What an amazing Spirit filled weekend we experienced. Spending time with students committed to Christ, at the Awe Star leadership training weekend was such an enormous blessing to Deanna and me. We had a couple of opportunities to sit with them for 2 or 3 hour stretches, and talk about the things of the Lord, and Beej.
It was an emotional weekend for all of us, but the Lord was glorified, and drew us nearer to the hem of His garment. It was a truly precious time, and was over too quickly! Do you think in heaven we will finally get the time to sit, and share our hearts without time constraints?
I wish you could have heard Deanna sing! Oh my goodness, it was not to be believed. Her song selection was from Casting Crowns - "Lifesongs". The song was "Praise You in the Storm." I don't know how she could sing it, that song was intertwined with our hearts while in the hospital. She was amazing.
It was such a blessing to meet some of you bloggers. Unfortunately, we had little time to talk to you...especially Sunday, as we had to leave almost immediately after finishing the 3rd service to catch our flight. (Linda R. I am sooo sorry that I missed out on getting to share with you and your husband on a more personal level. I did not realize who you were, until Deanna told me on the way to the airport! I am so disappointed that we had to hurry. The quilt is gorgeous, and we cannot thank you enough...we have enjoyed the cd's as well!)
The Awe Star staff (family) were relentless in their efforts to make the weekend all that the Lord wanted it to be and more! You are to be commended. Take the day off! You need it. Ken and Nancy you were such a blessing to us. Thank you so much.
Our Lord moved in the services, and it was such a blessing to be able to share. Thank you Parkview Baptist, and The Church at Battle Creek for allowing us to speak. What wonderful bodies.
We met so many new people - both students, and adults. It was just an encouraging time in the presence of the body of Christ. Thank you to all of you who were in prayer for this weekend. The Lord heard, and responded, and we were the beneficiaries of a huge outpouring of His love.
The final leg of our journey home from Tulsa, found us on the left side of the plane. I only mention that because we had been on the right side for all 3 of the other legs. What we viewed out the window was spectacular. In the fading light of day, where darkness begins to splinter in, we saw a gorgeous sunset. We watched it for as long as we could (we could not have seen it out the right side of the plane). Guess what color it was?.....Yep. Pink!
Keep your faith and sharpen your swords, for the revolution is at hand!
dad
posted by Pray for BJ @ 6:25 AM
35 comments
35 Comments:
I'm so glad you had such a great trip! How's the week ahead looking? Love! *Kim
I just wanted to let you know that all of your kids are so amazing. Yesterday when Whitney sang, along with Courtney and Steven, they sang so loud and with so much love that it shook the walls and brought back the meaning to singing praise to many of the youth that has been gone for a while. I have missed singing like that on sunday mornings. Lauren is soo amazing too, she was my Dnow leader last year and I don't know if she is going to be a leader this year but I hope to see her there. Praying for your day!
Marissa
Dear Ones,
I'm so glad you all a great weekend. I'm sure the both of you did a wonderful job ministering to the saints. As you get back into the swing of things this week, my prayer is for your strength. I pray for your physical,emotional, and spiritual well-being, as I know from personal experience that sometimes after a weekend like you've had, there can be a letdown when things get back to "normal".
We love you all.
KPO
Elsie Jay
Thank you Lord for save travels. And for the blessing of spending time with new "family", Jesus we praise you.
hey higgins family! so glad you're back home safely and SOOO glad you had an amazing time on your trip. what an awesome sunset that must have been. i think God definitely wanted you to see that. we love you!
-love mark and mandi andrews.
PS!!! we drove out to south carolina this weekend to see brett! hes doing great! we had a wonderful time with him and we got to see his beautiful church. the people who surround him there are amazing people! just thought youd like to know, hes doing great!
-mark and mandi andrews.
I've had some catching up to do!
It's striking to me how each of these entries is a profound daily devotional - which is what our life should be. It's just really beautiful how the memories you have become a living testimony to God's presence today. I continue to be amazed and encouraged by your faithfulness.
Good to hear you had a great trip and blessings to you all this week.
Jesus peace...
AJ
PS You are welcome... and really glad you liked it. :-)
Beautiful! You're words express your joyful spirit from the SPIRIT-filled weekend. We thank you, Lord, for safe travel; for the fullness of Your Spirit; for the comfort of Your compassion and the love of Your people; for the love of our Christian community; and especially, Lord, for the REVOLUTION -- that we can glorify You EVERYDAY and share Your Word!! Amen
Good morning precious Higgins family and blog family, what an amazing God filled Sunday morning we had in Tulsa. Listening to Deanna sing was like having angels come and minister, and that's when the tears started to flow and didn't cease until the end of the service. I was amazed at Deanna's strength, being able to sing that song and I'm sure many hearts were touched by it.
Brent's testimony of Beej was precious and powerful and again the tears flowed. The presence of the Holy Spirit was powerful and so heavy. I encourage any of the blog family if you get the opportunity to sit under these amazing people in the future, do so, you will be truely blessed and touched.
How awesome that the Lord provided you with a pink sunset.
Brent I'm guessing the only reason Deanna knew who I was, is because of my accent...lol...
Still working on the auction quilt for you, I sent an email trying to explain the one you received yesterday.
I pray that the Lord continues to bless you and all those who have the opportunity to sit under you as you both minister to the body of Christ.
In His Love
Linda
Welcome Back Family
So happy to hear about weekend.
The excitement in your writing says
so much. Thank you for sharing.
I am praying for you all continued strength and growing peace in your hearts.
Lisa
Indpls., IN
thanks for continuing to blog, i begin my morning with it most days. the days i don't, i definitely find a moment to catch up on it during the day. :) Thanks again!
Hayley Morgan
Brent / Deanna,
I am so glad to see you made it home safely and that your trip was truely a blessing to you and those whom you visited.
May God be with you through out this day!
matt l.
Dad and Mom,
It was so great seeing you this weekend. I praise the Lord for how He is moving in your lives. It is an encouragement to me. I continue to lift you up in my prayers.
Take care.
Philip.
big cabin, ok
Welcome home Brent & Deanna,
Sounds like you had a great time in OK. Deanna, that must have taken all you had to get up and sing that song, I wish I could have been there to hear it. It is one of my favorites. I was talking to Scott yesterday about how much we miss you both in the Praise band. You and BJ were the spark that fueled the worship service and we are missing that.
I hope that is something that you both can come back to soon. We miss you. Have a great week and enjoy the beautiful colors out there. Love you both.
Love, Nancy
WELCOME HOME!!
It sounds like an absolutely incredible weekend!!! Brooke talked a couple of hours last night telling me every detail she could remember and she said Mom, it was exactly what I needed!!! She is so thankful she chose to go and I know God spoke in some very specific amazing ways! God is so good! She really enjoyed sitting and listening to what God laid on your hearts and so, thank you again for making yourselves available to the students and the awestar family! It is so exciting to hear about you guys going to Africa next summer! Wow, you are going to continue to be blessed by your obedience. I pray for your family that God would continue to protect you and give you strength as the holidays approach us. May God give you some incredible memories and experiences to share this season!!! I love the way Deanna wrote a few weeks back about starting a "thankful" journal about Beej. As we go into the Thanksgiving season I pray you will continue writing in that journal Deanna and allow God to remind you of all the things to be thankful for. I am teaching a class right now on becoming a vessel God can use, and that is one of the areas we are reminded of, that if we want to be used by God, we will have a thankful attitude in all things. May you be blessed today.
Kayla
Okc,OK
Dad/Mom,
How incredible was your weekend. I soo wish I would have been there. It wasn't God's will for me to be there, or I would have been. Throughout all the blogs and comments. I have been shown so many things. I have been in the darkness, so to speak, in some areas of my life. I gave them to Christ this weekend. Dad- back and forth between our emails I found out what has made me so "lonely".
Your forever blessed.
Mom and Dad..
I continue to relish in the blessings of this weekend. It was incredible..the Lord's handprints were all over it!
I'm glad your trip home was safe! i'm praying for you (mom) this week as you go back full time. I know the Lord has completely prepared you to be ready for this.
i love you both immensely..Kristin
I just wanted to let you know that on saturday night when you spoke about Matt. 10: 39 about if you love your parents more than God then you arn't worthy of God's presence... well that is exactly what I've been doing. I 've been debating if the Lord really wants me to be a missionary and the only reason I was debating was because I was scared to leave my family and friends. The Lord truley spoke to me that night and now God has shown me that I am to be a missionary! Praise God!! how he answeres prayers is amazing ... thank you.
a friend of ashley reagon
kinsey mcmillan
Hi Higgins Family,
I have not posted for about a week now. I often find myself not having the right words to say. Please know you are deep in my hearts and I read your blog every day!! I love that song by Casting Crowns too. It has been a song that I listen to alot lately. I lost my uncle, then one of my best friends lost her mom to cancer, and then the loss of BJ... it has just sort of been "the song" to help you realize that the Lord IS there even if you feel "lost in the storm." Please know we are continually thinking of you and praying for you. You are an amazing family. How often you are in my thoughts. Sometimes I wish I had better words to say to comfort you.
Jennifer WA
It was such a blessing to see you and Deanna this weekend! I am so glad I was able to introduce Zack to you...I've told him so many things about your family! Thank you for taking the time to come out here to Oklahoma and share such a powerful testimony. We walked away from that service with changed hearts. We look forward to visiting with you again in the near future in Indiana!
Mom and Dad,
I'm calling you that now that I have that relationship with you. :) You blessed me this weekend. I am so inspired and encouraged by your intense passion for the Lord in spite of the storm. Mom I loved talking with you at dinner on Saturday night and you did sing beautifully as the Spirit of God moved. It wasn't just a song, it was your testimony and your prayers over all and I am so proud of you. Dad, it was great getting to talk to you and hear you proclaim the word of God to us. I believe what you said by the Spirit of God greatly impacted my brother Ryan to the point where he told me he wanted to serve God on foreign soil. Thank you for coming to be with us.
I love you both very much. I'm praying for you and I'll see you both in June :)
-Brittany Allen
Brent and Deanna,
Thank you so much for coming to Tulsa and sharing your hearts with us. I can't tell you how much of an ecouragement you were to me this weekend. I wish I could get to know you better, but I'm so grateful for your blogging. My prayers will continue to be with you (and Lauren and Whitney). Just know that God has touched my heart through your lives. I love you!
In Him,
Emily Reagan
Dear Brent and Deanna,
What an awesome weekend you must have had. I am so thankful for the opportunity you had to love and be loved. The family of God is so amazing!
What a show of God's blessing He gave you in the beautiful pink sunset as you headed back home. His love is so very amazing even in the subtle small things. How sensitive you are to be able to see Him in all things, even the difficult times.
Though I haven't been able to write very often,(I am keeping Rebecca's two boys, 2 yr. and 2 1/2 months while she teaches) I continue to read the daily bloggs and pray for you all. It is such a blessing to be part of your lives through friendship and prayer support. Thank you so much for your daily entries. They mean so much to me. Know of my love and prayers as you go about the challenges of each and every day.
God's blessings and grace be with each one of you.
Lynn
Dad and Mom!
Home again and i feel different than I have before. Seems that everything that Lord has poured into me the past 5 months (2 weeks before i left for Peru) Has finally come full circle and its all being ran across my mind and questioned and analyzed and it has me searching scripture and asking questions. I find myself embracing my 'significant task' of bringing God glory. Just as Jesus' significant task was to bring the world salvation, mine is to bring him glory. Now what the looks like for me, I dont know. Just as I shared, all i know is that I am to disciple freshman and sophmore girls. More so than I am now. Know I am picking up my sword (woo, 5 months is a long time to feel so...unsure of what God is doing)...but I know all this time has been to prepare me to fight. It energizes my heart and makes it beat faster and faster to see how we had 3 people that hadn't been on trips and how they are desiring to go to the nations! I will talk to you later though (Hug the Lauren and Whit for me!...twice haha). Thank you for sharing all you did with us...I needed to hear the stories of beej and what it was somewhat like the past few months. I love you all so much!!
Seeking Him with the depths of my soul,
Tara Case
Yukon, Oklahoma
I'm so glad to hear that you had such a great weekend. I have been praying for you all and will continue to do so. Thank you for always sharing with us your experiences, memories, and thoughts - they are priceless!
-Laura
Brent and Deaanna, Thank you for faithfulness in going, telling, singing, and challenging others--bloggers, we truly need to keep this "next generation" of missionaries in our prayers. Many commitments are being made, and Satan is not happy about it at all. Thanks be to God that we do have the victory--but let's remember to stand fast in prayer as the swords are raised in battle. . .
for the King!
praying in pink,
Marti for the Pieper Family
Charleston, SC
P.S. So glad you got to be there in person, Linda R.--still praying for your little one. . .
Mom & Dad
What an amazing weekend we had and oh how quickly it went by. The blessings I get from the site are wonderful but hearing and visiting y'all in person was awesome and I am so thankful to our Father that He allowed me to be a part of it.
Thanks again for all that y'all did this weekend.
April Cowan
Odessa, Tx.
Brent & DeAnna,
Joel and I had a great time on Thursday night having dinner with you all. It was great to see you both again. I am so happy you had such a good weekend in Tulsa. I wish we would have had more time to spend together. But if you come in town again, please give us a call ( you have our card)--We would love to keep in touch! Please tell everyone in my hoosier home we said hi! We love you guys! Peggy & Joel
Mom and Dad...
All I can say is thanks. Just thanks. This weekend was truely ordained by God. It was so incredible to sit and chat with you for so long this weekend. I am sure that we all needed that this weekend. I love to hear you speak about the things of God. I hope that you were encouraged this weekend.
We drove home yesterday just talking about the things of God and about how God had shown up this weekend. I wish that the whole world could have been there to sense God's presence...but the great thing about our God is that He is everywhere!
I prayed for you alot this morning as I drove to work. For you mom, as this is your first full week at school, and for you dad that you would sense the awe of God today in God's beauty at the camp.
It was just a good day! Especially knowing that we walk with the authority of Christ! No one can get in the way of that!!!
So I love you family! I cant wait to spend time and chat with you again real soon! You encourage me so much!
Love you so much...
Barbara Ann
I thank God you were kept safe and had a great time . PRAISE GOD!!!!
I wish I could have herd you sing Deanna. I am sure it was wonderful.
I thank God for all he does but most for saving my soul.God is so great,my family is so blessed .God is doing so much in our lives. I am getting closer and closer to the Lord .I love it it's wonderful. He is giving me boldness I have never had befor.He is allowing me to step up higher. I will again say He never stops amazing me. THANK YOU Lord
Nick broke his finger and Ricky is sick so please keep them in your prayers as I will continue to lift you all up in all areas. Ilove you guys .
MONROVIA,Stephanie
Tankersley
Mom and Dad,
I am just so thankful for the time that you sat down with us this weekend! Mom your voice is truely beautiful, and Dad your words touched my heart!! I will continue to pray for you and the girls!
Praise the Lord for all the many answers to prayer!
AMEN!!!
Deanna,
I am writting this a day late so I don't know if you will read it, However I wish I could of heard you sing on Sunday, I am sure it was amazing. I love hearing you sing.
Your friend Jeannie
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