I'm Going In

It's been awhile since I last posted. I guess I wanted that picture of Jesus as my Shepherd to stay up awhile. I hope it blessed you as you stopped by.

Today I am going back into the Prayer Room at a Girl's Chrysalis. So far we have 30 young women from age 15-24 signed up to take part in a 3 day experience that I am praying will change their lives. The whole purpose is to show them how much God loves them. It's always incredible to see how their faces change from when they arrive on Thursday night to when they leave on Sunday afternoon. That's my favorite part - the change in their faces. Even if they show up happy, by the time they leave they are ecstatic. If they show up in turmoil, they leave in peace. If they show up angry, they leave serene. If they show up in denial, inevitably they leave believing. No matter what - they leave in love. It's a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me. Even the most angry and distanced girl I ever saw arrive - left dancing. God is so good. And He is so willing to change us if we will just open up to His love and grace and mercy. That's my prayer for these young women - that they will open up to Him.

Let me tell you about the Prayer Room experience. This will be my third opportunity to be in a Chrysalis Prayer Room. It is an amazing place to be for 3 days. Our sole purpose is to pray for these young women and the team that is serving them. We pray for them individually all through the Chrysalis. At the end of the three days they receive a cross with their name on it that we will have prayed over and prayed over and anointed and prayed over some more. They will send us their prayer requests and we will pray over those. We will be sequestered in this room from 8:00 am - 11:00 pm and we'll only come out to eat - maybe - or to sleep - maybe. There have been times I just could not leave. There have been times I just could not eat. I am always blessed beyond measure and I always know how to pray. God has a way of showing you exactly what needs to proclaimed or broken or bound or loosed. I have never experienced a more holy place. It always knocks my socks off. I have cried, I have cried out, I have laughed, I have danced, I have clapped, I have stood, I have knelt, I have been flat on my face and I have rested in His arms. Anything can happen. It always seems like we reflect in the Prayer Room what is going on in the Spirit in the Conference Room though we have no idea what's going on in there. It's truly amazing.

Don't get me wrong though, it's not all love and peace and joy in the Prayer Room. I have been torn up and trampled on in there, brought down and raised up. We are fighting a spiritual battle. It may be spiritual and therefore unseen, but it is war and it is reality. I think sometimes we forget that. The spiritual realm is real. It is urgent. It can be dangerous. Last year I came out of that prayer room wounded - literally - my hip was so sore I could hardly walk, in fact for one day in there I couldn't walk, couldn't move. It had nothing to do with me, but everything to do with what was going on with those young women or at least one of them. It was a tangible wound of war. And today I'm going back to the front.

So, I'm excited. If you think of us, say a prayer. You can be a part of this, too. May you be blessed beyond belief as you go about your weekend. Spread the love. De Colores!