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“Before RECESS, I was in a dry season. I felt stuck, like there was a wall between me and God, and I didn’t know how to knock it down. I was bitter, unhappy, insecure. I didn’t believe that God really wanted a relationship with me. I felt like this was all there was for me, and I was miserable seeking satisfaction in so many things other than the Lord.
But man, through RECESS, God has taught me so much! It all started when I learned the depths and significance of the veil being torn. It blows my mind that from the beginning of time, GOD has wanted a relationship with ME! That the whole reason why Jesus came and died and took away my sin and gave me His Spirit was so that I could have a close relationship with HIM!! And now that I finally believe and have experienced that, all I want to do is worship Him! Now when I go through tough times, it’s no longer my first reaction to run away from God and think “He doesn’t love me, He’s not there, He doesn’t want the best for me.” Now I’ll turn to Him and praise Him and speak truth, and I love Him for that!
Through RECESS, I’ve grasped Love. I’ve grasped Freedom. He’s taught me the beauty of my process. He has taught me patience. He has given me freedom and the ability to see His persistent pursuit all throughout my life. He’s shown me how He changes me when I worship, and how He will use me to share His heart and depths with others. And it’s completely changed my perspective.
I am so excited now to stand in this new confidence of who He is and who I am in Him. Through RECESS, I attained the greatest thing: a deeper relationship with and understanding of God. And I’m so excited to go out and help others do the same!” – Leah, 23
“Before RECESS, I was sad, wounded, and desperately grasping at things to fix me. I was exhausted and running on empty. I’d been burned by earthly relationships and yet somehow that’s what I thought would make me feel alive again.
Today, I’m bouncing with energy. I’m at peace exactly where I am because I know I’m cherished by a perfect man, friend, and Father. I have purpose and gifts, and I know He’s dying to use them. I’m a new creation.
Before RECESS, I thought Jesus was dead — just boring doctrine, a story from the past, someone I “should” know. Today, He is MINE. He knows me. He is alive, and fun, and cool, and desperately wants us to see Him. I want more and more of Him, and I’ll never go back to where I was!” - Kat, 26
“Before RECESS, I loved God and I wanted to please Him. I’d seen Him faithful time and time again. And I’d seen that He is the way, the truth and the life. I believed in the gospel and the power of Jesus. But I’d never let Him run me down and sweep me up like He did during RECESS.
He looked at me and He told me how beautiful I look in spotless white. He asked if He could spend every day with me. He look me by the hand and pulled me along with Him. I asked, ‘Where will we go?’ And He said, ‘Wherever you want!’Where you go, I will go with you. You’re the love of my life, and you’re the love for my life.’ This is the song we sing back and forth to one another. Every minute is different and holy. And the impossible is possible because we are for each other.” - Emmory, 22
“When RECESS first started, I was in chains, shackled to the enemy without knowledge of how God was and is the true way out. I thought that the enemy in my house was my cross to bear. I thought it was on me to produce joy, love validation, etc. I doubted God’s ability to do that in me, and by my doubt and control, I allowed the enemy to take me over.
Through RECESS, I have seen God’s heart and love for me. He has shown me that He will conquer the enemy for me, that He will seep into me and change me from the inside out. He has overcome my doubts and changed my heart towards Him. He has broken chains for me and comforted me in ways I had only dreamed of. He has shown me that while I can never produce joy and love, He will gladly produce it in and for me. And He has — over and over again!
I learned through RECESS how sinful thoughts like fear, worry and doubt open the door for the enemy to seep in. But guess what?! I am shutting that door! I am pushing the enemy out of my house and am determined to fill it up with the fullness of God! I am ready for Him to flood me, to take my heart and lead me where He wants me to go. I have faith again that my life is His to take and that He will fulfill my desires. And I am confident now that life without a daily walk with Him is not a path I want to take.” - Ellen, 26
“RECESS came at such a needed time. I was in such a spiritual drought that I let so few people see, if any. As a middle schooler, I was a little spitfire for Christ. I knew the Holy Spirit – He was a friend that I knew intimately. But over time, my priorities changed and I didn’t stand firm against the devil’s schemes. That ushered me into the 6 year long spiritual drought that I was in leading up to RECESS.
When RECESS first started, I was nervous. I was ashamed that I had let the the Holy Spirit, who had once been like a friend to me, become a stranger. I was ashamed that I’d turned my back on Him after being given the gift of sincerely knowing Him when I was younger. And that shame and guilt led me to believe the lie that I would never be able to get back to where I once was with Him.
But God has been so faithful and so gracious and so patient, and now I see just how ridiculously contradictory all those lies are to His promises. Through RECESS, He’s not only brought me back to where I once was with Him but into even deeper intimacy with Him. And I know I have only scratched the surface of who He is!
I’m in awe of His provision and love and the power that comes with knowing Him. And I can honestly say that I no longer look back on my middle school days and reminisce on the closeness I had with my Father. I know that my best days with Him are ahead of me. I always want to be a spitfire for Christ!” - Mary Martha, 26
“The thing that makes me most excited about RECESS is this: During this time in my life, God has made me keenly aware of His current movement in our country and throughout the nations. He is bringing forth a reformation, and there’s a harvest taking place. God showed me that RECESS is an integral part of this process. Through RECESS, He is raising up powerful, faithful warriors who are fully equipped in His power and in His love to build up His kingdom here on earth, particularly in Houston, Texas, and to be carried throughout America. I am so excited I got to be a part of this. God is so sweet. I love how He wants us to be a part of what He is doing!” - Lee Ann, 59
“Before RECESS, I felt disconnected from the truths of God’s power and from the move of the Holy Spirit. I’d seen His move in me before when I was younger, but over the past decade, I had let the enemy squelch my faith and had given into a spirit of rejection that kept me isolated from voices that would speak encouragement into me.
But God in His ever-loving way brought me to RECESS, and through this ministry, He has reminded me of His hand over my life. He reminded me of things that were spoken over me years ago — things that I had allowed to fall away. And as I drew near, I began to feel Him more closely. So many of the truths I once knew came back to life, and I feel so much freedom now to walk in them. I no longer feel embarrassed to speak a word from the Lord to somebody or to worship in the way that the Lord is worthy of or to sing out in spiritual warfare in my house and my car and in my heart while I’m at the grocery story or out with friends. I don’t feel embarrassed to embrace and fully walk in those ways any more.
I am just so grateful for RECESS! It was truly an answer to my heart’s cry, and I am so encouraged to know there are women moving deeper and closer to the Lord in these intimate ways, pushing aside any pretenses or formalities just to be with Him. It’s truly water on parched land. I am so, so thankful for all the Lord has done in my life through RECESS, and I know many others will encounter His rescuing touch through it and see the joy that will pour forth because of it!” – Kerry, 37
“At the beginning of this journey, I was lost in the Lord. I was at a point where I didn’t know what to do anymore and it was affecting me mentally, emotionally, physically. I was desperately craving God’s love, but I didn’t know how to find it. And I didn’t think I was worthy of it. I thought He was ashamed of me and embarrassed by me and that He wouldn’t want me back.
But oh, how wrong I was! Through RECESS, the Lord broke through those lies and showed me who I was always meant to be. He promised me that my old really had died and that my new in Christ really is my truth. He showed me how to forgive myself and receive in full His forgiveness towards me. He is and has been showing me that even in my failures, I am still one with Him. I am learning that my identity, gifts, worth and purpose are not based on or dependent on my faithfulness but His! And this simple truth has and is changing everything!
I am so grateful for this journey. Had I not gone through this process, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to receive God’s mercy and love. RECESS is the beginning of a beautiful life with God and for some of us, the path back to a beautiful life with Him. And I would encourage everyone, no matter how light or dark your season is, to do it.” Kelcie, 22
We believe in sharing these testimonies because we know how powerful a maneuver of the heart can be. God asks us to speak our hearts, and in obedience we share that He be honored and that His face is known.
To learn more about joining a RECESS Group in Houston, or in your area, please visit our EVENTS Page.