Good Saturday Morning, All! It's a glorious day of sunshine and warm mid-west breezes here in Kansas City. The Simeons first commitment today is in the prayer room this afternoon from 1 - 5 PM, so I've been able to spend an easy Saturday morning resting, getting caught up on email, and enjoying some quiet time.
The previous two days, though, were anything but restful and quiet. Both Tracks I & II of Intro to IHOP and Simeon Company attended a seminar called Relational Wholeness. It's a 10-week course given here at IHOPU, so you might be able to grasp what the pace alone was as we fit 10 weeks into two days!
The subject matter covered just about every area in our lives that might keep us for experiencing a full, vibrant relationship with Jesus. Just a few of the topics covered were Family Systems; Shame and Trauma; Understanding the Addictive Cycle; Walking Free From Bitterness; and Boundaries.
During those two days, and then this morning, I reflected back on my life. It was in February, 2009, that I had a sense that my walk with the Lord was nowhere near what it could be, or should be. My desire for a deeper, more intimate relationship with Abba Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was the catalyst that set me on my path towards Kansas City and IHOPKC. I was painfully aware at that time that in my weaknesses I would not be able to walk the walk to the greater fullness in Him that I longed to experience. But because of different events over my life, I also carried a picture in my mind of my heart, my emotional self, surrounded by a concrete casing of protection to keep hurt and pain out. That concrete casing not only kept pain and hurt at arm's length, but it kept me from knowing a fullness in Jesus that I longed for but was afraid to receive.
My thoughts also went to one of the best times, when my kids were still quite young, and my dear friend Eileen and I would shoo all the kids out of the kitchen and tell them 'The mothers are having tea'. Tea time was our time together, just Eileen and I. We would share our hearts with one another, what was on our minds, the difficulties and the victories of the week, and we did it all in a non-judgemental, encouraging way. We could do it because we knew each other's deepest secrets, we loved each other unconditionally, and we wanted to be a part of each other's life. I let her into my life and heart, and she in return did the same with hers. One of my great joys is that our relationship continues to this day!
How does all of the above fit in with Relational Wholeness? Revelation 3:20 comes to mind. This verse is used in several different contexts, but mostly as a salvation message. In the context of my experience these last two days, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock...' tells me that as I hear the voice of Jesus saying 'open the door of your heart to Me', my response in return must be to open that door and ask Him to come into every area of my heart, and thus my life.
And so speaks Jesus to me now: Kathy, I stand at the door of your heart and knock. If you hear My voice, and choose to open your heart and let Me in, then I will come into your heart and your life, Kathy, and have tea (relationship) with you and you, Kathy, will have it with Me. I love you with an everlasting love, Kathy. I promise to never leave you or abandon you. And no good thing will I withhold from you as you walk in righteousness with Me.
Steve Green sings a wonderful song called 'Broken and Spilled Out'. Truly, that was the theme of Relational Wholeness, that we would allow the hardness, the concrete of our hearts to be broken and spilled out for the love of Jesus. Amen, Lord Jesus, so be it!
Be blessed today in Him, from Whom ALL blessings flow!
With Affection and His Love,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your Blog. It is so nice to hear that you are living out your dream and that the Lord is drawing you closer and closer to Him. What could be better! There are a few people that we know from Kansas City and if you run across them please give them a hug from us and tell them that you are a friend of ours. We first met Stuart, years ago, when Changepoint was the River Church and he also visited the Vineyard church that we attended at the time. He contacted us just recently. We also have a dear friend Linda Allard, who we met in Florida. Her daughter Abbie is a second or third year student at IHOP. And then we have Tony and Livie Sanchez. Tony is a jeweler and we first met him and Livie @Catch the Fire, Toronto. He ministers quite a bit in Italy with the Charismatic Catholic church and we were blessed to go with them, there, in l998 for our first international ministry trip. They are members of the church in KC. Don't think they are involved with IHOP. I know your time at IHOP will be a life changing experience and I am so happy for you and the opportunities the Lord is going to give you, while you are there, and the future plans He has for you. WOW! Be blessed and bask in the glory of His presence.
Love you,
Inger