I'll probably (maybe, fingers crossed, hopefully) be writing about some things I learned along the way and how they're shaping my life. In the meantime, here are a few takeaways.
The funny ones:
- Apparently you never lose the teacher-gene. Even when you're surrounded by 20,000+ college students and reliving your youth. I was constantly taking head counts of my group this weekend... "1-2-3-4....12. Good. All here." And then ten minutes later "1-2-3-4....12. Good. All here." Haha!
- Atlanta is cold. And hilly. And if I lived there and walked around downtown a lot, I'd have beast calves. The end.
- I'm slowly realizing that I'm not a spring chicken anymore.... Only getting 3-4 hours of sleep Friday night almost did me in.
- I think I *might* now have an idea of what it might be like to have teenage daughters. And that's all I have to say about that. Ha!
The Jesus ones:
- Sweet Ashton dubbed this Passion conference Passion 2014: Passion on Our Knees. It was no thing to look up in the middle of worship and see a worship leader or instrumentalist on their knees on stage, completely in awe of the God we were worshipping. It was absolutely breathtaking to both witness and be a part of such powerful corporate worship.
- We will never understand our condition without a clear view of His character. His glory. - Louie Giglio
- It's not just "a" cross - it's "MY" cross. There's only one victim in the story of the cross, and it's not me. It's Jesus. Me and my sin - we are the perpetrators of the story. - Louie Giglio
- God's wrath on the cross obliterated our sin. It's not a process. It is finished. God's not doing away with sin. He did away with our sin.
- We have the divine nature of God IN us through his glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1) - Francis Chan
- Becoming holy is not a passive act. I can't just pray, "Ok, God. Make me holy." It requires me to make every effort to supplement my faith. (2 Peter 1:5) - Francis Chan
- Development in a process. It's not like our selfie generation where we just "snap and upload." Development requires time in the darkroom. And the darkroom is all about having Jesus's image forged onto you. God will work in you so he can work through you. - Christine Caine
- God develops our destiny and purpose in the darkroom. - Christine Caine
- It's not about performance. It's about preparation. - Christine Caine
- Sometimes we miss the new thing God is doing because we're looking for the next old thing. - Christine Caine
- The heart is the seat of your passion. Guard it. (Prov. 4:23) Your heart will take you further than your gift ever will. - Christine Caine
- When God marks you, you don't have to be marketed. - Christine Caine
- There's always a gap between the anointing and the appointing. - Christine Caine
- Human inadequacies are obliterated by God's sovereignty. - John Piper
- If we keep letting the enemy tell us our story, we have the wrong story. - Louie Giglio
- As soon as you're crushed by grace, you're sent by mercy. - Louie Giglio
- God doesn't give birth to sinners; he gives birth to sons and daughters. - Louie Giglio
- When there's nothing left of me, let it be Jesus. I'm pretty sure Louie said this (or something similar) in the closing message, but it's also my prayer. And that seems to be the overarching theme of the weekend. From the messages we heard to the songs we sang, it's all about Jesus. Jesus for us. Jesus in us. Jesus over us. Jesus through us. Jesus forged over my own image. All I want is Jesus in me. I want less of me and more of him. I want what he wants. I want to be like him. I want him to reveal my passion and purpose. I want him to use me as he sees fit. All I want is Jesus. Just him, just Jesus.
