I’ve climbed a lot of {metaphorical} mountains in my life, but I don’t think any of them are as sweet a victory as climbing to the top by stepping out in obedience when all you have is your gifts and a word from God. The Declare Conference was a dream that God put on our heart as a team and Eryn Hall, Heather MacFadyen, Michelle Acker and I chose to be obedient in the face of {at times} nearly impossible odds. Seeing how God took our little loaves and fishes and turned them into something that fed the multitudes is simply AMAZING!
There were a lot of small victories along the way. We were up against huge budget requirements and only small coins in our pockets. Of course, that didn’t limit God as we asked Him for His provision for the vision He gave us. We had thousands of dollars worth of services and items donated to us because of God’s favor and goodness. He moved on the right hearts and blessed us beyond all that we could have imagined. And, if I had lots more time to tell you all the details I would share how extravagantly God blessed those who gave their time, energy and resources to Declare. That blew me away too. God is so good!
God also has a way of proving Himself in the last minute details. We had several last minute needs that we had to trust Him for or run and hide terrified into corners. Sometimes we ran into our prayer closets terrified { I know I did} but God met us, spoke truth into our hearts to infused us with courage and He provided for every. single. need and beyond!
I watched as women came together who had found each other in online spaces and connected through words. These women braved not knowing many for the sake of deeper fellowship and growing in their gifts. I saw them press in during worship at Declare and allow God to have His way with their hearts. Faces were damp with tears as we took the time to seek His face and let Him know that we were there for Him, more of Him. God met us and it was beautiful.
Those who have pressed on and done this blogging life ahead of us determined not to let shaky knees get in the way of God’s desire to use them to speak about their experiences and share lessons learned with us. Some spoke quietly and others more boldly but all of them with anointed words. The sessions that I was able to attend blessed me beyond words and challenged me to grow. I am so thankful for the power of a timely message and those who are not afraid to speak it.
Eryn {Mama Hall} & I
And when the time had come to say good bye I stood in awe of God and His handiwork and that He used 4 unlikely women to do this thing. Amazing. At the top of the mountain with the some of the fruit of our labor in sight I praised God like never before. The fight to get to the top was challenging but so very worth it. And out of the perseverance came rich rewards.
If there is a dream and a word from God in your heart then work towards it with perseverance. Don’t give up before you get to the top. It is there that you will start to see what it was all for. God will be faithful throughout the entire journey.
Can you imagine getting to the top of a mountain {a dream} you are currently climbing? What do you think it would feel like to get there? Is it worth the effort to continue the climb?
I’m linking up with The Declare Conference today where we share our Declare Conference experiences. Come read more stories of what God did in our time together. If you didn’t make it this year we’d LOVE to have you next year!
Kristin, it was a great blessing got to meet you at the Conference. I am in awe to see how God has done at the conference, used you and the team to make it happened for all of us.
YES! “God also has a way of proving Himself in the last minute details.” I agre with you and experienced myself! He is good!
I hope to see you again through our blogging world and at the conference next year :)
This was my first time to be at Declare. I had an amazing time and came home incredibly inspired. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into everything. It was perfect and I’m looking forward to coming back next year and hopefully bring some friends with me. :-)
Kristin, so so grateful for your humble obedience to the God of the universe! He worked mightily through you and the rest of the team! So blessed to have met you!
Thank you for stepping out and trusting Him. It was a great conference and I’m so thankful I was able to be a part of it.
Kristin, Having been on the “behind the scenes” side of preparing for a conference- I understand the running to the closet so well and He meets us where we fall to our knees every time. The weekend was flawless to the people sitting in front of the curtain and He is so Glorified by the obedience of you girls to do what He put on your hearts to do. Thank you all for your efforts and your time, your talents, your prayers and the incredible show of what a servant looks like for the Kingdom of God! much love, Nancy
What an amazing time…I’m so glad I came, and so thankful to God for meeting me there! Thank you for you vision and all your work in bringing the dream to reality!
Thanks for stepping out in faith, and for your focus on Him through it all. I so appreciate your servanthood, and your desire to DECLARE Christ through your efforts.
(And, thanks for letting me be an itty-bitty part of the conference. Honored.)
Loved having you there Katie! Thank you for your kind words and encouragement! Blessings, Kristin
I’m so glad I got to meet you – it was such a blessing to see how God worked in some big (and some almost unseen) ways. This conference healed some conference wounds for me, and I couldn’t thank you enough for that.
You are precious and such a blessing! Thank you for all the ways you helped us out! I am beyond blessed that Declare was healing for you. So thankful you came! Love, Kristin
I don’t know if I could ever express to you all how much your obedience has blessed and changed my life. God truly honored all of the things that you pressed through in order to make Declare what it is. I love your encouragement to not give up before you reach the top!
Thank you for the honor and privilege of being a part of Declare!
XOXO
Traci, I am so glad that you won that ticket and made your way to Declare! I am thrilled you got to come and so appreciated your help. It is amazing to hear about all of the ways God worked and the speechlessness is just another way that we get to see how much God did. He overwhelmed us all! Love, Kristin
I love this. I love your heart, I love they way you’ve shared it with all of us in planning and preparing the vision He set before you for this weekend. It was an amazing time, full of God’s goodness, mercy, and grace. Thank you for fighting to the top of the mountain so we could all meet with God there. What a blessing!
Thank you Melissa! I am so glad you came and shared the time with us!
Oh. Thank you for this. For words that so beautifully and eloquently express what is in my heart right now.
It has been an honor to serve and be obedient alongside you. Such a blessing. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us to do next!
I so agree Shell. You are a blessing to know and have such incredible gifts! I look forward to what God has next for us. Blessings, Kristin
Thank you so so much for following His leading. That weekend will always hold a special place in my heart for how God used it in my life. That would not have happened had you four not listened and obeyed, so thank you.
You are so welcome Stacey! I love hearing how the conference blessed you. Praising Him that He did such amazing things with our time together! Blessings, Kristin
Oh Kristin —
It was absolutely magical.
We would have enough room in the largest book to record every God thing that happened… I am so excited to hear everyone’s story!!
I loved reading yours — and that I could hear your voice as I was reading it. :)
Thank you for your faithfulness.
All were blessed. *hugs*
Yes, so many God things happened. I love reading/hearing the stories too. Thank you for all of the prayers and for your help. You are such a blessing! Love, Kristin
Kristin, I love hearing your “back-story” to this past weekend. From where I sat, everything seemed to flow flawlessly and, far more importantly, God’s Presence was there! Thank you (and the whole team!) for your dedication and obedience. It was such a blessing to me and to every person in attendance. You keep on amazing me, girl!
Courtney, you are such an encouragement to me and I and SO glad you got to be at Declare! Thank you for being my friend and for your sweet words at just the right moments. Love, Kristin
So neat to hear your story – the behind the scenes portion. What an amazing weekend it was. So thankful that you four listened to God’s call and followed the dream He gave you. I’m looking forward to next year.
Deanna, Oh, I am so looking forward to next year too! I thought I would need to sleep for a week but I just feel so fired up after seeing what God did at Declare. I am so glad you came and look forward to seeing you next year! Blessings, Kristin