Have you ever read a book that is so good that you have to put it down every few pages to soak in what you’ve just read? I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book Adorned! It’s one of those books that you ought to read side by side with the Bible, thus making each page take twice as long to fully digest.
But after hearing Nancy speak at The MORE Conference at Harvest Church (Riverside), I found that hearing her speak in person presented me with the same dilemma. I experienced her contagious passion for Christ cut deep into my soul as she performed surgery on my heart. And after each session, I was looking for the nearest exit so that I could pour out all that I’d bottled up for the Lord in prayer. I was hesitant to attend each proceeding session, only because I didn’t know if I had fully recovered from all that had been revealed in the previous message. It was an emotionally exhausting weekend, to say the least!
Part of what makes her message so powerful is that she doesn’t venture far into her own personal opinions, but rather in humility, teaches from God’s Word, with conviction. Ten minutes with her is like an hour of my own study time! Nancy dives right in and makes each passage incredibly personal and relevant, no matter how many times you’ve read the passage.
One time during the conference, we received a hand out that compared a Prideful Woman to a Broken Woman. As I read through the descriptions, I thought to myself … when did I get so prideful? I then read through the opposing characteristics … I was able to think of a point and time I was indeed broken but over time became prideful. Nancy admitted to the audience that the prideful quotes we were reading were once her own personal thoughts.
Nancy said . . .
Brokenness is not a feeling but a choice. It is agreeing with God about the true condition of your heart. Does that make you reflect on communion differently? His body was broken for us so that our sins may be forgiven. ‘This is my “body” which is broken for you.’
After the conference, I shared the prideful vs broken woman traits with my husband. I was surprised to hear him refuse to see the prideful woman in me. He thought I was being hard on myself. But I came to realize that God has been doing a great work in me! While I was grateful to hear my thoughts had not turned into actions … I know the innermost parts of my heart. And those prideful thoughts I thought I’d masked so well, weren’t in the least bit a secret to my God.
Every word that Nancy shares is thoughtfully planned out and intentional. The road to purifying one’s heart is a hard one, but also one we are all called to. And I’m so grateful to have Revive Our Hearts mentor me into becoming a seasoned woman of Christ.
Here is something we all have in common … we all want MORE … more of JESUS. – Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
For more information about upcoming topics that Nancy addresses on her program, download the April program toolkit.
