This past weekend I was at a Steubenville Youth Conference weekend with a group from my parish. It was my second time going, and while it was a lot different from last time, we all still had an amazing time with lots of laughter and tears, prayer, dancing, changed hearts and lives, and honestly just silliness! :-)
I learned so much, but here are some highlights:
God has a plan for each of us, and He loves each of us totally and without reserve.
God will guide us, but we have to be the ones to be courageous and take a leap into the unknown
Prayer is a conversation between friends.
Our God is a God of surprises.
He knows our names.
How to discern if something is the will of God:
1. You have a sense of peace
2. It is not against God's will
3. God's people confirm it
God cares about the little things.
The first lived experience of a woman on earth was of being delighted in.
Intercessory prayer is SO powerful.
Sometimes we think God is going to do one thing, and then He does something completely different, And that's okay.
Mamma Mary is amazing, and a super-duper powerful intercessor for her children.
Our desires, gifts, and talents are all factored in by God in His plan for our lives.
Steubenville conferences are so powerful, and both I've been to have truly changed my life. God is a God of love, and of surprises. He loves and cares about even our smallest desires.
This year's Steubenville conference theme was "Restored" from Psalm 80:3. God is the restorer of hearts, minds, and souls. He restores our wounded hearts by showing us that He is Love itself, and we will never be at peace without Him. God restores our minds by purifying us of our guilt and shame and helping us to turn our minds to the things of Heaven. He restored our souls by redeeming us by His sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and by leaving us His body and blood, soul, and divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist, and in thousands of other ways!
I encourage everyone who reads this to look at your life (prayerfully) and write down which areas you need God to restore you in. You might need your heart to be restored from past sins, you might need to forgive someone, or you might need a relationship to be healed (with God or with another person). Whatever it is, ask God to enter into that and to heal you.
You can be restored. There is no need to live in darkness, in pain, fear, and regret. I can't stress enough how much God wants to heal you and restore you to new life! Let go of the pain, let go of the grudges, let go of everything that is holding you back from abandoning yourself into your Father's arms! Turn back to Him, let Him heal you! He wants to heal you more than anything else in the world. He is your Father and He loves you unconditionally and without reserve.
How do I know this? One, because that's pretty much what I spent my weekend learning about, and two, because I've experienced firsthand the power of God's redeeming love and His working in His plan for my life. It is truly amazing what happens when you open up your life and let God in.
Please know that I am praying for you, and I hope you will let God restore your heart, mind, and soul so that you can become the saint that He has made you to be!
Want to learn more about Steubenville Youth Conferences? Go to https://steubenvilleconferences.com/youth/
If you've been to a Steubenville conference and would like to share your experience, I'd be happy to hear about it! You can contact me through the "contact" form on the home page of the blog or leave a comment below.
God bless you!
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