A the recent Exodus Freedom Conference, a general session was devoted to answering delegates' questions on an expert panel. There were, of course, far too many questions submitted for them to answer entirely, so Randy has asked me to help address some of them in the blogosphere. So here I go!
Q: Biblically it's written that when we commit sexual sin, we win against ourselves and God; would you please provide an explanation that would clarify what "sinning against ourselves" means.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 1st Corinthians 6:18
A: I honestly believe that in this verse Paul was getting way ahead of his time in matters of understanding sexuality. One of the things I've learned in my journey is what a powerful force sexuality is spiritually, mentally and physically.
One fact that this statement is (I believe) touching on, is how our bodies are affected by sexual release. We're wired to remember what we associate with orgasm--whatever person, scenario and/or image captured our attention during that ecstatic moment. The more it's imprinted on our minds through repeated behaviors, the more powerful the attachment becomes.
I think God made us that way so that, in the context of marriage, sex would have a transcendent effect--it would bring the spiritual, emotional commitment between man and wife into the physical in a powerful way. Imagine the impact on the intimacy between a man and woman if they associated sexual pleasure only with each other!
But in a broken world the design can work against us. We stumble into physical maturity often poorly guided--certainly in a culture that's a sexual mine field. Through no fault of our own we can associate sexuality with things we were never meant to--that's why things like homosexuality, fetishes and so on exist. Then through our own choices (the no fault part disappears here) we build on those bad connections and foul up what God designed for marital intimacy, because we become more connected to the counterfeit release.
In this way, when you sin sexually, you are totally doing yourself a disservice and making your own wonderful design work against you. You are sinning against your own body.
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Just got back from seeing The Dark Knight as part of the traditional Friday evening off from the conference. As a side note, TDK absolutely rocks. Not relying on the momentum of its predecessor (which it easily could), it's truly a great piece of movie-making. It's scarier than The Happening. It's more riveting than Iron Man. It's the best movie so far this year. Once it's been out a while and everyone's had a chance to see it, I think I will blog about some more of its deeper elements (of which there are plenty).
But wasn't this about the Conference? Oh yeah.
On Wednesday, Anne Graham Lotz shared an awesome message about the Holy Spirit. That was when something just clicked for me. The whole issue of the Holy Spirit has been a tough one for me for the past few years. Straying from my more conservative Baptist roots and exploring the Charistmatic realm made me question a lot of things, and I came away from Anne's presentation finally feeling personal with God again.
Looking back, the message was really simple. The Holy Spirit is God; the Holy Spirit is Holy; the Holy Spirit is our power source; He's a He, not an It; He's the essence of Jesus in our lives; He loves us like Jesus does. I also liked her assertion that what we need is not more of the Holy Spirit--He doesn't come in pieces, after all. Rather, what we ought to consider is whether we have given the Holy Spirit all of ourselves.
I'm still not sure exactly where it made the connection for me. Somewhere in there, I guess I just felt God reminding me that He's there and He likes talking with me. What a simple and immense thing to receive.
Last night, Michelle McKinney Hammond spoke to the general session. She was hilarious, not to mention pretty deep. Her message culminated in a call to forgiveness, of laying down some person or event at the foot of the cross and trading that burden for Christ's freedom.
Appropriately, we celebrated afterwards by singing "Trading My Sorrows," which I've always thought would be the perfect song for an Exodus Conference, but which we haven't to my recollection ever sung in the past eight years. Anyways, the rejoicing in the auditorium was exuberant.
I didn't feel God urging me to participate in the forgiveness exercise myself; no memory came to mind, no struggle, no "chains" fell off. But what I did see was that He was doing His healing, freeing work all around me. It wasn't my turn for revelation or healing, but I could still see the evidence of His healing power all around me, so I still had much to celebrate. And that we did.
It also occurred to me how misunderstood people are about this journey, willfully or otherwise. Depressed, repressed people don't sing like that. People leading fruitless, loveless lives aren't likely to have it in them to shout, dance and cheer their gratitude. It was something I wish so many more friends could have been a part of.
Although we typically post on Team Vox to let you know about things that are going on with Vox (to, uh, state the obvious), once in a while, we like to let you know about other cool things that are happening around the blogosphere. And we think the idea of four hilarious mommy bloggers traveling across the U.S. on their way to the BlogHer '08 conference - all the while blogging and video blogging the journey - is one trip you will not want to miss.
Four adventurous bloggers from the Silicon Valley Moms Group were selected to participate in the Summer Road Trip '08 and blog about their travels, hotel stays, media appearances, time away from their families, and life on the road. Six Apart helped them partner up with General Motors, who provided the blogging mommies with a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV to help make their journey comfy, safe, and a little more green.
In case you're not familiar with them, SV Moms is a group of over 200 bloggers who showcase the ups, downs, outrages, struggles, victories, and everyday humor of motherhood. There are currently nine regional and demographically tailored sites that give mothers from D.C., New Jersey, the Deep South, Rocky Mountains, L.A., and Silicon Valley a powerful voice and sense of camaraderie across the country. Whether you're a mother, a child, or just a person who enjoys a good blog, you'll really love reading the words of these amazing women.
The moms buckled into their Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV on July 11th and even got an encouraging message from Katie Couric to kick things off! They are currently somewhere in the middle of America making their way to San Francisco where they'll attend an SV Moms Group Party, as well as BlogHer '08.
You do not want to miss these entertaining and irreverent bloggers -- or their spontaneous contest giveaways! -- as they blog from the road. Experience the journey at MomRoadTrip.com.
And let us know about your summer road trip - or plane/boat/bus trip - in the comments! (I like to live vicariously.)
The hourglass of preparation has run out. The delegates are beginning to arrive. The anticipation in the air is kind of electric--it excites most, unnerves others. Regardless of whether they take it as a mostly positive or questionable thing, each person has that just-plunged no-turning-back feeling because the Conference is beginning. That's usually how Exodus Conferences begin. Or, that's how it seems to me, at least.
Me? I'm coming down with a cold. Isn't that special? And convenient too. My more Charismatic friends take it as the Devil pulling out all the stops to get in the way of God moving this week. I think that's true--I just don't know if my sickness is part of that. I wouldn't put it past him.
How can I stop, though? I've watched my colleagues and leaders continue on in the face of much worse obstacles. And then the Conference turns out to be a huge outpouring. Maybe it won't be for me or because of me, but it doesn't have to. I think I'm just supposed to do my best no matter what's thrown at me, and have faith that it makes a difference.
Plus, I'd rather be sick this week than next week when I'm on vacation with the fam (which is what happened last year).
I've got some Airborne, some Benadryl and Aleve, and I've got friends praying for me. It's good.
Part of me wants to say "I'm finally in Asheville," but most of me feels like this year's Freedom Conference snuck up out of nowhere like a cheap shot, and I've only just pulled my face out of the dirt. I won't write much about conference preparation specifically--it would be boring for you to read and arduous for me to dwell on. Suffice to say fate has already expressed a strong desire to complicate this year's event--evident in lost documents, procrastinated returned calls, magically disappearing reservations and GPS navigators that lie like politicians.
But, we've already had some good times. We took a little off-time to kayak down a short stretch of river. I didn't risk taking my camera on that trip, but I was able to get some neat shots over at the Biltmore Estate. They don't allow photography inside the mansion (very disappointing for me), but the grounds did provide plenty of potential for Flickr fun.
Finally, Batman Begins has been released on Blu-Ray. I've been waiting for this for a while. In my opinion, BB is the best superhero movie ever. I can't wait to see Dark Knight, and I can't wait to watch this one in hi-def!
Do you live in or around Cincinnati, Ohio? If so, you're in luck because Scott and the Queen City Voxers Group have organized a Vox user meetup!
WHERE: Ault Park Playground. 3600 Observatory Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. "We'll look for each other at the playground marked by the red X below. If it's raining, head for the shelter to the north of the [red] X."
To RSVP (which is not essential, but is appreciated), reply to Scott's announcement or send him a private message. All Voxers, as well as their friends and family, are welcome to attend.
If you do attend the meetup, have a great time and please take lots of pictures and send them to me so I can post them in Team Vox for everyone to see!
Thank you so much to Scott for organizing this meetup. Wish I could be there!
In between bouts of box-moving, a good friend gave me a tutorial in some more advanced photo-editing techniques. Here are some pics I was never quite satisfied with that I've now been able to repair (originals included for comparison fun). Thanks, S! Enjoy!
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