gone and the future is in His hands. No amount of worrying will change anything, so enjoy the journey with your Father now! No one said it would all be plain sailing "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world".
Jim gave us some practical pointers as a psychotherapist and also as a Son of the Father. John blended his music with his teaching and poetry seamlessly. The beautiful Helene, who seems to get younger every year, ("I am only a 9 year old on the inside") gave us such wise insight into what it truly means to be at peace and live as a Son/Daughter of Almighty God.
At the last afternoon session we had a time of sharing. Sue-Jane had made these wonderful porcelain white stones, which Father had given her the vision for with the scripture from Revelation that says we will receive a new name, and she felt she should give them away. It was so fitting with what we had been learning. We all have a name which goes with our true identity which Father gave us before we were ever born. Unfortunately as we grow up in this fallen world we can loose it and our identity becomes what we are attached to; our job, money, family etc, which are not necessarily bad things as long as we can recognise our being is not in those things. Or we become people pleasers or we're worried about upsetting people if we don't agree with them and we, therefore, loose our identity because we do not have an opinion of our own. This is an area I identify with! We need to learn that our identity is in Christ who is in us alongside His Father. The Father sees us as much as His Sons as He does Jesus and as we learn to be His child we can reclaim who we were always meant to be and receive our new name.
Thank you to everyone who came and helped to make it a special weekend. A special thank you to those who opened their hearts and shared what Father had been doing in them over the weekend. We were all touched by your openness.
But mainly thank you to our Heavenly Father who encouraged me to carry on when it looked like no one was going to come. You helped me to realise it was all about You gathering your children together and I could be at peace knowing it was nothing to do with me! I Praise you and love this journey You are taking me on.
I wrote this and then read this in Henri Nouwen"s book "The Inner Voice of Love"
"Your true identity is as a child of God. This is the identity you have to accept. Once you have claimed it and settled in it, you can live in a world that gives you much joy as well as pain. You can receive the praise as well as the blame that comes to you as an opportunity for strengthening your basic identity, because the identity that makes you feel free is anchored beyond all human praise and blame. You belong to God, and it is as a child of God that you are sent into the world."
He says it so much better than me!
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