Sheri Wohlfert
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Joyful Words Blog

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. 

– Psalm 119:105

2,500 Reasons To Remember

8/31/2015

9 Comments

 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

General Sam Huston led the battle cry “Remember the Alamo” nearly 180 years ago.  I will follow the advice of that great General myself and remember the Alamo but probably for a very different reason. I had the pleasure of speaking at a Catholic Women’s Conference in San Antonio and my hotel was literally yards away from the Alamo.  I had a couple hours before the conference started on Friday afternoon so I decided to do a little exploring and I can’t even describe my shock to walk a few steps down the street and realize I was standing right in front of such an amazing sight.  I was struck by the beauty and charm of the city but little did I know I hadn’t seen the greatest treasure of all yet.  Friday evening as I made my way to the Convention center I began to see the real beauty and treasure of Texas…its strong women of faith!  When the seats were full and the conference began I found myself in the presence of 2,500 faith filled, joyful, enthusiastic daughters of God. So, what do you suppose happens when you gather 2,500 God loving women in one room?  Everything happens; laughing, crying, hugging, praying, singing and lots of praising the God who loves them.   The energy in that room was overwhelming!  I was invited to San Antonio to present or to give but I’m amazed at how quickly that flipped around and I became the receiver instead of the giver.

There are so many pearls of wisdom I gathered this weekend and there are a few that I really want to share.  God is so smart because one of the golden threads of wisdom woven throughout the whole weekend was trust Him with a grateful heart!  He has a plan and we need to get our selfish self out of the way.  As I boarded the plane in San Antonio Sunday afternoon I was thinking about that and the patience it requires.  I was also thinking about a fellow presenter, Noelle Garcia’s story about an airplane near disaster.  Those two things had me deep in thought when the flight attendant announced that there was a problem with our plane and what they thought would be a simple fix had turned into a substantial problem so we were all taken off the plane and sent on our way to rebook flights.  I just laughed as I dialed the 1-800 number to find a new way home.  With trust and patience I sat in the airport for 5 hours waiting for a flight back to Michigan. There was no frustration or frazzle, the peace of the weekend left me with a feeling of gratefulness and I was so happy to be safe and patient!  As I watch others stomp and storm around fussing about something that simply couldn’t be changed I realized there was a plan and it included flying home through Chicago instead of Dallas.  Gratefulness is a much easier emotion to deal with than stress!

Another little pearl from the weekend is that we will all do battle in this life but we can choose the battleground.  If we enter into the thinking that we are not worthy enough or holy enough or good enough to deserve God’s love we are on a battleground where we will always loose.  If you find yourself wandering on to that battlefield stop and remind yourself that God’s love cannot be earned or deserved it just IS.  It is our gift from the one who created us.  When you feel yourself headed into that battle stop and acknowledge the truth and then realize we are expecting something from ourselves we can never achieve and that is never required.  He wants us to ask him for His love and His strength and His truth those are the things we need to win the battle.  Turn it all to Him and victory will be certain.

I could write three or four posts about all the things sitting on my full heart right now but I’ll save it for later.  I’d like to end this post with my favorite line from the conference.  This beautiful, powerful one liner came from Archbishop Gustovo during his homily.  He said, “We don’t need more pious women we need more Prophets of Hope!”  We need to be the voice of hope.  We need to do more than just believe in the idea of hope or pray for hope we need to spread the promise and the good news of hope like a prophet.  When we take a look at this crazy world we live in its easy to see that hope is what we’re lacking.  We hope for safety, for peace, for love, for acceptance, for security and for all things good.  God the Father is what we are hoping for because He is the answer to every worry, concern, tragedy and issue in this world.  The problem is we don’t live like we know it.  When we become people of hope instead of people of fear, fret and doubt things will be different.  As Christians this isn’t new news but it’s our job to live like we believe it and it’s our job to share that good news.

A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time this week praying with this verse from Romans and make a list of things you hope for.  When you begin to feel the hope of Christ fill your heart become a prophet of hope and share it!

Blessings on your day!

9 Comments
Mary C
8/31/2015 04:07:46 am

I was one of the 2500 women blessed to participate in the conference. Thank you for your inspiring message. I left the conference filled with joy and thanksgiving. May we continue to spread the message of faith, hope and love!

Reply
Beth Freeman
8/31/2015 05:48:03 am

I loved hearing you speak this weekend. I, like you, had a plan for my life and I've spent many of my days feeling like I've somehow failed because I didn't follow that plan. I have changed my mindset now and I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be. You and all the other presenters at the conference were fabulous!!

Reply
San juana B link
8/31/2015 06:45:47 am

Awesome weekend! Thank you for your eords of Wisdom

Reply
Maria
8/31/2015 07:34:37 am

Thank you, it it was great! I just cant remember the little prayer you said about the holy spirit.

Reply
nancy
8/31/2015 09:23:51 am

I was there this weekend and so glad to find out you have a blog;) I actually attended the conference alone but had an amazing time there! I will never forget your story about the little boy and the birds and how you related that to Jesus talking with satan. That had me in tears, just to think He loved us that much or God loved us so much to give his only son. The other thing I admired was the story of your daughter and loved her favorite senior picture. I could see how that brought tears to your eyes. You must be absolutley proud to be her mama. I have a 2 year old daughter and just hope I can set an example and teach her about God the way you have taught your daughter. Hope to see you there next year because I plan on bringing a group of girls with me next time!

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Linda
8/31/2015 04:30:17 pm

I attended the conference this weekend with my beautiful mother and friend. Your testimony was so special and it touched my heart. Prayers for your family!

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Reba Sommer
8/31/2015 11:18:19 pm

What a wonderful opportunity for you. Thank you for touching the hearts of Texas and bringing it back to us by sharing and reminding us of Hope.

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Susan Williams
9/2/2015 08:02:45 am

Sheri, thank you for coming to San Antonio. Your presentation was wonderful and inspiring.

Reply
Monica Alonzo
9/8/2015 09:58:39 pm

I was one of the many women who heard you speak on Saturday. My mother is in a nursing home suffering from Alzeheimer's and the very next day I shared your message about your purple notebook. I told her I wish could do what you do. Inspire and write. What a blessing that her few words were "where is your faith?"

Thank you.

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