In case anyone who read my last post had any questions, I was busy this weekend attending the Women of Faith conference in Houston. As always, it was an absolutely fabulous conference. Great speakers, great singers, fun time with friends on the way to & fro. What more can a girl ask for in a weekend away? (This picture only shows part of our group. Some of the other ladies met us in Houston. And no, our church van isn't purple striped. I added that to cover the church name/city...ya know, gotta be safe!)
Having only ever attended the Dallas conference, I was not sure what to expect at this conference. It was very much the same with only a few differences in speakers who attended. The Women of Faith team is made up of (about?) 10 speakers, but not all 10 attend/speak at all the conferences. At each conference, there are about 5 speakers & usually 2 musical guests as well as one dramatist. At this conference, we were blessed to hear Patsy Clairmont, Sheila Walsh, Marilyn Meberg, Lisa Harper & Lisa Whelchel speak. Steven Curtis Chapman and Nicole C. Mullen sang. Allison Allen was the dramatist. (Shoot...I hope I'm not missing anyone!)
Patsy Clairmont spoke first. As always she told a hilarious story which led into a very strong biblical truth. I love Patsy! She is about 5' tall & couldn't weigh more than 115 pounds. She's a spunky little lady who has no problem telling a story that embarasses herself for the sake of making the audience laugh or cry. She is willing to crawl across the stage, jump up & down or do whatever sort of physical movement to tell a story. Have I mentioned that I just love Patsy?
I'm not sure if I'm getting everyone in the right order, but somewhere later in the conference, Sheila Walsh spoke. Every time I hear her speak, I am moved to tears. She is always gut-wrenchingly honest & can convey the raw emotions, the pain or loss, of whatever story she's telling. But just like one of the other speakers said when they spoke of Sheila this weekend, just as honest & deep as she is, she's that funny, too!
I am in the early few chapters of this Sheila Walsh book that I will post a review on soon. (I'm doing a book review for Thomas Nelson publishing company & this is the book I'm working on right now! Sneak preview: I'm loving the book! Of course, it would be even better if she were around to read it to me in her pretty Scottish accent.)
Later on, Lisa Harper spoke. I had never heard her before, but boy am I glad I got to hear her this weekend! Lisa is HILARIOUS. She was able to take a really big Biblical story that is confusing & one that people would often skip right over in reading Scripture & she turned it around & made it make so much sense. She was able to take a 'little' creative license & add her own twist to make us giggle, but also to make us grasp the concepts she was teaching on. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak, go for it. She was a hoot & such a great teacher! If she & I lived near each other, and you know...if she was willing to befriend a total stranger...I'd totally hang out with her. She's my kind of girl in so many ways! (And for the record, I'm trying....I sent her a friend request on Facebook. We'll see how that goes. I'll report back later if she 'friends' me!)
This morning, Lisa Whelchel spoke. You may remember her best as the teen girl, Blair, on the 80s TV show
The Facts of Life. I did watch the show, but I've become much more of a fan since I read
Creative Correction. I've told tons of people since then that I think this book should be required reading for all parents. It really changed the way I looked at my own parenting. This weekend, she wasn't talking about parenting, but about the things God has taught her 'behind the scenes' growing up in Hollywood & learning to make it on her own so young. It was an inspirational look at her testimony more than anything, and I loved that. Just kinda felt like I was sitting & talking with a girlfriend. (except, of course, we weren't actually TALKING...I was just listening...but you know what I mean!)
Marilyn Meberg spoke today as well. Marilyn is such a sweet lady. I was not expecting her to be funny & silly the first year I heard her speak, but she is! She just looks like she'd be more stern and serious than she is, but the truth is, ALL of the WOF speakers are hilarious. I'm so glad she's a part of this team! Aside from her humor & storytelling ability, she is incredibly wise & seems to package the wisdom she speaks in small packages, so it's never overwhelming. Such a gifted woman!
Last night, Steven Curtis Chapman did a concert for us. His wife, Mary Beth, was in the front row, right in front of his microphone, so he was able to look down at her smiling face the whole time. He did an amazing concert despite his hoarse voice. The poor guy has had a cold & his voice was scratchy, but somehow, he still pulled off an awesome concert!! He told the story of losing his daughter & how he'd written "Cinderella" (see youtube link below for the video) about her and her sister....and then he sang the song. Oh yeah....not a dry eye in the place! I took a picture, but he never turned to face us, so this is the best I could get. In case you don't recognize him from my blurry picture, the one below that is his professional looking headshot. I'm sure you can find more of him online, but I grabbed this one so you could see what he looks like from the front. :)
This morning, Nicole C Mullen did a concert as well. Folks, let me just tell you, I love this girl. Not only is her music powerful, but I can 'see' her heart every time she speaks, in the things she pours her time into, in the way she never accepts applause without pointing her finger up (to God), reminding everyone that it's not HER but HIM who deserves the applause & the Glory. I love people like that. I pray that I point to Him every time I am applauded throughout life.
(I took this one....I love it! Kinda looks like she was looking right at me for the picture, doesn't it?!)
This morning, the dramatist, Allison Allen performed a skit for us. It was a very moving story of a girl with bulemia who came to know the power of God's healing. Very good!
The thing I saw most at this conference was something that people sitting anywhere else in the arena may've missed. You see, we had THE BEST SEATS EVER. We were just 4-5 rows behind 'the back porch' (where the speakers sit). SEE??? You see the folks in the seats in front of us...and then the little "fenced" area in front of them? That's where the speakers sat all weeked. We were THAT close.
I loveddddddd watching the way the ladies interacted. They're 25 cities into a 26 city tour, so I know that by this point in the year, they are absolutely exhausted & ready to be DONE. But as each speaker was announced, the arena would go dark for a short (maybe 2 minute long?) video intro for them. While their video played, I watched as that speaker would move down the line of ladies on the porch & each one of the other women would whisper into her ear, give her a hug, pray over her, kiss her cheek, hold her hand or just generally gave her a pat on the back as they spoke a blessing over her as she went on stage. When they were not on stage, the way the ladies smiled & whispered to each other showed me that these ladies are not the least bit 'fake' when they tell you (on stage) that they're all very close friends. It was clear as I watched Sheila Walsh & Lisa Whelchel giggle & talk and take pictures of each other with their cell phones, as I watched Marilyn & Allison & Lisa Harper dance along to Nicole's music (trust me...anyone who can follow her dance moves is going to be about 20 pounds less by the end of the song & these ladies were attempting to keep up & cracking up the whole way). I watched the group of speakers crowd around Patsy Clairmont last night, lay hands on her & pray for the health of Patsy's son Marty who is in the ICU at a hospital in another state in a medically induced coma. I watched tears being wiped away as they begged God for a miracle in their friend's life. I watched the faces that they made at each other as they stepped off the stage. You know...the one that says "whew...I did it" or "wow...that was hard", and I watched the other ladies high five them or give them a thumbs up as they returned to their seat.
Up until this year, I've always seen the ladies who speak with Women of Faith as just, well, celebrities. After all, I could quickly find every single one of their headshots (those I posted above)....only famous people have those, right? I mean, I know they're real people, but this year, sitting so close, seeing their expressions from the stage (not just on the big jumbo-tron) was a vastly different experience for me. For some reason, this year, sitting RIGHT THERE...so close I could've tossed a wad of paper & hit them...they became REAL to me. Real women with real lives & real families & yes, real struggles. I really really wanted to go over & step onto the 'back porch' to hug each one of them, to say a prayer for them one by one, to whisper into their ears how much they've touched me in the past several years. I would love to have just a few minutes with each one of them to tell them what their ministry has meant to me, to hug them and you know....to trade email addresses & phone numbers because after all, I want to be part of the WOF team. Not because I'd ever be brave enough to speak in front of 15,000 women 26 weeks out of the year, but because I want to be best friends with every one of them! I would love to know them personally and to be a part of their lives, to be ministered to and to minister to them, all the time. Not just 1 weekend a year.
But alas, I didn't step onto the porch to speak to the WOF ladies....there was a guard at either end of their area. And I won't be stalking the WOF ladies (ha ha!), but I feel like I got to know them better this year. I know that they have lives of their own with families to feed & groceries to buy and vomit to clean up when their children get the flu. But just like me, they have hearts for Jesus and a testimony to share. God has moved each one of those ladies in a special way in the past year and I am so glad I was there to hear their stories, to hear how God has grown them & changed them this year, to learn from them.
Thank you WOF speakers & all the people who work for you!! Can't wait til next year!! You rock my world!
Some random thoughts:
