Generate for our Generation

This past weekend I met my mom and sister in Albuquerque to attend the Living Proof Live Conference with Beth Moore. Beth Moore is one of my favorite Christian speakers. She’s written many bible studies and books that my mom especially is a fan of. So I want to do a little recap of some things I got from it.

Friday afternoon ended on a tough note for me, so as my sister and I drove to Albuquerque my heart was a little heavy and my emotions were running high. We got there a late, but Beth was just starting her talk for the night to 5,500 women. (that’s a lot of women in one building) 

Beth Moore’s focus word for the conference was: Generate

What does generate mean? Google says, “cause (something, especially an emotion or situation) to arise or come about.” 

Beth made several points throughout her conference and I’ll share a few of those with some elaboration. 

1. God commands his generations to generate.

Psalm 78 was the focus passage for this point and her overall message. Here is Psalm 78:2-4 :

 I will teach you hidden lessons from the past–stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. 

What I get from those verses and from Beth’s talk is that we aren’t to keep quiet about the past and sweep it under a rug–both the bad and the good. We’re supposed to share that with others.

Beth also reminded us that we are called to the generation we are in. I wasn’t born in 1992 just because God was like “alrighty time for you to go out into the world.” No, there was a little more purpose for that. I have been strategically placed in my generation. Sometimes being a 22 year old is confusing and so this was comforting to be reminded of.

2. To generate, we have to communicate.

To cause something to arise or come about we must communicate. Of course there are many ways to communicate: Verbal, face-to-face, text message, phone calls, art, photos, blog posts, instagram. Those are a few completely random ways off the top of my head and there are many more. We all have our preferred outlets of communication. Mine would be one-on-one, email, and blog posts.

The key is we need to communicate. We can’t always hibernate and keep things to ourselves. It builds up and I’m sure you know that too. 

Have you ever had one of those moment when you’re talking to a friend and she tells you about a situation. Instantly it’s like the curtains have been drawn from your eyes because you’ve been through the exact same thing, but thought you were the only one. Then you think “why didn’t I reach out to her before?”

People are hungry for information. They’re hungry to know they aren’t the only facing whatever they are facing or that others have been through the same thing. Regardless if something is a bad or good situation we still want to share that with someone. Regardless of age difference. This is why communication is so important to generate

3. Learn to appreciate what’s yours to generate.

Each of us individually has individual gifts, talents, and hobbies. For me one of mine is obviously blogging/writing. We need to use our gifts to generate glory to God and to generate faith in our generation. 

Now I can’t tell you what’s yours to generate and in what form. You can probably think of things if you think over that sentence. I know I do. Appreciate those things and find value in them.

There was a time when I didn’t think of blogging as a hobby. I just thought of it as a way that I wasted time. I was a bit embarrassed that I spent so much time behind a computer screen reading other people’s blog and writing my own. I didn’t think writing and creating for the internet could really be a skill/passion. It wasn’t until someone had to tell me that blogging was one of my hobbies that I really accepted that. Now I appreciate that I have a passion for blogging. I appreciate my passion for photography. I am learning to appreciate the ways I like to generate and I know I will continue to learn what is mine to generate while giving God the glory for it.

4. We all have a story to tell. 

This last point is not one Beth made, but it is something she did tell us. As a writer, I always have a story to tell. However, most of the time it stays hidden in the pages of a journal or a Google Doc or in that section of my brain that is always writing. Writing is a super private outlet for me, but evidently I share to choose some of it on my blog. 

 I share some deeper posts like this one every now and then on the blog.  But the truth is that I could share a lot more. I have stories/experiences that others could be interested in hearing about. I know I could definitely communicate with my generation on a lot of things going on in my life. That struggle of being fresh out of college and not knowing what to do with your life is real. It sucks.

But it just takes a push of courage to talk about things we tend to keep to ourselves. However, do note that I’m not saying we always have to communicate this type of stuff on the world wide web where everyone can see. You have a story tell whether you are a writer or not. Whether you feel like you’ve had enough experiences in your life or not. You have a story to tell.

So Saturday when the session had ended I walked out of there feeling a lot lighter and more at peace. I felt encouraged in my God-given gifts and abilities. I felt inspired in using those gifts to generate. I was reminded that I do have a story to tell and that I am a voice for my generation. I was reminded that God is always with me and that my future is in his hands. I know I was meant to be at the Beth Moore Conference this weekend.

If you want more of a visual on what the weekend conference looked like here is a recap video posted.

 

 

What is yours to generate?

Do you think you have a story to tell?