Hi Girls! It’s a rainy Monday here in Houston and I can’t decide if the wicked headache I’m trying to cure is from the rain, tiredness or just the fact that it’s Monday, but either way, I’m really loving it. We need the rain! Also around these parts is the first day of school! I realize some of you have been in school for a couple weeks now, but our school calendar is set to start a bit later these days. I can’t believe summer vacation is officially over. (Not that I had one, but I like to live vicariously  through those that do since I planned on being a school teacher growing up, and actually was an education major in college. True story.)
Anyway, David Lowe, our photographer for the Bossier City LPL (he and Rich swap out turns when necessary) sent the recap our way today just in time for me to share it with you! It was so fun meeting some of you face to face. What a powerful, anointed weekend. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around so much. My journal will most likely be my best friend this week.
To shake things up a bit for our recap post, I thought it would be neat to testify. If you were at the event this weekend, this exercise will be really familiar to you, but if not, we welcome you to participate!
The last session, Beth had each of us write at the top of a blank page, “If the Lord had not been on my side…”
One of our greatest tools in being a witness is telling others what the Lord has done for us. What He brought us out of. What pit He pulled us from. To share what only He could have redeemed and made beautiful. We got to hear a few participants share at the conference, but if you feel led, by all means, make the comments a place to share yours! I’m so glad I was at the conference to witness this personally. God showed up, didn’t he?
I’ll start by sharing mine, because we need to know that we’re not alone. Amen?
“If the Lord had not been on my side, I’d be a prideful, judgmental “elder brother” that seeks only the approval of men, pretends perfection and would be wasting away in secret sin. But oh, how He loves and redeems. Praise God.”
Y’all don’t leave me hanging now! Deal? Only joking. But I have no doubt today is a good day to testify to God’s goodness and redemption.
“If the Lord had not been on my side…”
We love y’all so much.
Living Proof Live | Bossier City from LifeWay Women on Vimeo.
If the Lord had not been on my side I would have taken my life when my marriage ended. God knew I could not take the life growing within me. God provided strength and hope. I am blessed daily with the joy of Hope.
If the Lord had not been on my side…
My Husband would not have been delivered from drugs and NOW preaching the Gospel and becoming an FULL TIME ADDICTION COUNCELOR!
Woohoo and hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Siestas! I haven’t posted in a long time and sitting here going through emails, I saw this and the Lord wouldn’t let me pass up this opportunity!!! In 2006 I went through a depressive episode that almost ended my life. I can now look back and say it was divine intervention that got me out of that pit! Forty-plus years of negative self-talk and plenty of bad decisions got me there and the road back hasn’t been easy but boy have I learned A LOT! Thank our Lord for his mercy and love. Thanks to a few of Beth’s books, Joyce Meyer’s teachings, Dr. Charles Stanley’s sermons (I commute 2 hrs. a day) and my lovely church community, I’m getting closer to being Christ-like every day. Amen!!
I very much enjoyed Bossier City LPL this weekend. God knew exactly what to tell me this weekend.
If the Lord had not been on my side…
–I would be lost.
–I would still be a (heavy) drinker slowly killing my body.
–I wouldn’t have an amazing husband and two amazing children.
Thank you Lord!
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be wallowing in self, sin, anxiety, fear, running pillar to post trying to control everything. Praise His Holy Name, His Patience, and His Love for sending His Son so that I am free and know that my God is Faithful!!!!!
If The Lord had not been on my side, I know I would have given up on myself and my husband, I would not be celebrating 44 years of marriage and the blessings of our wonderful children and grand-children. Amazing Grace, Lord God, I am eternally grateful
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be dead from a brain bleed 13 years ago. I would be divorced. I would be living in adultery. I would be prideful, bitter, resentful, accusatory, and unhappy. Thank you, Lord, for showing up so abundantly in Bossier. For such a time as this…..
If the Lord had not been at my side, I would not have had the strength to keep moving after my husband, out of nowhere, walked out on me and our 2 young children. If the Lord was not at my side, I would not be brave enough to try to heal our marriage after his affair. If the Lord was not always at my side, I would not be able to face my mountains and I would be destroyed by the pressure.
I love the Lord for He is just and gracious and kind.
If the Lord had not been on my side I would still be in a deep pit of sin, lost without hope. I have been bought, redeemed and made whole through Jesus.
Having attended LPL conferences for 13 years, this the one that will always mean the most to me. God used Beth in a mighty way to speak the truth of His Word. So many things to process. I’m getting my shovel and taking my “wells” back.
If The Lord had not been on my side, my marriage would not have recovered from its 7 years of separation many years ago. The Lord was faithful to restore it and completely heal the wounds, so that we have just celebrated our 37th anniversary! Praise be to such a mighty God we serve!
I want to thank our awesome God for sending the LPL team to our town. This was truly a mountain top experience getting to worship with so many of my sisters in Christ. The most precious part was standing between my daughter and granddaughter as we praised His Holy Name and heard Beth bring His Word to life
If God had not been on my side I would still be living in the darkness of my sinful life not being able to pull myself out of the pit. I would not have survived cancer twice nor seen God’s mercy in saving my husband’s life from cancer that probably should have taken him from us. All praise and honor belongs to the Lord.
If the LORD had not been on my side, I would have been overcome by loneliness growing up. I had a wonderful family and good friends but I was a deep thinker and was just different.
“If the Lord had not been on my side…” and this so important this would not have been asked and if you feel as close to me as I feel to you…. With the most love and respectful…..Am I the only
“siesta” that feel this way?????
and, with much prayer and consideration and more prayer…. is
is so bad for me to ask that question and get a response?
Please
understand…been following for many many many many years but , have there not been anyone else ask that?
LPL in Bossier City was such an amazing time with so many beautiful women who came together to worship our God Almighty.
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be in a place full of drugs and alcohol with a life nothing but darkness and emptiness. Because of my God, I was able to be the mother that God had called me to be. Glory to God!
If The Lord had not been on my side..I would not be sitting here after loosing my 18 year old daughter in a car accident 12 yrs ago. We were going to a LPL event 2wks later and I went anyway and was blessed tremendously. God has used Beth’s teaching all these years to keep me alive, and sharing my story with others…Just this summer we were at LPL in Atlanta and God showed up in a BIG way to me personally and thro my story for girls in our group!!! Praise be to God Forever!!
I would not be able to survive the divorce my daughter is going through (28 years old, husband left). The Lord has strengthened her and us as we are walking through this very rough and raw time. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness.
If God had not been on my side…I would still be living a pit of sin resulting from an abortion. I take full responsibility for my actions, but GOD raised me up, forgave me and told me I am precious in His sight. Praise God I am free from that bondage.
I would likely be an alcoholic looking for love in ALL the wrong places and likely would have ended up taking my life; I certainly was on that road. Bit His love bought me with a price, cleaned me up and loves me beyond measure. Right now I’m walking through a really dark place, but I am not alone – never will be. And, I am eternally grateful for His never ending mercies, love and grace.
If the LORD had not been on my side… I would be completely lost, probably dead. I would have given up long ago. But the LORD fights for me. He has a purpose, a calling on my life!
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be eaten alive with bitterness and anger. I would not have been able to forgive my husband for having an affair. I would not have been able to do the years of hard, humbling work it has taken to repair our marriage. God miraculously brought forgiveness, mercy, and healing. We are living proof!
“But as for me, I will always have hope. I will praise Him more and more. My mouth will tell of His righteousness, of His salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.” Psalm 71:13-14
Thank you for sharing His faithfulness in bringing you through this and thank you for doing the hard work to forgive and be a living breathing testimony that it is possible. It is encouraging to me and I’m sure many others.
If the Lord had not been on my side…
~ I would have never gotten over my insecurity.
~ Fear, guilt, and self-condemnation would control my life.
Praising the Lord for my great escape!
If the Lord had not been by my side, I would still have an eating disorder, addicted to porn and probably dead from my depression. As it is, God has set me free from porn, delievered me from my addiction of an eating disorder and freed my mind from depression. God is so faithful, even when we don’t deserve it. 🙂
Sheila, Beckley, WV If the Lord had not been on my side, I would have no life worth living, nothing worth sharing and no hope for the future.
It was one amazing weekend! I finally got the courage to share my testimony and weekend-experience on my blog through the encouragement of your post and my sister’s nudge. I can’t explain to you the gratitude my heart feels toward Beth and her truly annointed spirit. Grateful to you, for also, sharing your testimony and allowing your beautiful vulnerability to be seen. Bless you and all of y’all and this ministry.
Forgot the testimony…whoops!
If the Lord had not been on my side, the very legs and arms that carried me to destructive places, were full of addictive substances, pointed ugly fingers at others, and walked streets with a horribly devastating worldly attitude, are the very arms and legs that have pounded pavement to a miraculous path of recovery. They now embrace the family I once took for granted with a love so deep, so moving that God gave to me as a second chance. You never left me Father. Even though we walked together through some very dark places. I will always and forever be Yours. I am beautiful to you no matter. Your love is always enough even when I feel like I don’t deserve it. You say I do. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Had the Lord not been on my side, I would have been dead before I was born. I would have been dead as a child, dead as a teenager & dead as a young adult. I would have been dead upon giving birth, and so would my daughter. I would have been bound to legalism and hopeless about my future & although I would have been breathing, I would have been walking proverbially dead. I would have been victimized and scared to death.
Praise God, I am ALIVE.
If the Lord had not been on my side….
I would be married to the wrong man and in a life without Jesus. Thank you Jesus, You were on my side!
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be a judgemental snot who judged everyone and everything from my own point of view. I would be divorced (but instead I’m married 33 years to one man), unhappy and prideful. I would be caught up in the things of this world. But praise the Lord, this world is not my home – I’m only passing through! I can love others because HE first loved me!
Oh so much to write! If the Lord had not been on my side I believe I would be lost, divorced, unhealthy, financially ruined, and full of dispair. I am amazed at all GOD’s done for me.
I truly debated not taking Beth Moore’s challenge Saturday to post this but God put words on my heart in a big way once again.
If God wasn’t on my side…
I would’ve succeeded at taking my own life at 18.
I would’ve continued to attend college and would’ve probably gone in a direction The Lord didn’t want me to take.
I’d be homeless at 21 with an infant and disabled vet husband.
I wouldn’t have discovered that having a disabled spouse is actually a blessing in raising our children, especially our oldest whom is autistic.
I wouldn’t know how to show love with His grace and mercy to people I probably wouldn’t have ever even acknowledge.
I would’ve never attempted to rebuild my relationship with my earthly father.
I couldn’t appreciate the things I have, the people I’ve met, friends, warriors, my family, so many moments of His grace and mercy in my life!
If God had not been on my side I could not have broken the chain of alcoholism in my family. Living with a dad who was, my heavenly father captured my heart and showed me a better way. Still today knowing and trusting him helps me to be an example for my children.
Just had to share this to when you shared about the Hustler club out your window, where I live there once was a house/business with fortune teller, palm reader. A friend of mine would pass by with her son and she would pray out loud “God in your name we cast out satan in this place”. Her son was just a little thing and ask why mom do you say that. She explained the best she could to him and he began doing the same. Well let’s just say pray answered placed closed. Praise God
If the Lord had not been on my side and would not have been miraculously healed from a malignant brain tumor and partial paralyzation. My son and I would not have survived his birth (I had very, very severe toxemia and had to have an emergency C-section. If I hadn’t almost died, he would have been born dead, because the cord was wrapped twice around his neck). If the Lord had not been by my side, I would not have avoided many dangerous situations. Oh, God is good!!!
If the Lord weren’t on my side…
I never would have recovered from the deaths of my parents in 1989 and 2004.
I would have taken my own life in 1994, in the midst of marriage troubles and as a mom of two toddlers.
I would not have gotten through a difficult situation at work that lasted for six years.
I would have become depressed and bitter after the death of my husband (worker’s comp accident) in 2011.
GOD IS FAITHFUL AND WE CAN TRUST HIM!!!
M.J. in Lovington, NM
If the Lord had not been on my side…
I would not have been saved from practicing homosexual behavior as a adolescent for 4 years. I cried out, and He saved me. I could be dead. If not for the Lord on my side, my marriage of 15 years would have ended and my husband would not have come back not once but twice, and be still abusing alcohol. He saved our family and we are now married 23 years. If not for Him, I would not have the privilege of mothering 2 awesome teens and getting to homeschool them. He is so good!
If the Lord had not been on my side…….I would not have married the wonderful man that I know as my husband, I would have not have the wonderful sons and China-girl that He has blessed me with, I would not have known how to forgive and move on in the midst of deep hurt and pain, and I would not have made it through these past two years of pain, sorrow, and disappointment. Thank heaven He has never given up on me! Amen!
I’d be just what Lindsee said. But my way out skirted God and thats just what I did then. Guess I thought I was breaking free and I was right but I was breaking new grounds of bondage. Out of church. If not for God I’d be terrified of people. All people. Women and men and leaders and people like me and people God gave me to lead. I have to pray to go out and take risks with relationships that might matter in my heart. And I have to pray to take time to receive relationships in that might matter in my heart. I always want to go just to the physical stories of life but our God cares for the heart stories and this one goes on…everytime I can go out I risk my heart and have to pray for courage.
I was at the Living Proof Live event today in S’port/Bossier. She had us complete an assignment. Some may think I share/overshare my life on FB, in the grocery line, etc., but I keep way more than anyone knows far away from the public eye. We were to fill in the blank for this prompt:
If the Lord had not been on my side…________
I would be lost
I would be hopeless
I would be broken
I would be useless
I would be used
I would be hateful
I would be cursed
I would be forsaken
I would be in a pit
BUT GOD…
(this portion was shared with 8,000 people with the assistance of Beth. When I got home and posted to FB as she asked us to do, I added this)
found me
restored my hope
healed me
uses me for His glory
taught me to love
blessed me
received me
set me on solid ground
He so desires to do the same for you.
What a blessed weekend!
I was there when you stood to share your testimony. You blessed me!! You keep sharing Sister! From the rooftops…YOU KEEP SHARING!!
If the Lord had not been on my side…
I would still have a heart that simply could not love anyone- not God, not others, not myself. And I would never have known what it meant to be loved so completely and so perfectly. I am forever grateful that He did not leave me like that.
I do not even know where to begin. This weekend was wonderful, amazing, hard, exhausting and more all wrapped up in one. I felt often that Beth was saying DAWN are you listening. God put together this entire weekend just for me!! LOL (It feels that way anyway)I promise I will get to the statement we are supposed to write but I have to do a little background. I went to the conference in Little Rock a few years ago, Fulfill your Ministry, and felt that weekend that God spoke to me about EXACTLY the ministry that He had laid out for me but I have chosen to ignore the calling. Well this weekend He basically called me out on it! (I am going to be very specific here so if you choose not to publish this post I totally understand but I know that I need to write it.) I had an abortion when I was 19 years old, I was not a Christian at the time and have made up all kind of excuses why it was ok over the last 20 years, but in Little Rock I know that God called me to lead a Bible study for other women who have done the same. I ignored it because it was a well kept secret and I did not want people to know and the truth be known although I had asked for forgiveness once I became a Christian I truly did not feel forgiven. Well this weekend Beth of course taught on the fact that Satan wants us to believe that we do not deserve our inheritance from God and that we couldn’t possibly be forgiven for our past. Then she moves on to the statement If God had not been on my side…. So I wrote a few vague things down passed to my friend and was done with that or so I thought. Let me tell you I have never experienced the Holy Spirit’s prompting like I did that moment. I felt Him tell me..be specific what I have forgiven you of, we fought for a few minutes and then finally I was obedient and felt good…then He tells me now share your book again. Well we fought for a few more minutes and needless to say the Holy Spirit won again!! I handed the lady beside me my book and asked her to please read my statement again. It read like this…If the Lord had not been on my side I would not be forgiven for aborting my child and I would still be filled with shame and ugliness. The next moment still amazes me every time I think about it. She hugged my neck and said “Me Too”. OMG I am blown away of how MY GOD gave me the 1 in 8000 odds to sit me down next to someone in my exact situation except that she had been a Christian all her life!!! Afterwards I felt like God looked down and said how much more confirmation do you need…My people need healing! So satan will have to stop blackmailing me over my little ugly secret because I will no longer let him use it against me because from this day forward it will be used for God’s glory!!!
Thank you again Living Proof for being so obedient to be used by God. My life has been changed by what you allowed God to do with your lives!
Dawn, thank you for sharing and for being obedient. Reading your testimony was a blessing to me.
Thank you so much for your obedience and courage! Blessed by reading this too!
If the Lord had not been on my side……I would have died of alcoholism, and not have experienced the most joyous time of my life. I would not have created a calm, solid home for my boys to thrive in. I am so grateful I have tears in my eyes right now.
If the Lord had not been on my side – I would be overwhelmed with the sorrow, with the many responsibilities, with the fears, fractures, and what ifs. I would have sunk into self, not buoyed by His Spirit nor encouraged by Christian friends – if not for the Lord I would be alone, isolated, whipped and defeated. He alone is Redeemer, Savior, Deliverer and lover of MY soul
I was so BLESSED to have been able to go to the conference with my daughter this past weekend. We go to the teleconferences togther for years. I work in an eye doctors office and do get to sit at a desk most of the time and I always listen to our local “Life Songs” station but today I wanted to listen to Beth. I love me some Beth Moore, so as I am listening to the Passion 2013 someone runs down the hall screaming call 911. I ran out of my office and down the hall to find a man lying face down on the floor. After I access the man (not a patience)but a man who was working on our laser (also he was from Florida) was non responsive and no pulse, stop breathing and had blood coming out of his nose and mouth. If the Lord had not been on my side, I would not have been able to do CPR on this man. While CPR was being administered to him a coworker prayer over us. After he started breathing and regained some awareness around him I prayed that if he was not saved that he would asked Jesus to be his Savior. He died at the hospital. I rewrote my testimony today. God is good all of the time.
If the Lord had not been on my side……I would not be alive, literally! I would not be able to fight the self-righteousness and prideful pits that I have been in. If the Lord had not been on my side I would never, ever have felt his comforting hand He placed on my head when my child was facing an uncurable illness. Thank you Living Proof Ministries!!!
If the LORD had not been on my side I know my marriage would not have survived and I would have succumed to an affair and have destroyed my family and ministry. As it is, we are celebrating 22 years of marriage truely in love. You have no idea what a miricle that is. Our two teens love Him and and are slowly processsing their own pain in a healthy way. Without Him on my side, I never would have been able to enter into my calling as a counselor and have the priviledge of sharing His startling, life-giving grace with others. All Glory to HIM ALONE. He is forever faithful.
If the Lord had not been on my side, . . .
the last 2 years of my husband’s conversion to a faith I cannot share and the last 3 years of chronic pain and illnesses would have broken me beyond repair and stolen joy and faith. By God’s grace, that is not true today, even though there’s a long journey yet ahead. I trust He will continue to be on my side in the trials and joys of life.
If the Lord had not been on my side…
I would have suffered the painfully reality circumstances of my own desperate, wretched choices and ended up in prison. My family would have disowned me for the reckless, self-destruction I chose to live. And, I would be wallowing in a pit of self-despair, a victim of life and most likely I would already be physically dead.
If the Lord had not been on my side I would have committed suicide after my worst confessed fears came true with the death of my oldest child and a betrayal of trust in my marriage. If the Lord had not been on my side — my life would not mean anything. But OHHHHH to the Praise and Glory of Jesus who could take me from the pits of self-destruction and despair, deliver me up from the pit of mourning, grief and death to live victorious and free in spite of all I chose, suffered and overcame! 🙂
From my blog:
A message our pastor gave caused me to thoughtfully consider what a catastrophe I would be without God’s intervention in my life. Of course, this is seen from my limited human perspective. Only He knows the myriad of times He has intervened and I have not seen or acknowledged His hand.
I am in awe of His omniscience, sovereignty, and boundless love, the breadth and depth of which I shall never fully grasp until in His presence.
But God…
I would have grown up without knowing about the Lord, but God gave me a mother who took me to church where I heard about Him.
I would have never accepted Christ, but God sent a group of college kids from Alabama to our little Missouri town to lead Vacation Bible School where I was saved at age nine.
I would have continued in my self-justified sin and darkness as a teenager and young adult, but God convicted me to truly live for Him.
I would have suffered irreparable damage from the sin I committed as a “Christian,” but God proved Himself bigger than my guilt and shame and healed my mind and heart.
I would have chosen a life of self-centeredness and materialism, but God showed me His plan for true joy and fulfillment.
I would have listened to the enemy and abandoned my family, but God grew me up and showed me that the right thing is hardly ever the easy thing, and that His grace is sufficient.
I would have raised my kids without grounding them in Him, but God opened my eyes to see what influence a mother has on future generations.
I would have preferred to ignore abortion, but God poured His courage into me and helped me share His love and truth.
I would have died from medical complications after the birth of our fifth child, but God was not finished with me yet and healed me completely.
I would have never had the sixth and seventh children after the previous experience, but God poured His peace into my heart that His plan is perfect.
I would have never thought I could write words that would honor Him, but God graciously arranges them in such a way that I know it can only be Him.
I would have never used my music as a way to bring glory to Him, but God changed the focus of my heart from the world to Him.
I would have never written music, but God has supernaturally given me that gift.
I would have never developed a hunger and thirst for the Word and His Spirit, but God makes sure nothing else satisfies.
I would have never become who I am today, but God is faithful to work all things together for good.
I would have never known what it means to live in freedom, but God, through Jesus Christ, purchased mine.
I would be empty, but God filled me.
I would be lost, but God found me.
I would be condemned, but God saved me.
I would be in bondage, but God set me free.
I would be dead, but God made me alive!
Such a powerful video…I loved it:) Sooo glad that it was such an anointed weekend:)
Oh yeah, so loved the video that I forgot…
If the Lord had not been on my side…I would be in such a lost state of hopelessness and despair. Only the Lord knows how lost I would be. BUT, He saves and is able to keep me from stumbling! Praise HIM always!!:)
If The Lord had not been on my side ….
I would be a self-centered, self-driven, empty & lonely person.
When The Lord found me, my eyes were opened and His plan for my life began to unfold.
Mamarach73 on Twitter
🙂
Madeleine,Corrales:Create in me a clean heart,O God and renew a right, preserving,and steadfast spirit in Me. PSALM 51:10 Amplified
If the Lord had not been on my side, I would be lost in a Pit……But since I was born again I have been adopted and I am Royalty and He is mine and I am His…He thinks I am beautiful and Lovable!!!