thought to myself, "why am I going? I just want two consecutive nights in my OWN bed." Once again, long before my arrival, God had a plan. God was preparing a place for me at the 2008 Women of Faith Conference in Anaheim, CA. I agreed to go to this conference over a month ago, at a time when I thought I should definitely go so I can meet some new people from the church. But honestly, I'm exhausted. There has been an overload of information these last few days and not enough brain space to hold it all!Thursday was my first day in the office at Good Shepherd. Carla (the office administrator) gave me my keys, showed me how to 
activate the alarm system (none of which I remember, by the way), helped me get my paperwork finished up, and set me free. Well, now what? Well, I did what any new super anal intern would do: cleaned my office! This is a photo PREclean and PREdecorate. I'll post a new photo when I am done 'Elle Woods'ing it up! Later in the day, I realized that I would need to get an alb for traditional worship on Sunday...well, that's not going to happen overnight, so I'll use a choir robe this week, and pray it comes in the mail by next Sunday. Vestments suck.
Anyway, back to the conference. Lea and I drove up Friday night, ate supper with the 25 women from GS, and headed over to the 
Honda Center for the evening session. The list of speakers amazed me: Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, & Sandi Patty. As if that wasn't sweet enough, Nicole C. Mullen and Natalie Grant were there to perform some of their amazing music! How lucky to be in the presence of such funny, talented women. It made me wonder: what do I have to do in this life to earn me the honor of speaking in a gathering like that? A gathering with 15,000 women!
I'm glad I had a chance to be in worship and community with the women from GS this weekend. Though, I'm still recovering from the practical joke that was played on me (really, NOT funny), and the drive through Compton on the way home. Dana Barker assured me that we HAD to get off the freeway because of an accident. Needless to say, I was all for waiting it out, rather than driving through Compton. I snapped one picture for proof, and then got low in the car until we were in a safe area.
activate the alarm system (none of which I remember, by the way), helped me get my paperwork finished up, and set me free. Well, now what? Well, I did what any new super anal intern would do: cleaned my office! This is a photo PREclean and PREdecorate. I'll post a new photo when I am done 'Elle Woods'ing it up! Later in the day, I realized that I would need to get an alb for traditional worship on Sunday...well, that's not going to happen overnight, so I'll use a choir robe this week, and pray it comes in the mail by next Sunday. Vestments suck.
Anyway, back to the conference. Lea and I drove up Friday night, ate supper with the 25 women from GS, and headed over to the 
Honda Center for the evening session. The list of speakers amazed me: Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, & Sandi Patty. As if that wasn't sweet enough, Nicole C. Mullen and Natalie Grant were there to perform some of their amazing music! How lucky to be in the presence of such funny, talented women. It made me wonder: what do I have to do in this life to earn me the honor of speaking in a gathering like that? A gathering with 15,000 women!One of the most poignant moments of the conference came at a time when Nicole Johnson did a skit about fire. She said that damage done by careless 
words are like fire-- James 3:5 "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that." (The Message). It made me think back to times in my life when family and friends said things to me that set off a fire inside me. Words like "you can't," "you're wrong," and "you'll never make it" have echoed through my vulnerable ears from an early age. They do, they spread like wildfire. That wildfire burns and continues to burn until there is a moment of humility and forgiveness. It sent my mind spinning--thinking of everyone who I may have set on fire by my careless words.
words are like fire-- James 3:5 "It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that." (The Message). It made me think back to times in my life when family and friends said things to me that set off a fire inside me. Words like "you can't," "you're wrong," and "you'll never make it" have echoed through my vulnerable ears from an early age. They do, they spread like wildfire. That wildfire burns and continues to burn until there is a moment of humility and forgiveness. It sent my mind spinning--thinking of everyone who I may have set on fire by my careless words.
I'm glad I had a chance to be in worship and community with the women from GS this weekend. Though, I'm still recovering from the practical joke that was played on me (really, NOT funny), and the drive through Compton on the way home. Dana Barker assured me that we HAD to get off the freeway because of an accident. Needless to say, I was all for waiting it out, rather than driving through Compton. I snapped one picture for proof, and then got low in the car until we were in a safe area. I'm home now. Safe in my little room. Which reminds me, click on THIS if you'd like to see a video that Kevin put together of our journey to CA. There's a shot of my house and room at the end of the clip if you'd like to see it. Tomorrow is a big day at church: getting installed, leading the prayers, and a BBQ to end all BBQ's with the ITF (Intern Task Force). Peace and love. Goodnight!
1 comment:
Exactly which "crazy" are you referring to? Keep in mind, my hubby & I know Crazy... and he does not live in Compton! And, I graciously did NOT take you on Greg's suggested tour of Watt's Towers, it was daytime, and there really were 5,000 cars ahead of us planning on squeezing through just one open lane, all the while gawking at what might remain of the accident scene and the investigators. Now, in my California born and raised mind, THAT would be crazy! Can you say, "accident(s) waiting to happen?"
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