//Hope Spoken// A heart so full it may burst.

This is pretty much how I am feeling after flying home late last night from Hope Spoken:

Ruthie Hart @ruthiehart1 · Mar 30 Wondering how the heck I will ever put into words #hopespoken .... ever feel like you have so much to say but not sure where to start?

However, I wanted to start trying while I have such a full heart and it is still fresh in my mind. Because I truly want to share it with you precious friends. It doesn't feel like it gives it justice to just say it was amazing. It needs stronger, better words. 
I had my hesitations about attending after the overwhelming feelings I battled at the last conference I went to. But as I shared before, the Lord opened door after door and made it clear to me that this year I was to head to Dallas instead. I have never had such a great confirmation as when I got to Hope Spoken.

Picture being in a beautiful room filled with the most gorgeous paper decorations, twinkling lights, yummy food, sweet worship with the lover of my soul...surrounded by beautiful women who just shine inside out with love for your sweet Savior & you can begin to understand my experience. There were no barriers to approaching these women whose stories I have followed for years, and those who I had never come across in this blogging journey. And none of that mattered. 
Instead of handing each other business cards, most of the time the first question asked was just what your name was. I can count on one hand how many people asked me if I was a blogger. And I was completely ok with that!

This weekend was about Him. About His grace & His amazing work in each of our lives creating a story worth sharing. A story that is centered around Him, because He is what this is all about. Why we share our stories, why we do what we do. Because nothing else matters. It is so easy to get caught up in numbers, popularity and trying to turn this into a business, but I never felt any of those troubles this weekend.

{via}

There were a lot of tears for me. But not from feeling overwhelmed or unsure of myself. They were grace tears, full of hope at redemption to come in my life and the lives of those around me. Tears of joy over just how loved we are by our precious Savior. And these three beautiful ladies who I look up to so much, poured themselves out this weekend to make sure we were loved on and able to see Jesus this weekend. This weekend showed me THIS IS WHY I DO THIS. This is my focus. What it's all about for me. Why I long to share stories when I talk to people, why I want to encourage others....I want them to see Him through me and what He has walked me through.

{Via}

And these beautiful women were just incredible:

Emily who didn't think I was crazy for admiring her beautiful family & so hoping the Lord fulfills a similar dream of mine for a family that looks a lot like hers. She was full of words of encouragement and support. 

Danielle's brave heart as she shared a difficult story in her life and let me cry all over her after she finished. What a beautiful display of the hope we have in Him, and the redemption that He can weave through these stories. I am sure I will be unpacking the words I heard from Him through her for months and months to come. 

Casey and her incredible ability to love on others well. Her example of how to be an incredible wife and mother has impacted me for so long. She gave up so much of her time to talk with me this weekend and I am forever thankful for the way I heard from the Lord through her sweet spirit. 

I can't put into words how thankful I am to them that they said yes to being used by the Lord in big ways! I am sure they will never know just how much they were used by Him this weekend this side of heaven. 

It was just so clear during this weekend that these ladies have prayed so long and hard for the Lord to use them and this event. And oh goodness, He was ever present all weekend long. The beautiful community leaders that loved on us were so genuine and real. Really wanting to make sure we felt heard, loved and encouraged by what was going on through the speakers. Hannah was our small group leader & wrote the devotional material we worked through during the course of the weekend. I can't wait to begin working through it in entirety and unpacking some of the work He started in me during the short time we had together. 


I think the word I chose for the year was completely appropriate, don't you?

A Girly Night.

Hey Friends,
Lets grab a cup of coffee together this evening, or tea, or if like me you are still experiencing some winter evenings, how about some hot cocoa? Snuggle up in your PJs too if you like. I would encourage you to grab a blanket and curl up on our couches round the fireplace. I'm curled up by the fireplace this evening thinking of you girls sitting with me discussing our favorite movies, hanging out, sharing our hearts and having a fun evening together.

After hearing how each of your days were, I know we would move on to sharing deeper things, I am sure the topic of purity would come up at some point. And being married I'm sure so many of you wonder why I am still focused on it. But I still love talking about it, its something so close to my heart. Its totally something we think about while waiting for that special someone right? It's keeping ourselves pure before marriage, saving ourselves for that one guy. Anyway, you get that lots of times we associate purity with singleness. 

God has really been showing me since I got married that it is so much more than all that. He has been showing me more and more that it goes beyond the wedding day. 

Since this could be our first girl night together, I'm going to back up a little before going into a talk about purity after marriage as there are probably some background things about me you would want to know. I grew up in a christian family for starters, so I heard about God and His love for me at a young age. I also did a Purity program (True Love Waits) in high school and made the decision to save sex for marriage. My parents even gave me a ring engraved with the date I made the commitment showing their support of my decision. After completing high school the Lord really gave me a deeper heart for purity, only by His grace did I make it through high school having never been physical with a guy, because for the majority of it, I was still figuring out what I thought about purity and waiting. Now I will honestly tell you, I really believe that saving yourself for marriage is a wise decision, for obvious physical reasons and emotional reasons. I really believe that God shows us that the best plan for us is to wait until marriage to fulfill our physical desires.

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Cor 7:2

The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

1 Cor 6:13

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.

1 Cor 10:8

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-20

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor....

1 Thessalonians 4:2-4

Such verses really convict me on these thoughts. 

For years I also loved the Rebecca St. James song Wait for Me and had it as my ringtone for through college. The Lord really worked on my heart showing me that I needed to trust Him to bring the right guy into my life at the right time. It was hard. I am sure so many of you are in that stage right now, and friend I wish I could give you a huge hug as we sit round our fireplace talking. And encourage you, to keep pursuing God and His wonderful plans for you.  
Those years were some of the most difficult years of my life, but so so precious. I'm not just saying that, I've been there and I know its true. Intimacy with Jesus was such a part of that waiting period for me. Just moments of learning how to sit in His presence and enjoy being with Him. 
Waiting on His timing for romance, learning that relationship with Him is a beautiful romance.

I remember journaling at midnight the night before my birthday freshman year.
How precious it is now to look back and realise the intimacy that was forming in my heart for my king. Being able to celebrate my birthday with Him first was so special to me.

Despite all the unknowns and the wonderings of who the Lord had for me. The desires in my heart for a guy to someday pursue me and love me. I look back now on those years joyfully, and hope to encourage you dear friends in that way. Because I see how precious they were.

I see that God used them to show me that He wanted my whole heart. 
How by trusting Him, I learned to love Him even more. 
Because He was so faithful & trustworthy.

Those are the thoughts I would share with you this evening friend wherever they find you. Whether married with small children and so so tired, newly married and confused about where life is going or single and waiting. Purity is for each one of us. Purity begins with intimacy with our prince. 

Love you friends!

L

P.S. I really want to have another girly night soon.