WOF

I went to the Women of Faith conference this weekend.  I have gone for many years, and I LOVE it.  It's usually the weekend before school starts, which is quite a difficult weekend to be away from home. This year, they moved it to this past weekend; and that was much easier for me to be away from home.....insert sarcasm here.  All week, I kept trying to figure out how I could get out of going; because we had too much going on this weekend.  On Thursday, I decided that I knew if I went God would have something specific for me; and I am looking for guidance.  So I went, and He did!  There were so many things He spoke to me about in that 22 hour time frame....maybe more than any other WOF conference I've ever attended.  As always, I laughed A LOT....and I cried A LOT!  I loved hearing Selah and CeCe Winans sing.  I loved hearing Angie Smith, Sheila Walsh, Pat Smith, Lisa Harper, and Ken Davis.  But the one that I loved almost the most....almost....was Max Lucado.   What he shared was something I had never thought of before, and it was fascinating to me.  Max talked about having "Jesus in your heart".  As long as I can remember, I remember people telling me or asking me about having Jesus in my heart. As a child, I didn't really know what that meant; but would just nod in agreement.  As an adult, I always thought and still do that meant the holy spirit dwells inside of you once you have asked it to do so.  Max took those thoughts of mine to a much more defined place.  He said once you ask Jesus in your heart, your heart is replaced with the heart of Jesus....in other words.....Jesus not only dwells inside of you through the Holy Spriit, but His heart becomes yours.  WOW!  Jesus' heart as mine....that's exciting and a lot of pressure too!  ;)  The example Max used was one of this sweet family who lost their 13 year old daughter, Taylor, in a terrible accident.  Once they decided to donate her organs, her heart was given to a lady in her mid forties.  Taylor's parents wanted to meet the recipient and hear their daughter's heart beat one more time.  A photo of Taylor's mother holding the stethoscope to the recipient's chest popped up on the jumbo tron, and it took my breath away.  I can never describe the look on her face, but the point was hit home like a grand slam.  The heartbeat was strong and vibrant and then Max asked, "Who's heart is it"?  Is it Taylor's or the recipients?  Once both of these people had asked Jesus to dwell in their hearts, their hearts became His.  So "Who's heart is it"?  The most amazing part about this to me was that a heart that once lived in a 13 year old's body now lived in a 46 year old's body.  It was put there and acclimated there perfectly.....like it belonged there.....sort of like when Jesus came into my heart.  And that look on that mother's face, the one I can never accurately describe, I imagine it to be the same look on Jesus' face every time someone asks Him into his/her heart.  I have thought about this so often since I heard it on Saturday, and it makes me giddy to think of Jesus' heart being mine.  I find it very powerful and exciting, but I also take that as a lot of responsibility to use His heart as He would have me use it!  I'm so thankful to have Jesus in my heart.