Women of Faith

I head on the radio the other day that Billy Graham is 93 and wants to preach one more time before he dies.  I thought, "Man, I can't even imagine what heaven will be like when he walks in.  I am sure Jesus will be so excited to see him!".  I envied that type of excitement and then it hit me-Jesus will be just as excited to see me, and Daniel.. and all the peons who don't even compare to Billy Graham.  Aren't you thankful we serve a God like that?  So cool.  So undeserving.

A friend of mine from church, Kristie, won 2 tickets to the Women of Faith Conference in Kansas City this weekend and asked me to go with her.  It was such a blessing.  There is something about being in a room with thousands of other women, worshipping and celebrating the God who hears us and sees us and loves us.  It was a total chick fest.  There were times when I thought some women were going to take off and burn their bras, but it didn't happen =)  Lots of estrogen, though!
Unfortunately we had to miss quite a bit of it because we both work full time and couldn't take off work to attend all of the Friday afternoon sessions.  We were able to go in the evening and then Saturday afternoon.  We also had to miss the Saturday morning sessions because of our kiddos competing in Bible Quiz.  They only quiz one Saturday per month, and guess which Saturday the meet decided to land on.  Yep, this one (which, honestly, I didn't mind.  I hated to miss the conference, but seeing the kids compete to answer questions about God's word is just amazing.  They are so sweet and are learning so much!).

I didn't grow up listening to many Christian artists or hearing Christian speakers, so some of the presenters were totally new to me- except Lisa Whelchel, who is my doppleganger:

and Amy Grant! 

Can I tell you how much I loved hearing her in concert?  I know a lot of people don't like her, but I just love her... and, despite everything, Jesus will be just as happy to see her and he is to see me.. and Billy Graham =)  I did grow up listening to her, so it was awesome.  Each song brought up memories of my sister, Mom, and I spending time together.  I felt like I could close my eyes and feel like I was riding in my mom's navy blue Camry, drinking a Diet Coke, going to St. Claire Square to shop.  She came out and I had to fight tears missing my mom and sis so much!

Now that I think about it, we missed most of the speaking segments.  We heard Mandisa sing and I fell in love with her song Lifeline.  Seriously, check that baby out.  You will be blessed.

Anyway, I was hoping to get an autograph from Lisa Whelchel, but she had to leave early.  Boo.  But, in all, the whole conference was awesome.  If you are thinking about going this year or next, do!