THE TETHERING PLACE

So, one of my spiritual superheroes is Anne Graham Lotz. She happens to be Billy Graham’s daughter, which says something in and of itself. But even so, she is a woman that is gifted and impassioned for the gospel.

Sometime just after I graduated college, on a random Saturday morning, I heard on the radio that there was a conference called Just Give Me Jesus going on at Key Arena. Quite honestly, I don’t remember where I was driving to or from, or any of the details of the morning, but I somehow 20 minutes later was settling into a balcony seat at this free event with thousands of women, all strangers, because I knew that there was more to this man named Jesus.

I just knew that there had to be more to faith, you know? Some unseen force drove me to that arena with the hope that this “life to the full” that everyone promised in walking with Jesus might be waiting.

I found myself in the midst of such incredible worship, caught up in the most simplistic yet profound teaching about the person of Jesus, and learned for the first time how to really study scripture. To read and reread, to think about the details and picture the scene, to ask how it applies to my life and to pray that the Lord would make that application alive in my life.

I bought Just Give Me Jesus, which unpacks the life of Jesus throughout the gospel of John, and that year, the senior girls I was leading in a small group, my roommate {Libby}, and I waded through it together over cinnamon rolls every Friday morning before school. It was the sweetest season as Libby and I would read and prepare and pray and experience how the holy spirit would stir every Friday morning in our hearts and our minds and our hot chocolate… at the time it was so excitingly simple and sweet, but looking back, I think it was spectacular. To my knowledge, all of those girls continue to walk with Jesus. I trust that this is not because of anything we said or did, but because I really believe our focus was on Him. We just gave them Jesus.

He is compelling and he is attractive and he is mysterious and he is love and truth and life and everything he claims to be. Truly.

So I thought I would do my FIRST GIVEAWAY!! Such a bloggy thing to do. But I am excited to gift someone with this gem…SO, sign up to receive new posts in your inbox at right and make a comment and you will be entered to win Just Give Me Jesus, sent right to your doorstep. Yippee.

The following is a beautifully epic poem that Anne wrote; it appears in chunks throughout her book. Sit back and let it wash over you, or if you have issue with southern accents, read it for  yourself!

just give me Jesus