Refreshed and Renewed

I got back from the Women of Faith conference last night—physically tired, but definitely renewed spiritually. I plan to post more later about some of the specific messages, but here are some of my initial thoughts….

*Sheila Walsh—Wow!  Sheila has always been one of my favorite WOF speakers. I was thrilled that she spoke 3 different times this year! She always makes me laugh AND cry. Her love for God and faith shine through everything she says and her honesty and “real-ness” inspire me. And then to hear her sing as well. Wow.

*I was sad not to hear some of the “regular” speakers, since there are now two WOF teams—one on the east coast and one on the west. But I loved getting to “know” new speakers—Angie Smith,  Lisa Harper, and Laura Story and to hear their stories. I seriously couldn’t pick a favorite speaker this year!

*There is NOTHING like singing praise songs in an arena with 8000 other women! Amazing experience.

(The worship team on stage; Dramatist Nicole Johnson is in orange.)

*My seats this year were on the floor! It was fun to be so close to the stage. We were about 15 feet from the “front porch” where the speakers all sit. I loved seeing the speakers dancing to the praise music, whispering together, and supporting each other as they spoke. Some of their children were in and out as well. Such fun to see the children of one of the singers from “Mary Mary” dancing to their mama’s music! And why was Sheila Walsh taking a picture of the monitor with her cell phone while Mary Mary sang? Hmm.

(The speakers’ “front porch.”)

This year’s theme is “Imagine.” “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to him be glory…” Eph. 3:20  The message I heard over and over from every single speaker was “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!” John 16:33   And each speaker was an amazing example of that!

Seriously—if there is a Woman of Faith event anywhere near you, grab a friend or group of friends and go!

Thank you to BookSneeze and Women of Faith for providing me with free tickets to this event!