Mason and I have been learning so much recently, and have been challenged to deep thought and reflection over the last 10 days. Last Thursday evening through Saturday we attended the SBTC’s Intersect Retreat at Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. What a refreshing time! We heard from Aubrey Malphurs and Afshin Ziafat as well as some incredible musical worship leading by Matt Boswell.
After that we left early Monday morning for Galveston, TX to attend the BBF-TX Fellowship Meeting. So nice to see friends like Pastor & Mrs. Mills, President & Mrs Melton, Uncle Steve Bender, Dan & Stefanie Brown, and Jeff & Alisha Miller. My brain has yet to process all that the Lord is teaching us along with how God is leading right now.
I am still attempting to process all that I have learned in the last week, as well as to apply it to my life as promptly as I’m able. There was so much to soak in, and I was energized knowing that I would glean wisdom and knowledge as fast as my pen could write notes. I have PAGES and PAGES of notes to review! One of the most impacting lessons was from Kim Melton, President David Melton’s wife. David Melton is the president of Boston Baptist College, and also pastors the MetroWest Baptist Church in Wellesly, MA. Kim is a wonderful mom to their 4 boys! During our ladies meeting at the TXBBF, Kim shared the Christian woman’s mandated call in Scripture (Titus 2) to invest in and lead younger women to a life of godliness. She used these main points as our focus:
Love
Encourage
Teach
Serve
What a challenge to incorporate these in my daily relationships with younger Christian women, particularly those who have given me the opportunity to mentor and deeply invest in their lives through discipleship and accountability. This “LETS” acronym reminds me that I cannot do it on my own: I must rely on God’s strength to accomplish this. It also tells me that Christian women cannot survive on their own: we must be networked, commiting to intimate growing relationships that are building comradery, friendship, and depth of character. For the majority of my life I feel that I have been on the receiving end of these relationships, particularly in the paradigm of older to younger mentoring. However, I am excited to embrace loving, encouraging, teaching, and serving the younger women in my life!