Becoming A Woman of Captivating Influence

Where to begin? I attended a woman's seminar at our church this Saturday. It was incredible. We were so blessed to have Erin Campbell from Cincinnati come and speak to us. She is a radio personality and renowned speaker for women's events all over. She can be found here at http://www.waterthroughtheword.com/ .
I can't possibly begin to tell you all the things she touched on. Of course there was laughter and tears( it is a woman's retreat after all.....)
But I can share some of my favorite sayings or quotes that she encouraged us with, in no particular organized fashion:

"It's not what happens to us in life, but how we respond to it"
This is especially important for all of us who are believers and are called live as Christ. We need to remember two things: our every move is being watched.
How many of us have lost luggage on a flight? You know how it feels. What a better witness for Christ than to walk up to lost baggage claim with a smile on your face, and say God Bless you. Thank you for doing this job, and Thank you so much for helping me.
What good does it do to get mad at them?
Second, what happens to us when we give way to that anger, and let our emotions get the best of us? Satan wins. Satan has tightened his grip on our soul.
If someone has wronged us, we are told ( and my Pastor preached this yesterday) in Romans 12, "Do not repay evil with evil". On the contrary, " If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink". Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I also liked this one from Erin:
"Peace is not the absence of trouble, Peace is the presence of God"
How else can you explain when someone has gone through a trial, or extreme burden that noone should ever have to bear, and see them have complete peace? You know it is the presence of God.
"Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say it is well, it is well with my soul"
Have you you ever seen someone who is just radiant? I mean really beautiful? They seem to have skin that is aglow, they just beam, and your not sure how they do it? It comes from God. It comes from knowing him, spending many hours on your knees with him, resting in him.
"Beauty is a soul at rest". This world is so busy,unrested,anxious. If our souls are not at rest, how can we shine with the beauty of Christ? Our world has so many types of "lampshades" so to speak that will cover our light. If we let it.

Erin mentioned an interview in the past of Dan Rather and someone( forgive me for forgetting who it was), and the question arose from Dan Rather:
"When you pray to God, what do you say?"
the response was:
"I don't say anything, I listen."
DR: Then, when you pray, what does GOD say?"
response:
"He doesn't say anything. He listens. If you dont understand this, I can't explain it to you."
I just loved this. I'm sure it left Dan Rather speechless. I wish I could remember who said it. I'm suprised my brain retained as much as it has. These retreats are full of so much good stuff!

On being a Woman of Confidence: First of all, we are ALL princesses. ( we may not think so when we look in the mirror in the morning....), but as Daughters of the King, we have Royalty in our blood! Because of this we can have absolute confidence in who we are! AMEN! We do not need to compare ourselves with others. Erin said her huband often reminded her to " keep your nose and your toes pointed to Jesus". Don't worry about what everone else is doing,thinking. Stop comparing yourself to others.
I think it's fair to say most of us are guilty of this at times. But we don't have to compete with anyone else. Erin reminded us that "the ground is level at the foot of the cross!" Hallelujah! Praise God for saving me: a sinner, condemmed, unclean.
Jesus tells us we don't need to be perfect, in fact we can't be. We need to come to him, as we are! There is no need to "clean up our act" first, actually we can't do that unless we come to him.
If satan has a hold on you please come to Jesus! Run to the throne room of Christ and slam the door behind you, because when Satan comes knocking, guess who will be opening the door! You have nothing to fear when you are with Jesus, but have everlasting peace.

Erin likes to visit with people who are terminally ill, in their last days/hours. She asked someone, "If you could have changed anything in your life, what would it be?"
They said they would not have let fear grip them so. They said fear cannot stop you from dying, but it can stop you from living!
Staurday we learned to not let fear stop US from living, as well as so many other things. I am ordering a tape of the seminar, and if anyone would like to hear it, I will be happy to lend it out to you!
If you are ever invited to a women's seminar at your church, or a church in your area PLEASE GO! I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. It is a wonderful experince that you will never forget!
Thank you again, Erin for sharing your heart and soul with us Saturday, and for reminding us that we truly are all Daughters of the King!

Here is a song from Alison Krauss that I absolutely love, I just have to share it with you.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9upE_PGJVq8