HE really does know you by name…

A week ago at this time I was packing a bag for the night to attend a women’s conference called Compel. The only thing I knew of the conference was the theme of the weekend was He Knows Your Name.

First of all, I wasn’t going to attend the conference this year until an email from my friend Jen who is also the director of Compel arrived a week before the conference. She blessed me by offering me a ticket and invited me to stay with her. So, my sister Michelle and friend Roxy headed to Compel last Friday afternoon.

That morning, while still in Lincoln, Isaiah 43:1-5 was on my heart and I posted it on Facebook as my status. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God…your Savior…you are precious & honored in my sight, and because I love you…Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

Session one: Friday night. First speaker–Carla Marroquin.

Opening verses…Isaiah 43:1-5

Really God?

I threw my pen down on the table. Right then I knew my life was about to be interrupted by God and to be honest, I didn’t want to cooperate.

She shared a story and put up these pictures which is so great for a visual person like myself. She talked about Ellis Island and how the immigrants would come in hope of a better life.

She showed us this picture of the Registry Room. You see how pretty it is. The Registry Room on Ellis Island is where the immigrants waited for someone to call their name. She said, “There are women waiting for someone in authority to call their name.”

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

Here are some quotes from Carla:

~What God thinks of me trumps how I feel.                                                                                   ~Isaiah is giving us a promise. God is calling us as the bride of Christ.                                       ~He knows you by a name that only He knows.

The next picture she showed is the immigrants’ baggage.

This is from the Ellis Island museum and before the immigrants could go into the registry room to hear their name called, they had to leave their baggage behind.

More from Carla…

~Ask God to help you see how disgusting your baggage is and cut the ties. Get disgusted with the sin in your life.                                                                                                                               ~He wants you to leave your baggage behind. You are equipped because God has given you everything you need to live without your baggage.                                                                              ~He wants you to be free and rid of all the sin in your life.

Then she shared this picture which is called the Stairs of Separation.

These are the stairs the immigrants would come down after their name was called in the Registry Room. The left door: to New York City. The middle door: Sick bay. The door on the right: Back to where they came from.

Carla shared how sometimes God moves us forward and uses us in a new place like when the immigrants were put on a ferry to The Big Apple.                                                 Sometimes we go back to Egypt…like when the immigrants returned home.                                And sometimes we have to go to the sick bay so He can heal some past wounds.

I have more I want to share with you from Saturday, but will do that in a few days. Believe that wherever you are in your life God sees you and He is calling you by name. No matter where you are or what you are doing behind closed doors, He sees you and adores you.

“God knows who you will be IN HIM.                                                                                          He has a plan for your destiny, a life of godliness.                                                                        You have a loving God Who has called  you by name and Who knows your potential.                                                                                                                                              He wants you to be free.”

~Carla Marroquin~                                                                                                                 Compel conference 2012