The Invitation is there…
I love to watch our animals eat. There is something that happens when I enter the kitchen about 4:45 to start getting the finishing touches to a meal ready. A cat begins to wind itself around my legs and prowling between them and the bench, making sure I can’t do anything well until I notice him. If I ignore him He will plant himself right in the middle of where I need to walk so I have to climb over him or move him. The dog sits in the entrance and moans and whimpers to get my attention and if I ignore him he slumps at the door and give me the evil eye and sulky expression and if I don’t make eye contact he literally eyeballs me. The reason for this annoying behaviour is because they have learnt that being a pet comes with generous helpings of prepared food and the occasional treat off the ground if lucky. Liquorice the cat and Charles our dog both know that before I finish getting our dinner on the table I will pick up their dishes and give them lashing of whatever is planned for their tea or they know that if they are annoying enough it will remind me to call who ever is on duty to feed the animals to come and sort them out. They know that food is available and when it is ready they will be called to eat. The reason they are so keen to eat is because they are hungry and have no source of food at some other table. Our cat and our dog vie for the position of King every day of their lives. They actually believe that the world revolves around them. We sometimes can act like them. What is even funnier to watch is both of them vie for the scraps that we might have available while cutting up something on the bench. It remind me of the woman… (more…)
Favour Thieves and Favour Envy
I love ‘Feeling the Favour’ Days…the days that everything is going my way and I can feel Favour…I don’t even have to pray for a car park but a car park is just where I need it. I head to the check out at peek hour and every line at the checkout’s is full… I walk up at just the right time and a girl opens up a new register and invites me to come on up. I go to the fridge and there is actually enough milk for me to have a coffee after all. I walk to the letter box and find the cheque I had been praying for. I look up to notice my lawn has been mowed and my magic cleaning lady has cleaned my house and cooked my tea……What I hate more than anything though, is the days when that happens to someone else …Don’t tell me you have never had ‘Favour Envy’ …when you are doing everything right and someone begins to share some amazing testimony of God’s favour 
and a pang of Favour jealousy hits you in the chest….weren’t you meant to be the next in line for this Favour thing???
The days this happened it is always a day when you feel like the ‘Favour thief’ came in the night and stole my portion of favour and gave it to my neighbour while I was sleeping.
I am learning to love those days. This year as I have dug deep in understanding and pursuing the favour of God, I am intrigued with the reality that Favour is not a feeling….it is something bestowed on us, it is something we walk in, it is something we must activate and live in, it is poured, stirred, activated, released, awakened, in time and seasonal. It is the days when I don’t feel Favour that I am having to stir my expectations and deal with my disappointments.
If disappointments have the capacity to sabotage our faith and cripple our ability to receive Favour then why do we allow it to dominate our lives define my responses. I have a great key to avoid disappointments: have no expectations. Do not hope for anything and do not live in the world of dreams, hopes, desires and purpose. The best way to protect your heart from disappointment is to lower your expectations. Faith lives in the realm of the supernatural and in our journey of discovering what the Favour of God is and how faith works then we must be prepared not only to deal with disappointments but also to learn to respond to disappointment in such a way that our faith is strengthened and our resilience and endurance is increased rather destroyed.
How has disappointment sabotaged your journey of faith and robbed you…robbed you of joy, strength, courage, purpose, fulfillment?
Joseph was in a pit, sold out by his brothers and almost killed…yet he was right in the centre of God’s will and He had the Favour of God on him. Joseph was sold out by Potiphar’s wife as a liar, a cheat and adulterer and yet right there the Favour of God was repositioning him towards the place God intended him to be in a future time. joseph was in prison for a possible 10 years …wondering if he will ever be remembered…I am sure he learnt in every shift he made, the reality of disappointment, and the feeling that the Favour thief had paid a visit. The Favour of God doesn’t always feel like it should It sometimes come packaged in a pit or a prison. Don’t let discouragement, disappointment and unfulfilled expectations distort your understanding of the Favour of God. Don’t let the Favour thief and Favour Envy rob your joy, your hopes and your confident expectations.
We know that Joseph still had expectations or he wouldn’t have said to the prisoner heading back to the castle…’ don’t forget me…remember me..when you get there…’. Don’t let the Favour thief convince you to give up, sell out, give in….This journey of Favour is so much more than a great parking spot and clear checkout… Be on the look out and don’t letter disappointment take up residence in the garden of your heart. It is a noxious weed that will choke the life out of you and inhibit your ability to flourish.
Great Expectations with Melissa Sears
This week we get to hear from our very own delightful and classy Melissa Sears. This blog is an absolute treat. Mel ‘s life is a testimony to the Favour of God. I have watched this young lady walk through some of the most challenging and difficult of circumstances and she not only manages to smile but to pursue God with a tenacity that proves she seriously takes Him at His word. Melissa lives in diligent pursuit of the Favour of God and it’s contagious….Melissa is a single mum to her boy Nathaniel and works part time bringing some class and glamour as well as some order and favour to the guys at Ultratune. Enjoy this and I hope this stirs your faith like it did mine…
The more you expect favour the more you receive it….with Melissa Sears
Can I let you into my biggest secret, of what has got me through smiling on many occasions…. even before my husband walked out on me, while I was 5 months pregnant … God said to me via a prophesy at Hills “Everywhere the sole of your feet shall tread it belongs to you. Everywhere – divine favour, opening doors you wouldn’t expect, people coming to help, to bless you, whatever you need, expect to receive, because my favour is on you”.
Phil 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Ps 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
Ps 5:12 – For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield.
I’m a testimony that what he says, he does. I’m blessed with a great son, great friends, great church and praying parents. In amongst a lot of long-suffering, patience and self-control, I’ve paid out my ex, kept my home, brought a new car and have favour in my job – as a part-time PA in a successful mechanic shop, where I laugh and have fun all day. (It is only a God thing I am there – I would have never chosen it myself – I have customers telling me how lucky I to work for such great guys – before I can tell them that!)
Favour comes to me in the little things also – I think of someone and they call… I need a meal – it turns up or I get a cheap deal or I have the money to splash out to fine dining– my son needs clothes/shoes/toys – it is given to him. I ask for specific items and I’m positioned at the right place at the right time – where you hear me saying “Thanks God, I love that”. I get upgrades on planes and in hotel rooms and I love to be positioned next to someone I can encourage…. Theses are just to name a few.
My tips:…
Pray for favour everywhere you go.
Thank God for favour when received.
What you expect is what you attract.
As you acknowledge & recognise favour, you experience more of it.
Expect that God wants to bless you and he wants you to be a blessing to everyone you meet.
God is able to do exceeding; abundantly above all we ask or think.
Forgiveness brings favour…. Romans 12:21 “Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good”. Forgiveness involves attitudes and actions (ie. smiling at the person). There are rewards for forgiveness – good things will come into your life.
Let Go and Let God! … God almost never does it the way you tell him…
God does not want your eyes on any person as your source….He is our only source.
Believe for the impossible & God’s supernatural favour will work for you, as it does for me on a daily basis.
Faith
Activates
Victorious
Outrageous
Unthinkable
Results
One day of favour is worth a 1000 days of labour. God can do for you in one day what could take years to accomplish alone… and I love that.
Love Mel
‘How Beautiful The Feet’
I have been moved emotionally by many things in my life and been bought to tears by the simplest challenges and brokenness of others. I have also cried tears of frustratio
ns with my sense of complete inadequacy because I felt powerless and either lacked the resources or the strategies to make enough impact. What I have loved during my time at Hills is that God has given me a gathering of women who are willing to play their part in this movement call led the Sisterhood.This Sisterhood that you are a part of is something that is global, local and strategic and powerful enables us not just have great vision but the tools and strategies to resource the vision and do what I could never do on my own. The Hills Sisterhood is a local expression of a worldwide movement happening across the earth and in my role as your Pastor I am inviting you to be a part of it and want to put some tools in your hand to enable YOU to BE THE CHANGE that very few of us can be on our own.
This is an invitation to be part of movement of women making a difference in people’s lives. The Hills Sisterhood are part of a global sisterhood called the Colour Sisterhood. Some years ago Bobbie Houston accurately penned what the sisterhood is about:
I
AM SISTERHOOD is a declaration and a Movement.
A declaration that is bold and strong, quiet and confident. A declaration about value and identity, purpose and mission. It is a declaration intentional in reach and embrace. It transcends culture and creed, age and status, prejudice and preference. It’s a declaration that positions itself amid awareness and responsibility, concern and care, injustice and solution. A declaration ultimately concerned with the welfare of the world and her inhabitants. It has courageously woven its way through time and history and continues to weave itself across our lives and future.
It is our collective here and now – and belongs to any feminine soul, who somehow believes that she was born for more than what is temporal and fleeting. It’s for women of all ages and background, personality and style, colour and vibrancy. It’s for the bold and bodacious, the demure and unassuming. It’s the sisterhood that perhaps heaven imagined when a very intentional Creator created His girls. It’s strong and beautiful, feminine and gracious, authoritative and gentle and above all else, welcomes the broken and discarded.
Whichever way you see or understand it, it is a growing movement of women across the earth. Our invitation to you is that you are welcome to come gather with this sisterhood. We’re down-to-earth and normal and our heart is to take what is in our hand and genuinely use it for good.
So whoever you are, and wherever you are, lets believe that together we can make this world a better place.
The Flourish Sisterhood is a local expression of this declaration and this movement. This event is an unfolding of my vision for Hills women and our heart to place value on humanity in practical and inspiring ways. This is NOT a fundraiser…it is a commissioning. It is an opportunity to experience in the context of all our Hills women how each play our part in seeing the gospel bring life around. I am committed to Hills women not only experiencing the favour of God for their own lives but carrying the weight of responsibility that comes with that favour.
Preparations are in place to help make your feet beautiful…
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15 )
What you need to do:
Mark this date in your diary.
Catch the heart of the Colour Sisterhood prior to the event go to http://thecoloursisterhood.com/about
Register from this Sunday at the Connect Desk.
Love Jen
Favour with Samantha Jackel
This week my guest blogger is Samantha Jackel. Sam is another one of our gorgeous, fun and wise Hills Girls. If you haven’t met Sam yet, you may well know her through ‘Go the Extra Mile’ endurance event held each year which a number of Hills people have been involved in. Sam and her husband Peter, run this event and as it is on next Saturday, 5th of May, I thought you might like to hear from this amazing woman. Sam and Peter have 5 children and she is also an author and speaker, having written her own autobiography `My Purple Pants’. Sam’s story is one of the enduring grace and goodness of God. This week Sam’s blog inspires me because it gives us the evidence of what it means to choose obedience because Favour is not just about us but those who will be the recipient of God’s favour….
Sam writes:
I have been able to taste the favour of God with a difference by sitting in the shadows of someone who attracted God’s favour on their life which overflowed to mine.
Some of you may know my story but others of you would not, so I will briefly share a little….
Back in 1988 I married Peter but I married him under deceit. I tricked him into marrying me – I was 20 years old and he was 23yrs. I was messed up by an abusive childhood and learnt the art of manipulation, deceit and lies. After 9 months of marital hell, I decided to tell Peter the truth –shocked and angry he left me!
We were separated for the next nine months and during that time he sought different people’s advice and more often than not they would suggest that he should divorce me! Around the 9 month mark of being separated the Lord spoke to Peter through scripture.
Joshua 9 (paraphrased) ..
Joshua made a promise/vow to the Gibeonite’s under deception and when Joshua enquired of the Lord on what to do, God told Joshua that he needed to keep his promise his vow to the Gibeonite’s.
This scripture spoke to Peter and he felt the Lord challenge him to come back to me, to help me and to make our marriage work – this was against the advice of many.
It took five years of hard work to get to a place where we could say that we loved each other.
It is my belief that it was that very decision that Peter made to obey God and to honour his marriage vows when he was 23 years old that attracted the favour of God on our lives/my life. I have been richly blessed by Peter’s action 24 years ago and at times have been in awe of the favour that the Lord has out poured on us as a couple and individually.
Favour does not mean that the road will always be easy and our experience has proven that. But we have seen incredible favour during our married life.
Because of the favour that God has poured out on Peter from that one decision he made so many years ago to honour God and not man, I have 
had the privilege of the out pouring of that favour over my life.
We certainly can attract the favour of God on our lives. One way is by being obedient and honouring Him and His word. In our case, it was the complete obedience that attracted His favour. I am so undeserving of the favour God but by His grace have had the privilege of having it on my life due to Peter’s commitment to serve and place Christ first in his life, laying down his own desires and dreams to follow Gods leading.
I see the favour flow from Peter to me and onto our children – I want to continue to attract His favour on my life and my family’s life.
`Favour of God’ with Cathy Scott
Last week I wrote about our lives being like a magnet to the Favour of God…some things about our lives can attract and others can repel the Favour of God and this week’s blog is a great follow up to that. This week’s blog is written by another one of our gorgeous Hills women, Cathy Scott. Cathy is one of the most endearing, warm and enjoyable women to be around. If you ever get ot hear her story you will come away inspired by her faith and tenacity and her ability to dig deep in the greatest of adversity and challenges. She is someone you can both laugh and cry with and come away refreshed by her wit or her wisdom depending on what it is you need most. Cathy is married to Dave and has had 5 children and one grandchild. She has a passionate love for God , her family and her local church and a huge heart for humanity….
ENJOY:
Cathy writes:
I write the following as a part of my story.As I look back over the past couple of generations in my family, I see that 
our family is not by far, a perfect family – it has it’s fair share of dysfunction. But I can see that right choices made in years gone by, are giving me favour now.
Both sets of my grandparents were Christians. And so were my parents. They raised us in a Christian home where we went to church every week and were all involved in church activities and the community, with Dad pastoring for a while too. I have many memories of my Gran and my mum reading their Bibles.
Dave and I got married and his upbringing was different… being dropped off at Sunday school from a young age, – both his parents giving their hearts to the Lord years later.
We didn’t start off ideally. I was 3 months pregnant. Realizing we’d disadvantaged ourselves through our choices, we had to make some important decisions and choices for our future. Some of these decisions way back then were things like making choices that woudl build our marriage and make our marriage work. We also made the choice to get into God and become involved in a church. We decided that we would never threaten divorce and that it wasn’t an option for us. Any distraction or temptation that lured us away from what we knew to be right, we would to walk away from. It has not always been easy to make those decisions! However, because we did, we now have our own family of four kids, a son-in-law and grand-daughter. As I reflect back over the years, I can see the right choices we made and the result of God’s favour.
There were many times on and off through my youth, that I didn’t feel like going to church or tagging along with my parents to another meeting or church event. However, we were never given the choice. We were expected to be in church, no ifs or buts. Sadly, my parents had to deal with a lot of complaining and winging about church life from me and being the daughter of a pastor added another twist! However, I remember their steadfast faithfulness and that they neverwavered in their resolve to raise us to love God and be the best parents they could be.
Dave and I too, have had just the odd occasion with each of our kids, when they have not wished to join us at church for some reason – but we too, have been insistent that we go to church as a family and there are only rare exceptions. It is a legacy that was passed down to me from generations past and there is no greater joy for Dave and I, than to see our kids loving being in the House of God and now having a granddaughter in the House too!
So often we are inclined to think of favour as something that is linked to finance or status or some worldly measure. I think at Hills we are learning that God’s favour is so much more than that – we have God’s favour and we flourish!
When we choose to make Jesus our Lord, we immediately have His favour – His grace, mercy, forgiveness and love, show us such amazing favour!
I have also noticed that favour often shows itself after a long time of faithfulness and obedience. It’s the small things that add up to make the big things.
Everyday, we make choices. Some of those choices end up requiring His grace and forgiveness, and the consequences of those choices may affect us throughout our lives. Some are little choices to do the right thing – and consistently doing the right thing = FAVOUR.
As I write this, I realize I am abundantly blessed with favour, some of which comes as a result of the generations before me who made right choices. It shows me how important those choices I make are and how they have long lasting effects. I know we all come from different backgrounds and circumstances and it makes me realize that I am blessed to have the heritage I do, but I know that even if you haven’t had what I have had, you can choose to change the course for your family now.
We had a Pastor once who used to say “It’s right to do what it’s right to do!” I believe that’s true and is what brings favour. I am not saying that our works bring favour, but right choices bring favour.
I believe that we have the FAVOUR of God in our family, because of my Grandparent’s faithfulness to Him and because of my Mum and Dad’s faithfulness, even when I’d much rather have stayed in bed and read my book or slept in, they made me go to church.
My prayer is that this legacy will continue through the next generation and so on. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian – however positioning yourself in a community of other Christians and growing in a personal relationship with God is one of those decisions which attracts the favour of God We are also favoured when we show favour to others. This is part of the Sisterhood mandate.
Favour is the sum of all those little instances of obedience – even in the midst of difficulty – it’s faithfulness and the fruit of that faithfulness that is FAVOUR.
Perhaps you were not blessed to have the background I have. Each of us, no matter what, when we choose God, immediately have His favour. Our choices and faithfulness keep us flourishing even in difficult circumstances and experiencing the amazing favour of God in our lives in spite of those circumstances, because He is faithful and trustworthy.
My prayer is that we continue to FLOURISH as we choose what is right and that we walk confidently in His FAVOUR, consistently showing His favour to others and the world will see God’s favour and be drawn to Him too.
Favour Magnet
I love the feeling you get when you try and get something to go to the wrong end of a magnet and there is nothing you can do to keep it connected. That is a little bit like the favour of God. There are some things in our lives that repel the favour of God a little like that magnet. There are also some things attract the favour of God.
Why do so many Christians settle for less than what God has for them? When you really begin to understand the favour of God there is no way you would want just a portion of all that. The danger in writing this blog is that you interpret my thoughts as some formulae to earn the favour of God…some sort of to-do list and you try to line up the do’s and erase the don’t in order to bend God’s arm in some sort of weird mystical effort to get God to do what you want him to. That is not what this blog is about.
My prayer is what I write will lead you to examine your own heart and be aware of how these things can help or hinder you in your pursuit of God’s favour and in showing his favour to others. You will be tempted to skip the difficult one’s as irrelevant …but don’t…. The Holy Spirit wants to use this blog to bring correction and conviction and I hope that is what you feel as you read this. I pray He highlights something in your heart in order to draw an increase of favour and responsibility to your life.
The first area I want to draw your attention to is the area of HUMILITY and PRIDE.
Pride is the greatest repellent of the favour of God. None of us are exempt from it and it can creep into every area of our lives. It comes in many disguises and can be extremely subtle. When we think we have no pride we probably do. Our independence is rooted in pride. When we think we already know more than someone else we are dealing with pride. When we think we are better than others or more deserving or more righteous or more anything we are dealing with pride. Pride keeps us from praying…trusting and even believing. When we think that our works deserve the favour of God we are dealing with pride. When we think we can live without Jesus or that our works are worth something or that Jesus is just not enough, we are dealing with pride. Our issues of trust are rooted in pride. Our inability to deal with pain or rejection is rooted in pride. Our inability to forgive is rooted in pride. Our unwillingness to repent or simply admit we are wrong is rooted in pride. Self reliance and self sufficiency are forms of pride. Our need for control and our independence is rooted in pride.
A sure way of attracting the favour of God is to deal with our pride and embrace humility. Favour can be missing in an area of our lives simply because we have pride in our heart. The great thing is that it simply takes genuine humility to deal with it.
Peter 5:5 says “God opposes the proud, but favors (gives grace to) the humble.”
James 4 verse 6 says `
But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favours the humble.”[c]
These verses tell me that my pride can retract the grace and favour of God and my humility can attract it. Your pride can keep the favour of God from flowing in your life. Humility is not something we say…it is an issue of your heart that only you and God know about. You can’t pretend to be humble and expect the favour of God. It has to be genuine. Pride and humility just don’t mix.
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Don’t be a quitter!!!
Another way we can block the favour of God is by quitting or giving up! It doesn’t matter what aspect of your life…there will always come a point in any area of your life where you are tempted to quit and give up. The temptation to shrink back, give up, throw it in and quit will always cause us to miss out on the Favour of God.
Hebrews 10 verse 35-39 says `So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For, “In just a little while, who is coming will come and will not delay.”fAnd,”But my righteous[g] one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.”
Hills girls do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. The temptation to give up and quit comes at us on many levels, but even more so when we are weary or tired. When we have a picture of the favour of God and have clearly heard his promise then it is easier to persevere in trial but when we lose sight of his promises and our confidence is tested we can position ourselves to miss out on the favour of God simply by giving up too soon. One way to block or retract the favour of God is to become overwhelmed, frustrated and give up, quit, give in, shrink back. On the other hand one way to position yourselves to experience His favour is to keep going , One way to position ourselves is to walk by faith, keep believing, keep trusting, remain confident of a positive outcome, stay true, remain, abide and persevere. Some of you are feeling the pressure to give up believing, and quit holding on but we do not belong to those who shrink back but we Hills girls are those who have faith and are saved!
A friend of mine wrote this on her facebook status this week and I thought it was worth repeating:
How often do we stand on the edge of our promise and before us lies that which seems impossible to go through so we give up. Today choose to open your hand and allow God to make a way where the seemed to be no way. He is faithful and He is more than able. He’s the same God today who parted the waters.(Thanks Rebekah Acason)
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What about the ‘O’ Word??
What about obedience?”
Our obedience is a true test of our understanding of favour. It tests our motives, our revelation of God and what we believe about Him, and our understanding of his grace. It reflects issues of trust, belief, fear and worship.
1 John 2:3-6
‘We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands…The person saying I know Him but does not do what He commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. The person who obeys God’s word…God’s love is made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him….Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.’
Partial and incomplete obedience is disobedience. When you hear God telling you to do something, when his word tells you to live a certain way, when we decide to walk in agreement with him…right there we find favour
Maybe you have experienced the effect of these or any one f a number of things the enemy puts in our path to blind us, block us, distract us or destroy us. I haven’t even mention some of the other things the Bible tells us attracts God’s favour such as generosity, thanksgiving, praise, honour, faithfulness, service….……
Re-Blog Easter with Max Lacado
Six Hours, One Friday
By Max Lucado
http://christianbackgrounds.info/wp-content/themes/fastwallpaper/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://christianbackgrounds.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cross.jpg&w=448&h=336&zc=0&q=100“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21”
Six hours, one Friday. Mundane to the casual observer. A shepherd with his sheep, a housewife with her thoughts, a doctor with his patients. But to a handful of awestruck witnesses, the most maddening of miracles is occurring.
God is on a cross. The creator of the universe is being executed. It is no normal six hours. It is no normal Friday. Far worse than the breaking of his body is the shredding of his heart. And now his own father is beginning to turn his back on him, leaving him alone.
What do you do with that day in history? What do you do with its claims? They were the most critical hours in history. Nails didn’t hold God to a cross. Love did.
The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint!
Excerpted from:
Lucado Inspirational Reader
Favour of God with Jackie Koster
Hey ladies. I have asked some of the gorgeous and wise women of Hills to share something from their heart on the favour of God and how it applies to their lives. This week Jackie Koster is my guest blogger. As Steve has speaking about serving I thought Jackie blog was just what some of you need to hear, Jackie is married to Rick and has one son, Josh. She is actively involved in the life of our church as a Generate Leader amongst other things, but her greatest mission is the primary schools in which she reaches out to kids every week as a CRE teacher (Christian Religious Education). Jackies’ grestest gift to me personally has been her gift to encourage…to say just the right thing or write a card that will arrive in my mail box at just the right time to inspire, encourage and stir me in my personal faith and build courage into my life. Enjoy!
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Service… Meaning….God’s Will
Colour Conference 2012, turning 40 and the Favour of God!
I turn 40 this week….and I started celebrating early by heading up to Sydney and spending time with my sister. We celebrated in style by heading into the city for the night and going to see the production of Annie. That was really special. I then got to join some of our Hills Girls at Colour Conference. Colour Conference is a women’s conference hosted by Bobbie Houston and Hillsong Church. Week 1 (of two conferences held back to back in Sydney) filled the Sydney Entertainment Centre and will be held in Capetown, London and Kiev over the next month. You can get a glimpse of it in pictures at the Colour Conference Blog . For those who went I would love you to note some of your favourite moments and highlights in the comments below so others can capture what you got out of it. For those who go for the first time it is breathtaking. For those who have been before it is like profoundly moving. Here are some thought I jotted down on teh plane as I headed home:
`On the first night there was such a great sense of expectation in my heart as I sat on the very back row waiting for Brooke Fraser to lead us out in worship. This spot was actually perfect for me as it gave me a panoramic view of the 11000 women who had sacrificed much to be there and had huge expectation for God to touch them. You can’t help but be moved by that many women worshipping Jesus and throughout the conference, I often found myself not singing, and not participating but simply looking around with eyes wide open at the beauty of unity found in those moments. Another highlight for me was the way the speakers framed the conference with words that Hills Girls are growing rather fond of…words like FLOURISH, NURTURE, SISTERHOOD and FAVOUR were expressed often throughout the weekend and we Hills girls were made to feel right at home. It also made me feel a sense of joy and expectation that I was in tune with what God is doing throughout the earth and maybe just maybe I had been hearing from God on your behalf. I am just as expectant about the coming months as I was about being at Colour as I know that it is in the context of my own world back in Melbourne that the seeds sown at colour will germinate and FLOURISH. I pray not so much that I will have clarity but rather that I will be obedient and surrendered to His plan for me and the women he has charged me to NURTURE’ Brian Houston stepped up on the first night and spoke about this year being a year of God’s favour and quoted this fantastic scripture about this year would be crowned with God’s goodness….. Psalm 65:11 (New King James Version (NKJV))11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance
Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore are two of my favourite speakers and they didn’t disappoint. Over the coming weeks I am looking forward to sifting through my journal and nurturing the seeds that were sown as they spoke.
May 31st: `How Beautiful The Feet’ – A Sisterhood Event
One of the main things that will be fleshed out from Colour, over the coming months will be the Sisterhood Projects. Four years ago God seeded in my heart, the challenge to get on board with the Colour Sisterhood and this year God continued to water those seeds and sow new ones. This year you will get to hear some of the exciting things we will be involved in that collectively will make a huge impact around the globe. . The Colour Conference is so much about the mandate to place value on humanity. This blog has the intent of motivating you to play you part in that mandate. It is not enough to just read a blog and be aware. It is so much more…it requires sacrifice and obedience.
I am looking for anyone who wants to give me a hand on the night but more importantly I hope that you heart is ready to step out and be all that God intended you to be. The message of favour is one that is tied closely with responsibility and purpose. If you would like to be involved in helping me launch Sisterhood 2012 in May then let me know. Don’t just sit back ….get involved. I need your help to make this night sensational and there are plenty of things you can be involved in…..if I ask you ….I do hope you will say YES.
ALSO……Favour, Favour, Favour…..
One of the things I have been doing this year is seeking out messages that are directly related to the Favour of God. I want to frame my world 
(and yours) with this integral message of the gospel and it requires some diligence to do so. I want to build this revelation of favour into my life this year so that it is strong and flourishes in my life and home ( and church). One of the messages I have been listening to this week is a sermon by Steve Furtick from Elevate church, in Charlotte (USA). Over the past couple of weeks he has been preaching at Life ChurchTV on …YEP: the Favour of God. If you get a chance to have a listen you will love these messages: Check them out here: http://www.lifechurch.tv/watch/found-favor/1.
His Definition of the Favour of God is : The GUARANTEE of His presence and the PROVISION of His power to accomplish His special PURPOSE in and through my life.
Life ChurchTV also includes further study and resource> If you have time pull out your Bible and journal activate these truths in your heart by digging deeper: http://resources.lifechurch.tv/items/511-found-favor-week-1-pdf
By the time you read this I will be in the middle of a week of fun and celebrations. Birthdays are special but heading into a new decade presents with it a vast array of opportunities and challenges yet unknown. As I face this new decade it is simply with a prayer that I will live it purpose driven, by faith and not by sight with an overwhelming sense of the Favour of God: the guarantee of his presence and the provision of His power to accomplish HIS special purpose in and through my life. I hope that prayer is your prayer for each and every day you face.
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