JOYFUL WORDS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri

Transforming Love

10/28/2013

2 Comments

 
That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith as you are
being rooted and grounded in love.  Ephesians 3:17

 
I really needed to stay home and catch up on the laundry.  I really needed to check a stack of papers.  I really needed to scrub the kitchen floor and write a couple blog posts.  I really, really needed to plan for the class of 100 high school students I’m teaching Monday night.  Mostly, I really needed to sit still for a minute and catch my breath after three crazy busy weeks.  I was however, reminded that God had already planted a seed and encouraged me to make other plans for Friday night and Saturday.  I was speaking at and participating in the Transforming Love Women’s Conference.  As I rushed home from school and wrestled with my panty hose and got tangled up in my curling iron cord preparing to head off to the conference and take the stage Friday evening I was excited to go but I was being teased by the thought of sweat pants, hot coffee and my cozy flowered chair in the living room.   

As usual, the Holy Spirit took over and confirmed that following the nudge of Christ is always the best plan!  The conference was spectacular!  Simply being in the presence of more than 1,100 other women of faith was uplifting and energizing!  The music, the speakers, the Mass and the energy were so inspiring to my weary spirit! I’ve been speaking for many years but Friday night I had a first!  I’m still surprised that the Holy Spirit put the words in my mouth but as I concluded my presentation I raised my hand and prayed a blessing over the audience…it just slipped out…not in my power point or my thoughts or my plans…it just came spilling out!  I blinked and gulped and thought…oh my, that was something new.  As the audience stood and clapped a Dominican Sister in the third row shouted out, in her thick New Jersey accent, “we need to bless Sheri”. The entire audience raised their hands and prayed a blessing over me led by the nun from Jersey.  It was amazing!  The theme of the conference was Transforming Love and little did I know a transformation would happen in me.

Saturday the energy and transformation continued!  The conference center was filled with so many women looking for ways to live their faith, share their faith and love bigger, harder and more compassionately.  During one of the
breaks I sat in the lobby and just watched and listened. It was good for the
spirit to see so many hugs and hear so much laughter and friendliness, it was a refreshing change of pace that leaves a mark…I’m still grinning! 
There were so many great messages and examples from the day but the ones that hit my heart the hardest were the stories of God’s transforming love in the lives of some regular people.  We heard from an absolutely beautiful woman named Amy who is a mother of 4.  She is a tiny lady who stands like a giant in her witness of God’s amazing love.  Amy was married to a police officer who was killed in the line of duty and she shared her story of God’s transforming love as she wades through her grief.  Within hours of her husband’s death, she went to Mass and then sat before a news camera and demonstrated the ultimate act of God’s love and forgave her husband’s killer.  Nothing but the love of God is strong enough to allow someone to do something like that.  She amazed me and inspired me!  A lovely and visibly peaceful woman named Eileen shared her story of betrayal, loss, wrong decisions, desperation and finally healing and peace compliments of the love of Christ. The third speaker came as a pair; husband and wife.  This amazing couple lived every parent’s nightmare when their daughter and some of her friends were killed in a car accident.  I sat tearfully listening to their story;  it wasn’t about their grief but rather the public love and forgiveness they offered their daughters friend who was driving and survived the crash.  They reached out to share God’s transforming love with her, in spite of their own loss, pain and grief. They simply did what they would have wanted done if it had been their child driving.  The strength and love that flowed from them was overwhelming to my heart and my tear ducts! The common denominator to all their stories was God’s love and their message was not… “Look what we’ve done”…it was “look what God’s done to us and through us!”  It was incredible!

I think the Lord is very happy when we go to church on Sunday; He’s happy because it’s what He expects from us…it’s spelled out right in the commandments but I think He wants more than that!  He certainly gave me WAY more than an empty laundry hamper, shiny floor or pile of corrected first grade phonics and math papers! He had something far greater in mind for me this weekend…He wanted to SHOW me how amazing His love
is.  He wants to show all of us but we have to go out and look for the lessons sometimes.  It takes effort to go to a conference or a seminar.  Sometimes it’s even hard to carve out an hour to listen to a speaker at church…but it can be so amazing if you do.  We have to love Him enough to let Him show us His love by bringing His truth and message into our hearts.  The next time someone invites you to go to an event and the topic is faith…please say YES! Say YES as quickly as you would if you had been invited to a ball game or a shopping trip or a concert…I guarantee you will be glad you
did.

 
A Seed To Plant: Make a promise to attend some event that will deepen your relationship with Christ before the end of 2013…then ask the Holy Spirit to show when and where that might be.

Blessings on your day!



 
2 Comments
Jessica link
10/28/2013 02:36:12 am

It certainly was a wonderful weekend at the conference. It's so inspiring to hear all the different stories emerging as I talk, email, text with different women. The Lord was certainly at work in a way that was visible and tangible! God bless!
Jessica

Reply
Nan Carol Manley
10/28/2013 03:06:39 am

I so enjoyed seeing and hearing you Friday night. Yes, it was a blessed night and day. A good event to attend is a Christ Renews His Parish.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Joyful Words magnet picture

    ​Click on the items below to expand the options available to you to explore the Joyful Words blog.

    Categories

    All
    1 Corinthians
    1 John
    1 Thessalonians
    2 Corinthians
    Acts Of Love
    Advent
    Ageing
    All In
    Amazing
    Anxiety
    Armor Of God
    Asking For Help
    Bad Habits
    Balance
    Baptism
    Be
    Beauty
    Being Gracious
    Blessed Mother Teresa Of Calcutta
    Blessing
    Blessings
    Brokenness
    Carry Our Cross
    Catholic Education
    Change
    Changes
    Cheerfulness
    Children
    Choices
    Christian Belief
    Christmas
    Colossians
    Commitment
    Comparisons
    Compassion
    Consistent
    Content
    Contentment
    Courage
    Crosses
    Crumbs
    Dad
    Daughters Of God
    Delight
    Desire
    Desire God
    Details
    Dicipleship
    Die To Self
    Discipleship
    Dissapointment
    Dying To Self
    Easter
    Ecclesiastes
    Education
    Election
    Encouragement
    Enemy
    Ephesians
    Evangelization
    Exodus
    Expectations
    Faith
    Faithfulness
    Falling Short
    Family
    Fathers Love
    Fear
    Flag
    Footstool
    Forgiveness
    Fresh Start
    Friendship
    Fr. Mike
    Fr. Mike Schmitz
    Galatians
    Generosity
    God In Everyday Things
    God In Scripture
    Gods Beloved
    God's Enough
    God's Forgiveness
    Gods Gifts
    God's Guidance
    God's Love
    Gods Love
    God's Plan
    Gods P Lan
    God's Restoration
    Gods Strength
    God's Timing
    Gods Timing
    Gods Ways
    God's Will
    Gods Will
    Goodness
    Good News
    Grace
    Grandma
    Grandpa
    Gratefulness
    Gratitude
    Greatness
    Gretness
    Grief
    Happiness
    Healing
    Heart
    Heaven
    Hebrews
    He Chose Me
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Holy Thrusday
    Holy Thursday
    Holy Week
    Hope
    Humble
    Humility
    Identity In Christ
    Intimacy
    Isaiah
    James
    Jeremiah
    John
    Joshua
    Joy
    Judgement
    Justice
    Kids
    Kindne
    Kindness
    Labor
    Laughter
    Lent
    Lessons
    Light
    Listening
    Little
    Love
    Lovelies
    Luke
    Mark
    Marriage
    Mary
    Matthew
    Meekness
    Mercy
    Mom
    Mornings
    Mud
    Obedience
    Openness
    Parenting
    Parentng
    Patience
    Peace
    Pentacost
    People
    Perseverance
    Perspeceive
    Perspective
    Philippians
    Pioneers
    Pleasing God
    Poor
    Porch
    Positive
    Possibilities
    Pray
    Prayer
    Priorities
    Promises
    Proverbs
    Psalm
    Relationship
    Religion
    Respect
    Romans
    Sacrifice
    Sacrifices
    Sainthood
    Saints
    Samuel
    Scripture
    Seeking God
    Service
    Serving God
    Signs
    Silence
    Simple
    Sin
    Sinfulness
    Slow Down
    Small Stuff
    Steve Ray
    Stillness
    St. Mary's 4th Of July
    Strength
    Stress
    Suffering
    Surprises
    Surrender
    Temptation
    Thanks
    The Right Thing
    Time
    Troubled Times
    Trust
    Trust In God
    Truth
    Understanding
    Unravelled
    Valentines
    Waiting
    Weddings
    Word Of The Year
    Words
    Works Of Mercy
    Worry


    ​Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012


    Back to Home

    RSS Feed


      HOME                        BLOG                       SPEAKING                        WRITING                        HOSPITALITY                        MEET SHERI  

CONTACT: 989.640.6673
Picture
EMAIL

FACEBOOK

Twitter

Content is the intellectual property of Sheri Wohlfert 2017
Created by dhengesbach
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Hospitality
  • About Sheri