Priscilla Shirer's Blog, page 80

Facing Failure

A close friend of mine bought me a devotional book by Henry and Richard Blackaby and it has been a huge blessing in my life. I wake up every morning excited to see what the Lord has to say to me through this devotional and let me tell you, I am never disappointed. I want to share the one from yesterday with you. It was titled, Facing Failure and the Scripture reference was Mark 14:27...

"Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written....." The devotional talked about how there are certain situations that happen in our lives that cause us to stumble in our relationship with the Lord. Whether our intentions were good or bad, the end result is the same.....we miss the mark.

There's no one that knows more about missing the mark than Peter. He boasted about how he would never forsake the Lord, but yet he denied Him not once....not twice, but three times. I would like to say that I can't imagine how Peter felt, but actually I do. I am very familiar with the heartache that comes from disappointing the Lord and it always amazes me of how loving and forgiving our Father is. Peter felt the depth of the Lord's love and forgiveness in John 21:15-17. The Lord has risen from the dead and when He first encountered Peter, He could have asked him for a confession of his sin, but instead He asked him for a confession of his love.

Wow.

You may be hurting because you feel that you have failed the Lord. You have fallen short in an area or been disobedient about something that He has asked you to do and you feel horrible. Pick your head up my friend and know that the Lord is never surprised by our failures. In fact, He has already made provisions for all of our shortcomings and all He wants to know is that we love Him, are willing to obey Him and follow Him.

I don't know about y'all, but that (in the words of Priscilla) was a blessing to my soul! The name of this particular devotional book is called, Experiencing God Day-By-Day. Any devotional books that you are absolutely loving right now? Please share!

Until next time,
Antrenette

Home

I love being home. There's just something refreshing and "easy" about sleeping in your own bed, eating out of your own refrigerator and having access to all of your own things. 
Sure, being home requires much more responsibility - the dishes, laundry, cooking - but the pay off of normalcy is refreshing.
Ah yes. . it's good to be home!

I've just arrived back from 11 days in Sydney, Australia. I'll admit, Sydney is one of my favorite places in the world. I love it as much for it's sandy beaches and towering city buildings as for it's delicious food offerings and amazing shopping options. But even more than that my children and I fell in love with the lovely people. 
It is certainly extraordinary in every way.

Now I'm home - no windswept beaches in Dallas, just warm baths for little boys. No bustling city streets right outside my hotel or majestic Opera House view outside my window, just a backyard scattered with toys and an old swing set.
And no, the amazing Hillsong church is not the one I'll be attending this Sunday and I won't be gathering for a women's conference filled with thousands from every corner of the globe. I'll be at my own church - local, fabulous, familiar and sweet.

This is home - familiar and cozy and wonderful in all the most extraordinary ways. I'm so glad to be here.
Amazing how even the most lavish and wonderful of places cannot compare with your own place. Somehow God puts a grace upon it that draws you in and compels you to rest like you wouldn't anywhere else in the world. 

So many great things about home. Here's the list of what I'm grateful for today. What's yours?

Family.
Friends.
My bed.
My fluffy socks.
Familiar jogging path.
Home church.
Cooking for my family.
My favorite spot on the couch.

Floods & Foundations

"It's coming down in sheets outside," or so my Grandmother would say.  Her east Texas drawl would add on something about plants needing the water and roads being slippery.  And I would go back to gazing at the torrential downpour out the front porch door.  I would peer intently to see if I could see which ways the wind was blowing by the angle of the rain.  Ofttimes, we'd crack the porch door for a bit and then the wind would slam it shut at some point.  The door slamming would jar my mom into realizing how late the hour was and I'd be ushered into bed with soft scolds of staying up too late.  The wind.  It always caused a stir.  The next morning the yard would be full of tree and power line debris, not from the rain, but from the stormy winds blowing things about.

We've had crazy amounts of rain in the past week.  They said we'd have floods.  We didn't.  I think about that wind these days...there are a lot of those winds that blow on me even now.  They stir things in my soul.  Sometimes the winds come without rain.  But then sometimes the winds come with the rains, like this past week.  I stayed up most of a night listening to the rain and feeling the wind creep in the cracks of my apartment.  We live in an old but sturdy building.  The foundation is solid, but the age has shown quite a few cracks in the walls and door seals.  

Staring up at the ceiling I started to think about my foundation....the one in my heart.  The walls of my apartment building were rooted in the strong cement of years past.  Are the walls of my heart rooted in the foundation of His Word?  Are the walls of my heart steeped in the foundation of His love for me?  I started to see some cracks in the way I live...some discontentments that speak of a faulty foundation.  You know that itchy, mean case of the reds you can get?  I'd had a few consecutive days of it...where I feel like I don't fit in my own life.  And I realized, I'd allowed the winds of life to take the walls of my heart out of His foundation: His Love; His Word.  Scripture says (Luke 6:47-49; Matthew 7:24-27) that I have to "hear" the Words of God and DO them...I have to allow His Voice to become part of my day-in-day-out breathing.  So today, I guard against faulty foundations by choosing to do what I know He is speaking.  It's as easy as that old hymn, "...trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey..."  

 

Gee, how I love Him!  Praying we all trust and obey today...He loves us MORE.

xx

 

annetta 

Donuts!

Okay so, I haven't done a post about food in a while, so it is long overdo! The food choice of the day is.....donuts. Why did my heart just skip a beat! Ha! I'll tell you why....because

I.love. donuts.

BUT, not just any ol donut.....Shipley Do-nuts! They are simply delectable! I could literally eat these things morning, noon and night. The other day I was hanging out with a friend and she confessed to me that she had never eaten a Shipley's Donut. I honestly became offended that she had been depriving herself of such goodness! But then I started surveying other friends of mine and I realized that many of them had also not tasted Shipley's! Huh? I mean, that would be equivalent to me saying that I've never had a biscuit from Church's Chicken or eaten a bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal. Those all are staple food items that every person should have tried at least once in their life. 

So this just sparked my interest and now I must know.....Have you tasted the goodness of Shipley Do-nuts? If so, don't you just love them?? If not, please provide a detailed explanation as to why! :) Are there other donut places that you love and adore and would like to share with us? Please do!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Until next time,
Antrenette

P.S Just in case you all needed a reminder of what a Shipley Donut looked like!

Bunnies

What is that you ask? That is a bunny rabbit that little Jude and I get to make from time to time when he visits us at the office. I know, it looks more like a puppy dog rather than a bunny rabbit. But Mr Jude doesn't seem to really know the difference yet. 

Without a shadow of a doubt, every single time he comes to the office we always end up making one of these guys. You would think that he would get sick of making them, but for some reason it makes him just as happy with each new bunny creation.

When I first started working here at Going Beyond Jude was only 2 months old; now he is the tallest 3 yr old in his class. I simply cannot believe that time has flown by so quickly! I feel like in some ways I have blinked my eyes and found that boy all grown up. 

So much has changed in these 3 years: we've got more staff members, new resources, a new office, new friends in ministry and countries visited, and of course our little blog community now. I cannot imagine what these next 3 years will hold.

I sure do hope I get at least a few more times of making bunny rabbits and enjoying where God has us in this season. 

What about you? What's one thing you'd like to make last just a little bit longer in this season if you could? 

Here's to the simple things that make life so sweet!

Linnae

Hello From Down-Under!

Thank you for your prayers while I've been in Sydney. It's a city that I love and it's filled with believers whose own passion for Christ inspires my own. With the first Colour Conference behind us, we are ready to launch into the 2nd one in just a few days. (Yes, there are so many women trying to get into this event that they have to do it two weekends in a row.)

During these few days of rest in between the two events, I spent some time clearing out the photographs I've been taking on my cell phone. I thought I'd share some of them with you. Most are just random but I thought you might like to see them anyhow :)

Enjoy and please pray for God to show up in Sydney this week in a glorious way!
Priscilla

 

The lovely Sydney bridge as the back drop of dinner with Christine, Miss Beth and Amanda



Who says you shouldn't walk over to see the Opera House in your pajamas!









The gorgeous Ms. Bobbie Houston (second from the left) who, along with her husband, founded Hillsong and launched the Colour sisterhood movement



11,000 women attended the Colour conference this past weekend and the boys got to help serve the women. I was one proud momma watching them in their "Volunteer" shirts :)



Miss Beth teaches and thousands of women lean in to hear the Word of God



I enjoyed my time on the platform as well. These women were hungry for the Bible. Amen!



Catherine and Sophia are two of my favorite little girls on the planet! Nine and five years old, they are my boy's best Aussie friends!






A little chocolate fondu for my guys on their final night in Sydney



This is me standing in my kitchen at home the day before leaving for Australia. I thought it would be neat to get my hair straightened. . . 



This is me in Sydney the first day of conference. This city's humidity turned my hair into an afro the minute the plane hit the ground. So much for straight hair. . . 

40 More

So my parents have been married 40 years...yep, that's right FORTY years.  Wow.  As a young adult, the thought of being a part of any relationship for 40 years is mind boggling!  I watch the way they love on each other, and it far surpasses the way they loved each other when I was a kid.  Don't get me wrong, they've always loved each other.  There's just this depth of selflessness that has only deepened over time.  Mom always puts Dad's wants before her own...and vice versa. Don't get me wrong, they aren't perfect individuals by any stretch of imagination.  But I guess bringing the trials of life and their marriage to God, day-in-and-day-out for the last 40 years has done this really cool sanctification thing to their lives and their love.  God has been teaching them to love as He loves...and they have been great students.

This selflessness was most comical when they were visiting this past week.  We were trying to think of a yummy restaurant in Dallas for them to eat dinner.  My Dad eats a pretty strict vegan diet and my Mom is just as strictly a carnivore.  I'm still not sure how they co-habitat!  When we were going through the list of possibilities, Mom kept tossing ideas out because they didn't fit Dad's way of eating.  Then Dad would step in and veto an idea because they didn't have enough meat possibilities on the menu.  Back and forth we went til I finally just grabbed the keys and ushered them out the door...I figured a decent wait time and price range could solve our dilemma much faster than the menu choices...It was hysterical!  And it was oh-so-romantic for this single girl...I love that they put each other's needs before their own.

I don't have a relationship that's 40 years old.  But I have a ton of friendships...and as I watch the way my parents love for each other has made them better lovers of people and better lovers of God, this makes me determined to love people the way they love each other.  I'm praying that I love people well today...and asking God to give me eyes to see the hearts of the people around me...that I can love on them better.  Any tips for loving on people well?  Post below...I'd love to get the "love" going by trying out different things you have done that work!

Here's to looking more like Jesus in 40 years...and every day before that!  You are loved!  

 

annetta

 

 

Spring Break & Vacation (plus Kingdom Man Winners)

Yesterday could not have been a more perfect day here in Dallas. 79 degrees, sunny, a little breezy . . . it was perfect! Especially since the weekend consisted of nothing but rain and cooler weather. 

Everyone was either on their bikes, in their front yards, taking a stroll, sitting on a patio... if it was outside, they were there. 

One of my roommates, Dara, and I decided to hop on our bikes after work, ride to White Rock Lake, and then run for a few miles just so we could enjoy the view. That is my happy place: bikes, a lake, running and a best friend. Doesn't get any better than that!

Being outside got me thinking about you all and wondering if you are enjoying lovely weather as well due to the fact that you are on vacation for Spring Break! Or maybe you are enjoying a staycation. Or maybe you are stuck at home with the kiddos with nowhere to go. Or maybe you have no spring break at all and are therefore sitting in your office staring out the window wishing that you were outside rather than being stuck in your cube =) 

So do tell..... are you vacationing this week or are you in the same rhythm per usual? Regardless, I hope you get to enjoy something out of the norm of your usual lives this week. 

Relishing in this beautiful day,

Linnae

**CONGRATULATIONS to the winners from Tuesday's Kingdom Man Blog Post. Email us your mailing address to info@goingbeyond.com

Chelle

Rena

Jennie

Tala King

Going Beyond Simulcast

Good day mate!

I sure do hope you are having a wonderful day. I certainly am. Right this minute I am in Sydney, Australia (thus the Aussie greeting). I'm staring out of a hotel window that overlooks the sunning Sydney Harbor where the majestic Opera House sits in all of its glory.

The Australian sun is beaming today and offering my boys and I a wonderful opportunity to take in the city.

God is moving here and it's been AMAZING to be a part of Hillsong's Colour women's conference .

So many wonderful things happening all over the world and I mentione to you earlier that there were a few events coming up that I really wanted to invite you to. Today, I want to tell you about another.

Going Beyond Ministries, in partnership with our friends at LifeWay Women, will be hosting a simulcast event on May 4-5. This is such a cool and innovative way for all of us to get together and dive deeply into God's Word no matter where on the planet you live!

On May 4-5, I'll be in Orlando, FL hosting one of our Going Beyond events but the event in it's entirety will be broadcasted directly to you. . .wherever you are. So wehther you are hosting a large retreat at your own church, gathering a small group together in your living room or just getting in your comfy pajamas and cuddling up with your Bible under your favorite blanket all alone, you can join with me for the entire conference right on your own television or computer.

Worship will be rich and God's Word will be alive with fresh and relevant meaning for your life. 

I'd love for you to be a part of this event with me. I just know that it will be life-changing for you. . .no matter where you may be!

I've gotta tell you, last year's simulcast was a new and, frankly, intimidating experience for me. I just wasn't sure how it would all come together in the end. But despite my conerns, the Lord blessed all 80,000+ women who joined us for the event!

It was stunning evidence of God's unifying power and goodness.

So. . .tell me. Where do you live and how do you plan to join us for the simulcast? With a small group in your home? 

With a large group at your church?

By yourself at home?

Can't wait to hear from you.

Priscilla

Click here for more information on the Going Beyond simulcast

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Consider it Joy

This past weekend was special for a few different reason. One being, that it was the start of my spring break! Oh how I have longed for this week to come where I would have no classes to attend and no assignments to turn in. The most important reason is, my mom celebrated her 59th birthday this past Sunday, March 11th and I flew home to attend a surprise birthday party that my brother and I threw for her.

Birthdays are days that the majority of people look forward to. It's a day that you can have a free pass to be totally self consumed. A day that you can expect to receive tons of phone calls, emails, text messages, packages in the mail, ect. A day that you can expect to laugh uncontrollably and just be happy.

Well, my mom's birthday involves all of those things, but it also involves a different set of emotions. You see, two years ago my mom's mom (my grandmother) passed away on March 11th.....my mom's birthday. I remember the day quite vividly. My brother and I were planning to take my mom out to eat for her special day, but before we could finalize the plans, we received a phone call early that morning that our grandmother had passed away in her sleep. That is a day I will never forget.

I wish I could say that I responded appropriately to that situation, but I didn't. I was honestly really upset with the Lord and I didn't understand out of all the days He could have chosen, why in the world would He choose my mom's birthday. I felt like my mom's birthday would be ruined for the rest of her life and on a day where we should be honoring and celebrating our mom, my brother and I would have to also mourn the death of our grandmother.

So you can only imagine my response when my brother told me that he wanted to throw her a surprise birthday party this year. I couldn't understand for the life of me why he would want to do that because I had my mind made up that my mom's birthday would always be a somber day full of tears and asking the Lord, why. But in the midst of my grunting, the Lord placed a scripture before me.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds". James 1:2

One thing I noticed is that the verse does not say to consider it joy in every situation.....except death. My entire countenance changed after the Lord placed that verse on my heart and I experienced conviction immediately. Why? Because the Lord's ways are pure and perfect and everything that He causes and/or allows comes from the kindness of His heart.  He always has our best interest in mind and that my friend is why we can consider it joy no matter what situations we face. So on my mom's birthday, we laughed, danced, cried, remembered my sweet grandmother and most of all, we thanked the Lord for the legacy that she left behind.

So, no matter what situation you are facing my friend, consider it pure joy because you know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord are are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) and because you know that your Father would never put more on you than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13) and most of all, because you know that He loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

Until next time,
Antrenette

P.S. Here is a picture at my mom's birthday party of my daddy, mom and brother! I just love these people:)