Extraordinary Faith - Women of Faith Conference 2005 (Saturday AM)

On Saturday we awoke, got ready, then headed into St. Louis. After a quick Denny's breakfast, we arrived at the Saavis center. We arrived at just about 9:00 AM, so the place was pretty close to filled up by then, in time for the praise and worship set to begin the day. It was good that we arrived at that time because we could see what seats were available on the lower level and take them, so our friend who is so afraid of heights, would be more comfortable. We found some pretty decent seats with a good view!

After praise and worship, the morning began with some prayer and the "buzz" from Thelma Wells. She dances and swirls up to the stairs and onto the stage while an animated bee buzzes around her on the big screen to the music "Flight of the Bumblebee". She's so full of energy and joy! From her website: "Wells' signature bumblebee analogy (bees are scientifically not supposed to fly!), "The Buzz" buzzes through the Scriptures, capturing special meaning for women who are struggling to find hope and purpose in life." She had three "buzz" segments throughout the weekend and at the end, when all of the women present "gifts" to the attendees, Well's gave us all three spoonfulls of honey. The first one was most meaningful to me because she says "God will give you all the time you need to help you get the things you need to do done." It was basically a reminder to me that we shouldn't overfill our lives with things we don't need and get stressed when we can't get it all done.

We heard from Sheila Walsh, the first speaker of the day, and she shared a message about God being in control. At times she humored us with likening it to all the contraptions women use to "control" thier bodies, especially as they age. Her gift to us was a pair of spanks! LOL Walsh has a way of reaching in to someone's heart and opening up the deepest parts of it with her words. She shares so much encouragement and insight that it is truly amazing. What makes her able to do this, I think, is her hard experiences in life and the lessons that she has learned through her depression and her years of treatment for it. She shared a special story about finding a new psychiatrist after her recent move. She told us she only needed to see a psychiatrist once every six months and her intention was to be obediant to that because it allows her to get the prescription for her medication for depression. This new psychaitrist was someone she knew from her past in a different capacity, but he asked her something about her relationship with her father. He asked her if her father, who at a time before his death, was ever abusive to other family members? The mood of the entire arena changed when Walsh confessed that "no, he was only that way toward me". Apparantly he suffered from some type of disease, a mental disorder, which caused him to be quite mean-spirited and abusive, before his death. Walsh shared that his abusive treatment of her has eaten away at her for years and years after his death because she couldn't figure out why her dad hated her so much. The psychiatrist said "no, you have it wrong. People like your dad, in his condition, seek out the people who they know will love them no matter what and lay it all out on them." That changed everything for Walsh. She told us that her dad was right, she did love him no matter what.

After a short break, we came back to hear another "buzz" from Thelma Well's, and then another sketch from Nicole Johnson. This sketch was probably the most meaningful to me, of the three she performed. This sketch was based on the story of the woman who had a condition that caused bleeding for twelve years. Johnson just has a way of taking you to that scene, as it plays out and giving the audience a unique perspective on the story.

Her character in this sketch was a woman who is really unhappy with life, and part of her unhappiness stems from her infertility problem. She plays "Bible Roulette" (open the Bible, expect a word from God, put your finger down on the page, and that is the Word!) She happened upon the story of the bleeding woman. Johnson pointed out that the woman in the story must have been infertile, afterall, she had been bleeding for twelve years! She also noted that this condition made her unclean. Being unclean in that culture meant that the woman could touch no one, and no one could touch her. Anything that the woman touched because unclean, therefore she had to be very careful not to taint anything. Because of this, she most likely led a life as an outcast, comparable to maybe an AIDS patient today?

The bleeding woman was miserable, yet, along came this man named Jesus. He was known to heal people. She had faith that simply by touching his cloak, specifically the tassles on the bottom that represented the Law, she would be healed. Johnson took us through some of the thoughts this woman may have had as she followed him and tried to reach him through the crowds that were gathered. The woman was probably very nervous and afraid, afterall, she is unclean and could not touch anyone. For her to touch Jesus, or even just his cloak, meant that she would be breaking the law. She probably kept a low profile as she approached, and maybe even pretended to pick something up off the ground as she brushed the hem of Jesus' cloak.

After she touched it, Jesus asked "Who touched me?" Jesus knew who had touched him, because he felt it, he felt the power leave Him. Johnson shared that Jesus didn't need to know who touched him, but He wanted the woman to acknowledge that He had touched her. When Jesus asked "Who touched me?" He was really asking "Who was touched by me?". The woman, trembling, came from the crowd and fell at His feet. She bragged on Jesus and why she touched Him and how she was instantly healed. Jesus told her that her faith healed her. What an intriguing and creative way to see that story! It blew me away! Wow! That Nicole Johnson is absolutely amazing!