Women of Faith

A couple weekends ago, my mom, sister, sister-in-law and I went to the

Women of Faith Conference.

Women of Faith is a faith-based women's organization encouraging women of all ages and stages in life to grow in faith and spiritual maturity through a relationship with Jesus Christ and an understanding of God’s love and grace. Women of Faith has been going strong since 1996. And since that year when they started, 4 million women have attended a WOF event and 350,000 indicated first time decisions for Christ at a WOF event... Incredible, right?!

Their message is based on the saying:

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, God loves you—regardless of where you are in life.

Their approach is:

Humor and honesty—real women sharing how God helps them deal with real issues.

And their objective is:
To see women set free to a lifestyle of God’s grace by offering events, books, resources, and publications.

It was a 2 day event that started Friday and ended on Saturday. We arrived early Friday morning, had praise and worship all day long (minus a lunch break), went to dinner with a big group, had more praise and worship in the evening, and then Mandisa put on a fabulous concert.

That night we had a big slumber party and stayed in a hotel. We stayed up until midnight just talking and being silly. Then early Saturday morning we were back at it. There were more wonderful speakers, worship and a concert by Amy Grant.

At this conference alone, there were about 10,000 women in the Chesapeake Energy Arena! People were there from all around Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Arizona... All over! They said that 85% of the women that go to the WOF events come in groups of 10 or more.

It was an amazing experience raising my hands toward the Lord in praise alongside that many other women- including some of the most important ones to me.

There were sniffles heard all around the arena, there were belly laughs, there were tears, there was laughing WHILE crying, there were tons of "ah ha" moments... there were emotions running all over the place, as you can imagine with that many women! ;)

All the speakers were remarkable at relating their speeches to everyone directly. There was actually a man that spoke, too. It gave a different perspective than just one from a woman.

The speakers included: Patsy Claimont, Andy Andrews, Marilyn Meberg, Mandisa (from American Idol and now a Christian singer), Sandi Patty (one of my mother's favorite singers from back in the day), Brenda Warner (Kurt Warner, the football player's wife), and Lisa Whelchel (Blair from The Facts Of Life).

They all were absolutely outstanding. They opened up about their lives and the trials they have been through. Their journeys were all so different, yet so similar.

They talked about how everyone is either going into a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or about to have a crisis.... To not live "almost" to "almost"... That ignorance to the principal doesn't protect you from the principal... To live life intentionally, not as an improv... To always seek a higher wisdom... To not make decisions based on emotions, but to make decisions based on what we are suppose to do... That sarcasm is anger masked in a clown suit... To put boundaries on our emotions and harness our thoughts... To look for measurable progress, not for perfection.. That worrying is just focusing on the wrong things... That every good thing happens b/c of how you act, and every great thing happens b/c of how you react when things aren't fair or easy... That there is always a reset button... That I am good enough for God, and God is good enough for me... That God puts things in our hearts for a reason... To always show mercy... That imperfect just means it's real... That a real friend does not encourage you to be who they need or who you should be, just who you really are... That sometimes a friend doesn't need advice, they just need you to listen and receive them... That change can be good... That our greatest need is connection... That being vulnerable in a relationship is risking getting hurt, but to be vulnerable anyway... To refuse temptation, replace it and repeat over and over... That God has created me with a will that is stronger than my emotions... That there is ALWAYS a 2nd half... And maybe the most important thing is to just shut up in the name of Jesus sometimes!! :)...... and so, so much more.

We worshipped, we listened, we answered, we took notes, we cried, we hugged, we laughed, we bonded, we praised.

We left there with handfuls of books, thoughts to continue to sink in, and an excitement for the next Women of Faith event that kicks off it's tour in OKC in August of 2012!

Two words to describe this organization and this conference...

Incredible and Powerful.

I am so thankful that I got to experience it with the women of my family. I look forward to the next one with you all!! I love you all dearly and love growing with you.