Sisterhood Conference 2018 Review (Part 1)

Kendra Green
Nov 6, 2018
8 min read

Updated: Nov 7, 2018

Sisterhood Conference 2018 was incredible. I find myself still talking about it now, over two weeks since. I am so grateful for the Skybreak team that made the vision come to life and to our lovely Ambassadors (which you will get to meet very soon) for hosting and extending hospitality to each conference attendee. I love seeing all you amazing women wearing your shirts out in public and wearing your puzzle piece necklace as a simple reminder that YOUR piece matters. Hopefully these things have been conversation starters for you to share that hope with others. Believe it or not, even though I was the one who gave this message, I still find myself asking if I am enough... if what I do really matters. Why do we seem to forget the things that we know so well?? But that's why we need Jesus, right? If you need more encouragement, or maybe you were unable to attend the conference, below you will find my message notes. They have been modified to actually make sense because I tend to write my message notes in the way that I would say them. Lol. Here's a recap video of the fun we had that day.

YOU ARE WORTHY

(Part 1...)

Have you ever felt like you were only loved for being good? Have you ever felt that you only received approval for things that you did for others? Have you ever felt like you were only recognized for the great achievements or hard work you’ve done? Maybe you’ve felt ignored, like you don’t matter… Has disappointment stolen your sense of security and left you believing that nobody can really take care of you, besides you?

You are not alone.

My friend, your raised hand tells me that you have had times where you felt unworthy. For some of us, this is a life-long struggle and for others just a temporary thought. For me, it was something I wasted about a decade of my life on… something I have to still keep in check. (Every time I speak) I was looking for it in the wrong places but only finding myself in a deeper hole than before. Empty. Unworthy. Not enough. Dirty. Unlovable.

Definition of Worthy- deserving effort, attention, or respect; good enough; suitable

But what does that even mean? And what form of measurement is used? You see, with all the different perspectives, and opinions, it seems there’s always something to be found lacking.

I can tell you what worth is not:

It’s not the number of likes your get on IG or FB
It’s not your social position
It’s not in your talents or achievements
It’s not in your looks
It’s not in the number on your scale
It’s not in your mothering ability or in whether or not you’ve birthed children
It’s not in the success of your marriage
It’s not in your career
It’s not in the number of friends you have
It’s not in how others feel about you…
It’s not even in how you feel about yourself

I’m going to tell you something you may not like to hear… We’re not worthy. We don’t deserve any of this. All by ourselves, we are nothing. Bottom line, we are only worthy because He is worthy. God became man, put on flesh in the form of Jesus to prove his love for us. In God’s great love for us, he had compassion on us and found us worth the cost of his only son’s life so that we may live free.

Is anyone grateful for that today?

So with the greatest sacrifice of all, God placed a value on us. We were bought with a high price.

John 3:16(MSG) “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

Titus 3:5 (HCSB) “He saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy…”

What things in your life do you consider valuable? Things you feel like you can’t live without? Coffee? Dry Shampoo? Target? (Hallelujah!) You don’t realize how much worth you have placed on these things until they’re no longer there. Or on a more serious note, how about our careers or relationships or our material possessions?

Anyone like to put together puzzles? I haven't put one together in a while because, well... kids. Growing up, we would spend a week in Estes Park, CO as a family of seven… in a cabin… with no TV. (Bless my parents' hearts.) We would sometimes put together big puzzles with tiny pieces. They were the ones that would take us all week to complete. God forbid a little brother or sister wasn’t looking for revenge that week. We’d get to the very end of the puzzle, very excited for this moment, the great masterpiece, the hard work would be so worth it and then what happens… that dreaded missing piece. It’s heart breaking to have an unfinished puzzle, right? We would overturn every couch cushion, get on our hands and knees and search in desperation for that last piece.

You don’t realize how valuable that one piece is until you’re left with an incomplete puzzle.

What if I told you that’s exactly how God feels about us when he looks down at his masterpiece and sees that Sue’s piece is missing or that Sally’s piece is in a place where nobody else sees. His heart breaks when we choose to take ourselves out of the puzzle because we don’t feel worthy. We disqualify ourselves from playing our part.

We have quieted our own voices and removed ourselves from important conversations because we didn’t think we had a place. We thought that someone else took our right to even put our piece on the table but NOBODY and NOTHING can take that from you. You cannot be divided from what God has provided for you.

Go text someone right now and tell them, "You complete the puzzle."

My daughter Lonna went through a puzzle phase when she was about 4. She was good too! There were times I would sit with her to put one together and I would get stumped at times. They weren’t always the small 8 piece puzzles either. It was like she could see where they were supposed to go. She had a vision. She could see the big picture. She would look at the box and could envision how those pieces fit together to make it match the box lid.

When I was questioning my worth, what I really needed was a perspective shift… that’s when I began to see God’s vision for my life. You begin to have the mind of Christ and your vision changes so that you don’t just see your life, but you see God’s great plan… the grand scheme that he has for all of his people. When I really began to know God for myself and understand his great love for me, I then saw how many people were hurting around me… people that had faced the same issues I had. (Even the really ugly issues that I was afraid to disclose to anyone.) That’s how I discovered my value and I thought, “They need me!” Your value gives way to your purpose. But when you take of God’s lens, your vision gets blurred and you cannot even see where your own piece belongs.

Could it be that we don’t know our own worth because we’ve become so accustomed to wearing different masks and putting others labels on ourselves? I spent so much time hiding under labels that I almost forgot what was underneath… I feared what I would find. I feared what others may have thought of me... a phony, flawed, unqualified to teach the word of God. However, we are all worthy even in our own uniqueness even in our flaws. Better yet, we are worthy because of our uniqueness and flaws. That flaw could be the very thing that sets you apart and could, in fact, be the thing that God can use to make a difference in the lives of others.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NLT)“”Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The world will assess you through a different lens and label you. No labels can cancel out the Word of the Lord. In order defeat the lies of the enemy, we must know what God says… When our hearts are empty, we must fill our mouths with his promises. We have to talk back to those thoughts that try to creep in (like really talk back with your hand on your hip, finger in the air and the head roll). We must set our minds on things above.

So, you speak the truth:

I am alive with Christ. (Eph 2:5) I am a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinth 5:17) I am the righteousness of God. (2 Corinth 5:21) Greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4) It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me. (Gal 2:20) I am greatly loved by God. (Rom 1:7, Eph 2:4, Col 3:12) I can do all things through Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:13) I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works. (Eph 2:10) I am more than a conqueror through him who loves me. (Rom 8:37)

I’ve come to learn in my own life that if something is off, I need to check the position of my heart. We are more aware of our worth when our heart is turned towards God. I can tell you what you think of yourself by the way you answer this question. Are you serving others? When you do, are you doing it with a pure heart? We think… I’m not there yet. If I could just feel valued. If I could just feel worthy. If I could just feel loved. When I feel like I’m cleaned up, then I will add my piece to the puzzle.

There's no such thing as someday. We only have now. Our pieces have a place right now in the middle of our mess. We do God, and the Body of Christ, a disservice when we don’t function from a place of grace… Because then, God’s not receiving the glory.

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (NASB) “To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Let’s do a little self-evaluation…

What are you doing to add to your own value?
What things are you doing to take away from your own value?
What are you doing to add to the value of others?
Are you inadvertently taking value away from other women?

Get this. Just because you think someone is better than you at something, doesn’t mean you’re less valuable… We get caught in the comparison trap and then withhold praising someone else. We end up over-simplifying each other to protect ourselves. We put up our guards, afraid others will see that we don’t measure up. The truth is, there always be someone better than you at something. Find your thing, and do it. Own it, be good at it and know that that is good enough.

When we put our good enough with God’s power, that’s when it becomes extraordinary.

(stay tuned for Part 2...)