Celebration Friday

Thank God!  Call out His Name!  Tell the whole world who He is and what He has done!  Sing to Him!  Play songs for Him!  Broadcast all His wonders! Revel in His holy Name, God-seekers, be jubliant!  Study God and His strength, seek His Presence day and night.  Remember all the wonders He performed, the miracle and judgements that came out of His mouth. -I Chronicles 16:8-12 MSG  

When this posts, I will have already landed in Tucson, Arizona. I will have slept in the room that used to beckon me, "Come, rest, sit in my Presence, be welcomed by my grace."

Twelve years ago, distraught, parched, and weary of the spiritual sojourn Jesus had me on, Patti Cepin welcomed me into her home for soul care, a sanctuary in the desert.  Her outpouring of truth, love, and grace has left a everlasting imprint in my life. My book is dedicated to her. She fought for my heart and invited me into the Promise Land of  life with Christ.

So when she wrote about an upcoming Practicing the Presence of God Retreat it was a no brainer. Just read what was in my inbox:

Dear God-Seekers,
This evening I was rereading some of Tozer's Pursuit of God when I came upon this thought: "Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?  They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship."

This so well describes a Practicing the Presence of God Prayer Retreat.  We are coming together to be directed by the Holy Spirit to live in  I Corinicles 16:8-12 and to tune our hearts to His standard.  We come together to bless Him, to bring joy to His heart, to sit at His feet and fall more deeply in love with Him.  This weekend is all about Him.  He invites us to enter into His rest together.

At the retreat we will gather with other image bearers to sit with Jesus, worship him, see with him, and be welcomed into His presence, that same presence that welcomed me in a way I never knew available, with an intimacy and splendor that changes things, e v e r y t h i n g.

Praise Jesus! He is bringing me back to the place of desolation that became my door of hope to the life I now share with Him (Hosea 2:14-17).

I pray you celebrate this same work He's done and continues to do in your life.