Women of Faith

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by my friend and Bible Study buddy, Joanie, if I was going to the Women of Faith Conference. Honestly, I had not given it much thought. It was the same weekend as the Men's C.M.A. retreat at Ridgecrest and I knew Erik was going to that and I would need to take care of the animals here at home. However, back in the early fall, I attended a Beth Moore Simulcast and I really felt God speaking to me about the Women's ministry and being more involved with the women of our church. --Sidebar, I have not done very well at all making friends since I have been back home in SC. Now, mind you, this is not a plea for sympathy, it's just a fact that I have struggled in this area because of my own neglect and low self-esteem. But that's a blog for another time. So I tell Joanie I will pray and talk with Erik about it. Well, I go home, tell Erik and we talk it over. We pray about it and I decide, yes God, I hear you and I will go.

I knew several of the ladies that were going, but not very well. I was very excited to take the time to get to know some of them better. I got the chance to know Joanie and Donna very well, and I am blessed for it! It is so refreshing to "sit under" strong Christian women and listen to how God has used them and moved them! Amazing! As a bonus, I was even able to take a personal day from work to go to Greensboro for the conference. I rode with Joanie and Donna (such sweet women!!!) and we had a great time! We were roomies and we had a good time just chatting as we settled in and going back and forth to the conference.

We were blessed with the opportunity to hear several key speakers who have been with WOF for a while--Marilyn Meberg, Patsy Clairmont, Lisa Welchel, Sandy Patty, Lucy Swindoll. Our musical guests were Steven Curtis Chapman, Sandy Patty, and Mandisa. It was two days of praise and worship and solid teaching! I could go on forever, but I wouldn't do the conference justice. I just know that God spoke to me in many ways while I was there. Just know that I am in a process of healing and a lot of realization that things sometimes have to change--even if that means me!

It's funny because I feel a lot of emotion during music. I connect to it in a way some people don't. I connect memories to music and my emotions too, I guess. I can remember what CD I was listening to or what song was out when a major event happened in my life. For example, Live the Life (Michael W. Smith) had just come out when Erik first asked me out. Crazy, but it's true. I can remember the first time I felt I needed to rededicate my life to God and I know that Steven Curtis Chapman's played The Great Adventure at That Big Thing at the Coliseum. Anyway, the music during this event moved me more than I have been moved in some time. The time to worship was amazing! To sing my love and exclaim my devotion to God with 10,000+ other women was amazing! I highly recommend this to anyone!

Well, that's all for now! Just wanted to share my blessings with you! I hope to be able to share many more in the days, weeks, and year to come!

What's Happenin'!!!????!!!???

Well, blogworld, I am alive and well. I have been on a break because of school, but I am taking the time to blog away! This will likely be a 2-part thing. So, just hang on if I don't totally update to today!

So, what's been going on? School for one. Grad School kicks butt sometimes and this last class was intense. I am proud to say that I walked away with a 98! So go me! Working school has been busy too. I forgot how much a grade level change can keep you busy! But, as I have said in the past, my team is the best! They are awesome and they keep me together. It's funny because our principal has us do this colors test at the start of each year. You are basically 1 of 4 colors--yellow--organized and like lists, blue--emotionally driven, green--you are all business, and orange--you are the life of the party. Well I have always, always, always fallen smack dab in between blue and yellow. Now, you may be thinking, Alli, you are not organized and I didn't know you liked lists? Well, I do and I am! Just not at the same time or all the time! I am certainly BLUE! My friends laugh because I cry at commercials! Go figure! Anyway, my team knows this and even though my yellow runs more closely at home, they take care of me.

Update #2 Erik and I have some changes coming. No, not what you think! But made you think that way, didn't I?? That wasn't nice. I apologize. :0) Anyway, back in the spring my wonderful hubby allowed our "child" to chew on the carpet--it really wasn't his fault. He fell asleep and Arwyn's little puppy mouth slipped from her bone to the carpet. Anyway, we have had a small hole in it ever sense. Plus, after 2 puppies potty training, my yellow self didn't like the spots that I could not get rid of despite buying a Bissell Spot Bot and bottles of Resolve. So, after much deliberation, we settled on flooring. Had the guy come out and measure. I was sure we were going to get the hardest hard wood floors you could imagine. Well, after looking and looking and talking with Sandra (our Abby Carpet Girl) we decided upon laminate. Yep, it won't scratch, it won't peel, it's puppy proof! It even has texture (oooohhhhh!!!) and it's beveled! So it looks a heck of a lot like hardwood floors. It is over 95% real wood, so that counts right? I am pleased. We are also getting a new kitchen table and chairs. I will post pictures once it comes in. We needed it because the table we have is fine, but we are down 2 chairs thanks to my best friends Hubby! Thanks Kevin! Because of that, I totally got to go shopping! :0) A girl can't complain! No, seriously, we needed it anyway and it's really cool. I can't wait! We have plans for the table and the other chair. We are totally blessed to be able to do this. God is good!

Gosh, I think that's all for now. Except I will leave you with a tidbit for next time.
"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the Facts of Life, the Facts of Life!" This had to do with this past weekend. Stay tuned!