Eve of the Esthers and Revival

On the eve of our first gathering, I am filled with excitement. I have enjoyed completing my individual Bible study and look forward to coming together with this great bunch of ladies.

I'll go ahead and apologize that when you enter the doors of my home, you will not feel like you are in the scene from Esther 1. If it makes you feel better, I can arrange for each lady to have their own drinking glass unique to the others! Thanks to my own clumsiness, I don't have a full set of any glassware. I do have a variety of coffee cups and plastic cups.

Seriously....
I do look forward to this experience. So......Please pray for good weather, healthy children, and safe travel. Most importantly, pray for our Most Gracious Heavenly Father to be glorified. I also ask that you pray for our church's upcoming revival. It will be February 15 - 18. Revivals are so important for individuals, churches, and communities. Could I add maybe now more than ever?

The first revival I ever went to was in Allen Co. We were invited by our friends Holly and Greg. This night will live on in my heart forever. I was not a Christian, yet I knew the "basics." That evening was the last night of the revival. My friend Holly got up to sing Amazing Grace. I began crying. It was beautiful and God was talking to me. When the invitation was given, I wanted to go forward. Oh, and if anyone ever says Satan is not in church, they are wrong. He was there. God was calling me. It was the first time I had ever stopped to hear him. Yet, Satan was whispering in my ear. "You are so stupid. What are you crying for? These people don't know you. You don't belong here. If you go up there, they are going to think you are crazy." Well, the evil one won that night. I didn't go forward. I agreed with him. Thank God, however, that wasn't the last time I heard Him calling me. It would be a couple years later before I opened my heart to Jesus. I'll save that one for another day.

My son was saved during our fall revival last year. In a previous post, I stated that Colin is a pretty deep guy. That's no joke. Colin had been contemplating his own salvation for some time. I was terrified because of his age. I knew that some people walked down the aisle during invitations because their friends did, they wanted to drink communion juice, or thought it would be cool to be baptized. I never worried about that with Colin. He does not like to call attention to himself. He's pretty independent. You can forget about him voluntarily trying a new food or drink OR going under water for that matter. I was worried about him actually understanding what it meant to be saved. The second to the last night of our revival, I had nursery duty. When we got home, Jeffrey had told me about Colin wanting to go to the alter to pray during the invitation, so they did. Colin then began asking us lots of question about being saved. Immediately we called our preacher. The next night, we met with him and he talked with Colin. Colin decided that he wanted to be saved, so Bro. Copass prayed with him. We decided as a family that Colin would wait awhile before coming before the church. However, when the invitation was given, Colin said, "Mama, I'm going up there." What was there left to say. My heart lept with joy as it melted that he was growing up. I don't doubt Colin's salvation at all. He is strong willed and makes his own decisions. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." The child did.

Revivals change people's lives. Praise God!