Thank you Kathy for suggesting the CR Sisters attend the Women's Conference 2011 together. Honestly, there is no way I would have spent $55 on myself. But knowing I would be sharing the experience with some of the women who have guided me in making positive changes in my life helped me feel a bit more safe in venturing outside my comfort zone!
We met Friday night at Panera's...ahhh...the food and fellowship were great. How could you go wrong with 1/2 a sandwich and a cup of soup?! Now, I know that when women get together for lunch the easy order is a salad. There are some women who really do always order a salad. But at this point in my life I must be true to myself and 'a ______ salad' order will more than likely only come during the summer months. In the winter I love a hot bowl of soup. As more women arrived more conversations got started. Sometimes it is hard to keep my head from bobbing back and forth trying to keep up with what is being said!
When I glanced at the clock I realized we had less than 15 minutes before the doors opened to the conference...off we all went to meet up again. The bright colored flowered designs for the weekend were happy and uplifting...great job. The Student Center was very inviting and created an ambiance of happiness and freedom of stress, worries, and fears.
Krista Klaus was our emcee for the weekend. If you have not heard Krista's story, seek her out for a conversation. Her story is not mine to tell - but for anyone ready to let down the facade and start living...she has an inspiring story.
Friday evening and Saturday morning we also heard from Lynne Hybels and LaVon Hamilton. When I take notes it looks a lot like unfinished sentences, mainly just a few words, because I don't want to miss what is being said. This is what my note paper looked like at the end:
If I don't change anything, nothing will change
the God of my adulthood is very different from the God of my
childhood
the voice that makes me feel guilty when I try to relax is annoying
Mark 14
I know more about some other people that about me
if I lose myself trying to serve only others I end up hurting
everyone
what things would bring my joy?
tired of rushing through life
am I the person I thought I would be?
1. Listen to my heart - mistrust society standards...our emotions
where given to us by God to drive us to be our best
2. Discern and pursue my passion...try new things and see how it
feels, look at the pain in my life and how I can use that to help
others, pay attention to what makes me cry
3.Learn to say 'no' - if I don't say 'no' to what I don't want to
do I can't say 'yes' to what I want to do
4. We get paralyzed because we think change needs to be massive,
starting small and making smaller changes over time is good
5. Intentional unavailability - myth: be available 24/7...pick a
time to be alone! Jesus lived intentionally - He didn't dribble
his life away, He did what He was called to do
We need to takes risks in our lives
True-self vs Fearful-self...when I am afraid, ask 'would I want to
do it if I wasn't afraid?'
My first response to just about everything is fear and the 'what-
ifs'
t-shirt front - Done Watching - t-shirt back - Doing
Be a peacemaker...joyful...strong!
Now this is how I can implement all this in my life: leave behind most of what I have done in my life so far and start to intentionally make changes a step at a time. I am a daughter of God, spouse, mother, daughter of my Mother, sister, full-time employee, CR Sister...doesn't feel like a lot of time left over to do the things that would cater to 'me'. But when I put a little different spin on this it looks a lot like this:
Daughter of God: I enjoy my morning devotions and journalling, my prayers have taken on a whole new diminsion in the past two years, learning to develop a very personal relationship with God.
Spouse: Making an effort to be more honest with myself and God has helped me to be more honest with Brian. My love and appreciation of him has become less assuming and more intentional.
Mother: Wow, I see myself more as a guide and less of a controller in charge! I have always loved my 'mother' role and the unconditional love for and from my children. But setting them free to become the person 'God' sees has been very freeing!
Daughter of my Mother: Picking my Mom up every week and taking her to church with us feels a bit like paying back for the years she cared for me. If just feels right to be in worship together. I wish I had more time to spend with my Mom because I know time is moving on and there is more I would love to learn from her.
Sister: If I am not co-depending and solving everyones problems then I can be more of a friend and companion.
Full-time employee: Doing my best has always been important to me. Spending more prayer time for not only the success of the company, but for all the employees, venders, customers, etc. creates more of a relationship feeling.
CR Sister: Praying for these women every day engages a part of my heart that has been seriously lacking for many years. Listening to their stories and seeking their advice and support helps to keep me on my faith journey.
When I look at my life in segments like this I realize that I am already making changes that focus on my needs. I still need to find time to be intentionally alone and I will begin working on that. But a point for me that is worth remembering is that changes do not need to be massive...small steps... find more ways to bring joy into my life, try to relax more, pay more attention to what I am doing and ignore the voice in my head that is calculating and planning the next ten things I need to get done, and give some serious thought to what I am passionate about in life.
Our gift for the weekend was 'nice girls don't change the world' by Lynne Hybels. It is a book about Lynne's life and how she found the person God intended her to be. We also received three note cards...Dangerous Women Creed by Lynne and two wonderful prayers by Holli Pearson which I plan on sharing with my Open Share Group in the coming weeks.
Not enough thanks could be offered for all the hard work, love, attention to details, and thoughtfulness that went into bringing this conference to the hundreds of women this weekend. And to my family for 'carrying on' while I was gone...again...
God, show me the person you see and guide me to accepting your power in seeing that person for myself and making that person real in my life! Amen
