Friday, September 9, 2011

Simply Free 2011 Day 2

Saturday began bright and early. We knew that we would have some "special guests" for the day. The local jail allowed about 25 women to come and be apart of Simply Free for the Saturday sessions. It was great to see them grasp the love of Christ. And we found out afterwards that 7 ladies and 2 guards either gave their lives to Christ or recommitted their lives. How awesome is our God?
The morning started with the praise band leading us in worship and Amy Ballard (Sexual Abuse) spoke first.
I've heard several people state this saying, but I needed to hear it again: "Not everyone in our lives are able to handle our baggage." We had a breakout session and I chose to go to The Power of Confession lead by Anne Beiler. If you've ever heard of Auntie Anne's pretzels, she's Auntie Anne. How cool? Some notes that I wrote: John 5, James 5:16
- If you break the silence, you break the stronghold.
- Life is hard. God is still good. Prov. 28:13
- In confession we show our wounds.
- We share our wounds so that we may know each other.
- 3 kinds of confession: bedside (safe), written (risky), and one to another (scary)
- You can't give what you don't have.
- Listen to how you talk
- Complaining is an act of defeat. Confession is an act of obedience
- To break the strongholds, you must use one to another confession.
- The beginning of it all is to bring all things to the light.
- In our secrets we believe the lies.
- The power of our choice will affect our future.
- It's not about comparing our stories, it's about sharing our stories.
- Live a life of transparency.
- The outcome is not in our power.
Wow, what a session. And to think it was only an hour! After the session, we went to eat and shop. We ate at Mimi's. I love eating lunch there. So yummy. We had dessert at Sweet CeCe's. It's a frozen yogurt bar. We made a quick dash into Charming Charlie. Pam had never been before, and we simply HAD to go!
I loaded lots of fruits on my yogurt.
Two princesses at CC
A future in modeling?

We went back for the afternoon sessions at Simply Free. Jonas Beiler (Forgiving the Unforgivable) was up first.
-Col. 3:16
- What dictates your life? Good choice, bad choice, accident, and coincidence
- Our response is our responsibility
- If you don't like your past, you can change it for your future.
- You can edit your history.
- If you want to be miserable, hate somebody.
-If you want to be free, forgive them.

We had another breakout session. I didn't attend a session because I was catching up with my friend Chonda Pierce. Love her! Mike and Hetti Ward (After the Fall) spoke next.
-Phil. 4:5-6
-2 Cor. 3:14
Josh Courtney (Freedom from your Parents) ended our day. Let me tell you, the man had me in tears the whole time. Wow, such a powerful story that he shared.
-Mark 10:29-30
- The pain teaches us.
-The pain moves us.

I love Simply Free more every year. It's amazing to see how God can change regular people into extraordinary people He uses. Each story is different. Each outcome is different. Yet, the same God freed them all. I can't wait for next year!
This is Mike Courtney, Chonda's brother, founder of Branches Recovery Center

After we were done, we  went back to the hotel for a nap. I love being an adult and getting to take naps. Naps are important to me daily. In fact, as I type this I look over and see the cutest 3 yr sleeping like a baby.
After our nap, we met Tim at Bonefish Grill to eat. I had heard of it before, but never eaten there. Bang, Bang Shrimp is AWESOME!
 
Bang, Bang Shrimp 
They have butcher paper on the table with the intention of people coloring. Yep, welcome me back to my childhood.  
At least I'm not fighting with my chopsticks  
Tim joined my color party

On Sunday, Pam and I slept late. We had lunch at Jim-N-Nicks BBQ. It was really good. Another place I'd never been before. I really liked the spicy sauce.
We then went back to the hotel to rest some more. At one point, we are both in bed with our laptops. I took a nap and Pam did some shopping.
We met up with Kaylynn, Tim, and some of their friends for Mexican. We went downtown Nashville for some night life scenery. We went to a Karaoke place, because Tim likes to sing karaoke. It was very funny.
 
 

The weather was rainy and yucky Sunday and Monday. Pam had to leave early so she could get on the road. She didn't want to be stuck in bad weather the whole time. I stayed until the last minute of checkout. I made one last stop in Nashville.
Then, I drove straight home. Some rain, but not too bad. I stopped at a Redbox once I got into Tupelo. I spent the rest of Labor Day in my bed with movies and books. And went to bed early!
I had a wonderful time. Loved seeing friends and learning more about myself.

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