Well we are back home again. We got off to a rough start on our way to the Pepperdine Lectures. On our way to the airport at 5 am after getting about 4 hours of sleep, Liam threw up in the car, just a little. The flight went okay, but once we got to Pepperdine he was running a fever for the first day, so we took turns taking care of him. Finally his fever broke and he was acting like he was fine. I never figured out what the fever was from and he didn't vomit anymore, so what could have been a rough week of having a sick kid away from home turned out to be a very enjoyable week.

The theme of this year's lectureship was Hear the Word of the Lord taken from the text of Jeremiah. I was more than inspired and renewed by the speakers there. They really take that prophetic text and help it make sense to me. I think the overall theme that I am walking away with is the fact that Jeremiah was talking to a generation who had become self-righteous...they did church well...they knew the rules and followed them. The problem was that somehow they missed the big picture of love for God and others...they had forgotten the widows and the orphans and Jeremiah weeped over them because their faith had become such a show and not genuine to the point of serving and helping others and living for God. I know there is a lot more to the text than that, that is just what I am walking away with. I am inspired to be more authentic in my love for Jesus. I hope that I can follow God's lead and truly live out the gospel towards my neighbors and community members and those in my church too.

I found some time by myself while I was there also. I can't remember the last time that I had time to sit and ponder the word of God and pray like my heart desires to. I treasure times like this when I can meditate and do some soul searching. It's not that I never have time to do this normally, but I usually have so many things distracting me or rushing me...a dirty house that needs to be cleaned, my child waking up from his nap, the fact that if I don't take a shower I won't get to that day, so for these things, I often sacrifice my time to read God's word and truly speak to Him about the things pressing on my heart. So I spent some time praying. You know, God has done some great things that I want to give Him credit for when I have had that time to pray. One time, six years ago at the Pepperdine Lectures, I spent a similar time in prayer. I was praying for direction for the summer since I had recently graduated from college. I had applied to intern at a church with Jeb but had been turned down because we were dating. So they hired Jeb and I was left wondering what was going to become of me. I prayed for God to show me what he wanted me to do. Later that same day I was making my way through the crowd of people at Pepperdine when my name was called out. For some reason, someone that I had met only once in my life recognized me out of the crowd of people and called me over. It was the preacher from Santa Rosa, CA where Jeb was going to be interning. I went over and greeted him and was introduced to the elders from his church. They wanted to hire me despite the fact that Jeb and I were dating. Despite the fact that they had already told me no. Despite the fact that I hadn't even sent them a resume. And so I agreed to go. And I am so thankful I did. I am so thankful that God gave Jeb and I that summer to do His work side by side before we were married. It only convinced me even more that we needed to be married and do ministry together. I hope every dating couple has the chance to serve alongside eachother before they commit to a life together. I am thankful for the relationships that were made that summer because they are people who I have a deep love and respect for. They are people that are faithful workers for the Lord who have helped me in my walk and who have helped to refine me as a Christian. And to think it was all because God had a plan. It was no coincidence that I happened to be recognized out of the thousands of people who were there. I think all of it has to do with calling out to God in prayer to direct my life and letting Him be faithful to answer in his perfect time and in a way that let's me know that He is making this happen and I was willing to listen. I hope that I will always seek God in prayer like this.