Monday, January 6, 2014

Defining Moments in my life!!!

This past week at Conqueror's Conference the first night Bishop Abbott preached a message called "Defining Moments!" (Listen HERE!)He talked about the moments in life that define who you become in your life. He talked about how when he was a young man in Bible college he was drifting through life having fun but not really focused on the things of God. He talked about how he wasn't living a sinful life, but he just wasn't really focused on the things of God. Then he talked about a moment around a campfire with the elder in his life when he consecrated his life to God. 
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Hearing Bishop talk about this time in his life caused me to think about the "Defining Moments" in MY LIFE!!! There are two defining moments imparticular that I can remember. The first one took place in my late teens. 
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Defining Moment #1
 I learned LATE in life, for an Apostolic girl that grew up in church since she was two, about prayer. I'll never forget, when I was around 19-20 years-old, yes I know, I am LATE BLOOMER... I've ALWAYS been sloooooooow to mature... So I got admonished by elder Sis. Abbott during prayer before church one Sunday evening. It was PRAYER TIME and I was just SITTING there waiting for church to start!!! I wasn't goofing off, I wasn't causing trouble, I wasn't talking with my friends, I was just sitting there, BORED!!!!!!!!! (Mediocrity and Complacency!!!)
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Ooooo Sis. Abbott GOT DOWN ON ME!!! I'll never forget I was just SITTING there in my chair and she was like, "Mary, I need to talk to you!"  She called me out to the foyer of the church and said she needed to have a word with me and OOOOO MAN I knew I was BUSTED!!! I'll never forget her beautiful crystal blue eyes peircining into mine as she said to me, "MARY! You need to learn how to pray!" She kept emphasizing it as she admonished me, she said it over and over again! You need to pray! You need to pray! you need to pray! Mary, You HAVE to learn how to pray!!!
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I remember I was soooo EMBARASSED!!! ANd I'm sure cheeks were red as I just nodded my head and said ok. AND you know, I really do NOT know WHY she picked me to talk to, because there were PLENTY of other people...ADULTS, that could have used a good talking to also, (Just sayin' LOL) buuuuuuuuut I am soooooooo THANKFUL that she did that day.  That talk is FOREVER branded in my mind!!! I was BLESSED to be admonished by her!!!
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Now, I can't tell you all that from that moment on I became a prayer warrior. It was kinda more like, me at least KNEELING DOWN and ACTING like I was praying during pre-service prayer! BUUUUUUUT what she said STUCK with me!!! There was SUCH a desperation in her to get across to me HOW important it was to pray. It was like she couldn't just let me slip by in my complacency, she HAD to get through to me!!! And SHE DID!!!! I may not have taken up to praying at that exact time, BUT she did get through to me! That admonishment was for sure a "DEFINING MOMENT" in MY LIFE!!!
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Defining Moment #2
I would say that the FIRST defining moment in my life was completed through the second one! As an Apostolic young person, there was something in my life that I really struggled with for several years. The thing that I struggled with was watching television. You may be thinking; what’s the big deal about watching a little television? That’s no great sin. For me it was a big deal. I had grown up my whole life without a television in our home. I was taught my whole life not to watch it and I understood why I shouldn’t. I knew that television was full of corruption, violence, cussing and imoralitey. Out of my devotion to God I had chosen to keep television out of my life. Now, as a young person, I struggled with this commitment to God.
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It’s EASY,  to NOT watch T.V., when you are never around one. Now it was different. I worked in an environment that allowed me to watch television whenever I wanted. Now the temptation was right there in front of me and it was a lot harder to turn my head, close my eyes. Instead of turning to God, I gave in and began watching shows.
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The whole time I hated what I was doing. Over and over, I would promise God I wouldn’t watch T.V. anymore. Then slowly it would creep back, and once again I would find myself breaking my promise. I wanted to do right, but no matter how hard I tried I kept doing wrong. Because of one thing I lacked in my life I did not have the power to overcome this temptation.
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Its not like I was a horrible person. I was still living for God, just not to my full potential. Although at times I am known be a little crazy and hyper, most people would consider me to be a pretty good girl. I got the Holy Ghost when I was six and have always loved God. However, the one thing I lacked was a prayer life. Without prayer I didn't have God’s strength. I lacked the power to live an overcoming life.
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So I continued on with my life, trying to live for God, still struggling with television. One year at a Conqueror’s Conference youth convention in Tucson Arizona, I got the revelation I needed to overcome my struggle. During one of the evening services the power of God came very strongly into the church. As I was praying, I felt the spirit of God fall on me. I remember feeling awestruck by His power. Never in my life had I felt the spirit of God so strong. I was praying and crying and weeping before God. ‘This is it I thought. This is my victory. I am going to go home from this youth conference and not ever watch T.V. again.
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Then, smack dab, right in the middle of this awesome experience with God, I felt a rumbling in my stomach. I couldn’t believe it, my stomach was growling. How could I be hungry at such a spiritual moment? (I was like really God??? Am I that fat that my stomach would growl in a MOMENT LIKE THIS???) However, it was through the growling of my stomach that God really began to speak to me. HOW can my stomach be growling in a moment like this????
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BECAUSE, your still human. You are still weak. It doesn’t matter what you get from me right now. What matters is what you do when you get back home. If you want to change, you’re going to have to make a change in your own life. I knew right then and there, if I wanted things to be different, I was going to have to get a prayer life.
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It was after that conference that I went home and got a prayer life. I worked that job for another WHOLE YEAR without watching TV. When the job ended it felt so good knowing that I wasn't just going to NOT be watching TV because I had been taken out of the situation, but I had OVERCOME my struggle!!! I GOT the victory!!! Now, anytime a television is in front of me, my automatic reaction is to turn it off!
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 The defining moment in my life was NOT in what I was feeling at the alter that day. The defining moment was when I realized, I'm STILL HUMAN!!! The defining moment was when I realized that I could NOT overcome my struggles in my own flesh. The defining moment was when I KNEW I HAD TO GET A PRAYER LIFE!!!!
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What about YOU??? What is a defining moment in YOUR life???
 I would loooooove to hear it from you sometime!!!!

♥Mary Frances :)