God's Wonderful Spirit

I have been doing some ongoing study on the Holy Spirit lately, my interest being sparked by our Wednesday night Bible studies at church. Mainly trying to figure out if speaking in tongues is THE evidence of being filled with the Spirit. I have yet to come to a definitive conclusion on the matter, because I haven't found scriptural backing, I'm thinking it may be something we will never know for sure.
But whether or not tongues is THE evidence, it is most definitely one of many signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I have experienced it for myself, and witnessed it in many others, particularly here lately. Several in our church have recently been filled and spoken in tongues. One, who I am very excited about, was Gabe!! (I assume everyone knows, but in case you don't, Gabe is my husband...) This past weekend, he went with several other men from church to a conference in Jefferson City (put on by the United Pentecostals). Thursday night, the first night of the conference, Gabe was moved, overtaken and filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in tongues!!!
I had been praying that he would experience God a greater way, but WOW!!
We had just been talking about that a few weeks ago, and he said that he knew it was real, but didn't think he would ever speak in tongues!! I love it - God had different plans!
Anyway, we are both excited about what God has in store for us.
Another recent experience that we were a part of was a few weeks ago. We had praise and worship practice on a Sunday evening, and we started praying in the middle of practice. Shirley Parks, who leads worship part-time, is a Spirit-filled woman, and she usually speaks in tongues during her prayers. She was praying, and using tongues, but all of a sudden, the language changed, there were definite syllables, and it was altogether different from what she usually speaks. I wondered to myself if there was going to be an interpretation. And there was! Basically the message was that God is looking for children to desire Him and His Word, and that we need to be getting ready, because Hi is coming soon. But it was so exciting to be a part of that.
I think that as the body of Christ, we all need to be paying close attention to everything around us, and especially to our hearts and our minds and our lives. Because the way the Spirit has been moving lately, in more than one place, should be making us ponder. I believe that God is moving in His people, so that we will fervently begin to reach out to those who are lost, because time is short. His word tells us this. We definitely need to allow God to work in us, and get us in tune to His Spirit, so that His work can be accomplished, and so we will be ready when He returns!!