Like I mentioned last week, I was attending the Women of Faith Imagine event. Well the weekend came and went. It has taken me a few days to digest everything I learned. I took so many notes it filled up half of a notebook!
I was given 2 tickets from Booksneeze and Women of Faith for this event. It was not a difficult choice in who I was going to take....my 17 year old daughter Katrina.
It was not only a time of Spiritual strengthening, but also a time for mother-daughter bonding. I planned a whole weekend for us, including a hotel stay. We laughed, cried, prayed and walked away spiritually renewed!
Come along with me and I'll help you "Imagine" what it was like to be at this event.
We arrived a little early on Friday morning so we had to wait outdoors. It was nice to chat with other women of faith!
The Women of Faith worship team was phenomenal!! Their voices blended into one.
This is our host, Lori Robertson. One of the reoccurring things I noticed throughout the whole weekend was the genuineness of each person that was involved with Women of Faith.
First we heard from Sheila Walsh.
She stopped and gave us a nice little pose! Here is what I got from her portion of the event:
- God has made amazing promises to us. It's up to us to learn what they are! (Proverbs 4:1)
- No matter how much I change God's Word will forever stay the same.
- Learn to thank God in the storm. Not after the storm.
- Submit to the refiners fire: God wants us more like Christ. In order to shape iron they must heat it up.
- See yourself as a daughter of the King...not as what you do...wife, mother, doctor, lawyer ect.
- What if all my baggage was visible to everyone that could see me. All the unforgiven, hurt, bitterness ect.
She then closed her portion with a beautiful song! I had NO idea she could sing. Such a sweet voice from and equally sweet lady!
Next up on the stage was Dr. Henry Cloud...yes! there was a man there. He is a clinical psychologist. But don't let that fool you! I could of sat there all day listening to him speak. Here is some of what I learned from him:
- God is always moving us. Do not get comfortable where you are at.
- God has wired us for a life of giving.
- You can not take your "Egypt" with you. Let go of things!
- "Weeping during the night brings you joy in the morning."
- We have to let go of things to let God take us on that next step of the journey.
- The root of happiness is connectedness.
We were also blessed with musical acts. Mary Mary was a duo I had never heard of. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them.
They got their name "Mary Mary" from the 2 Mary's from the Bible. They are actually sisters, Tina and Elizabeth.
Natalie Grant performed as well. I was familiar with her. She has such a sweet voice, and a sweet disposition to match. She is very humble.
We heard from Nicole Johnson. WOW just about sums it all up! Her first time on the stage she did the "Hat" skit where she is acting out the different rolls women have, Mom, Worker, Chef, Psychologist, Lover, Chauffeur and accountant. But during the last session she came out on stage as herself. She humbled herself to share very personal things about her life. Here are some things I learned:
- Criticism is not a fruit of the Spirit.
- Anger is hard to admit. We would rather lie and say everything is ok.
- Anger comes back in many forms.
- Anger is a signal or a "check engine" soon light.
- Broken pieces..."Bring your trash to God and He will give you a treasure." Think of stain glass, pieces of broken glass used to create something beautiful.
- We are to model Christ and His behavior.
Next up was Angie Smith, fellow blogger and wife to Todd Smith of Selah.
If you have never read her story you really need to visit her blog and read it. I linked to it above. But be forewarned...you will need tissues!! Here is what I got from her:
- We can hold onto others or hold onto Jesus.
- Are you going to trust in what you can see and feel or are you going to trust in Jesus.
- No matter what your background is, you CAN be a women of faith.
- If you take your eyes off of Jesus you will start to sink.
We were also entertained by Ken Davis...sorry I was laughing way too much to take any pictures. It was the first time I ever had the pleasure of hearing him. He was hysterical!
We also heard from Lisa Harper. No speaker has ever touched me in the way Lisa Harper did for me. She talked about many things from her past. Much of which I could relate to. I was brought to tears listening to her. It has brought up to the surface many things I have tried to forget. God used Lisa and Women of Faith to bring this stuff up for me to finally give to Him to help me deal with.
- Am I afraid to trust? Am I afraid to open my heart to another?
- The Bible is a love story about a Prince who fell in love with a messy bride.
- We need to be involved with the unlovable.
- With God you can get rid of that "dragon" of shame.
- You will struggle in your life. Jesus will help me through the struggles. (John 16:33-34)
The greatest moment of this weekend is when I looked over at my daughter and saw this:
Her face is filled with God Joy!! All the tears and hurt that came to the surface for me were wiped away when I saw her precious face!!
If you have never attended a Women of Faith event you really must!! You will laugh, cry and be refreshed during the 2 day event. I can not say enough about Women of Faith. This might have been my first time attending one but it most certainly will not be my last!! As a matter of fact I am going to be a group leader for next year's event here in Rochester, NY!
As I was finishing up this post I got a phone call from my daughter because of her experience at Women of Faith she went to see our Pastor. She rededicated her life to Christ!!!! This is by far the GREATEST thing that came out of our experience.
Thank You from the bottom of this mother's heart Booksneeze and Women of Faith for this opportunity to attend the event!!
**I was given 2 free tickets from Booksneeze and Women of Faith in exchange for my honest review.**
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