Advent

It is the last official day of November already - how did that happen?!

To make up for my ranting the last two days, I thought I'd pass along something positive and fun today.  :0)

Women of Faith reminded me that observance of traditional Advent began last Sunday, November 27. 

To help families celebrate and keep focus on the true reason for celebration during the busy weeks to come, they're giving away free copies of their ebook  A Family Advent. 

They've also got  a great little Countdown to Christmas page. Every day there's a new gift to be clicked on for a fun surprise - a seasonal thought, holiday trivia, or maybe a contest or a sale . . . something new every day!

If you're up for a little Christmas cheer, check out this great resource over at the WOF blog.

Leave Skin on the Table (A Little Midweek Motivation)

As I was cleaning up my desk this morning, I found my notes from the Women of Faith Event last weekend.

From the beautiful Lisa Harper's session, I found the following simple notes:

Go Big or Go Home
Leave Skin on the Table
You matter to God and you're meant for more bigger things. 

Do you ever have days where you feel like you're not living up to your potential? Days where you wonder what you're doing and what the point is?

Consider writing a couple of these ideas in your journal, on notecards taped inside your cabinets or anywhere else you'll see them every day to remind you in the dark moments to be courageous and (if you're a type A personality) maybe even a little brash. We only get one lifetime - let's make sure we use it well!

Got a minute for something fun and encouraging? Check out this video of Lisa:

Need a little kick-butt music to get your blood flowing? Try this (when I become a MK director, this is so going to be my unit's song!!):

How Many Monkeys Do You Have?

Dr. Henry Cloud was one of the speakers at the Women of Faith event I attended this past weekend, and he said some things I think we all need to be reminded of sometimes.

Dr. Cloud explained to us that researchers have done a study in which they stick a monkey in a cage and proceed to scare the dickens out of it. Bright lights, loud noises, rattling the cage - they continue until the monkey is literally terrified.  

Then they stick a second money in the cage. And the first monkey's stress levels drop by half. 

The chaos outside hasn't stopped, but just having a friend to be with them in the middle of it makes all the difference.

None of us were meant to walk through life and its crazy times alone. We need to have - and be - friends.

Don't be too proud to let your friends walk with on the hard days. And don't shy away from just being with a friend in need because you don't think you know what to do or say - sometimes it's enough just to be there.

Who are your monkeys? Take a minute this week to give them an extra hug or send them a note thanking them for having your back and reminding them that you'll always have theirs.

Women of Faith: Imagine Tour

This past weekend I got to attend the Women of Faith Conference. It was quite an experience, and I've tried to organize all the thoughts I want to share into a couple basic categories:

Content

Logistics

Things Worth Knowing

Let's jump right in to Content!

Being a Type A personality, I looked up a few of the books published by the keynote speakers various places before going to the event. I didn't see any that looked impressive... and I now think that everyone who wrote the summaries I read needs to be fired!  

Sheila Walsh, Dr. Henry Cloud and Lisa Harper were phenomenal. They literally made you both laugh and cry (and if you're like me, take lots of notes so you wouldn't soon forget the powerful truths they had to share). I will now be systematically reading ALL of their books - I can't wait to hear more from these sweet, hysterical and genuine individuals.

Logistics

The arena the event was held in did many things well. They converted all the men's bathrooms (except one) to ladies' rooms to try to handle to massive traffic flow, they set up multiple identical sales tables, there were several food vendors on hand to supplement or replace the lunches included in the ticket price, and the event was nursing-mother friendly. 

That said, with between 8,000 and 10,000 women at the event at any given time the place was mobbed. The lines for the restrooms were always excruciatingly  long, the line to pickup lunches actually took you outside the building (which could be a nightmare in bad weather) and those of us who don't tend to like crowds to begin with started to feel rather claustrophobic.

It's also worth noting that the event website clearly states that the venue has the right to search your bags and refuse to allow any outside food or drink. Fortunately, our venue opted not to exercise that right, but since I'd been unable to get a response from anyone about special dietary needs in the weeks before the event, it could potentially have been a problem.

When You Go: Things Worth Knowing

 

(1) 85% of the women who attend a WoF event come in groups of 10 or more. If I were going again, I would definitely try to be one of them. The group attending from one of the local churches made available maps complete with directions, the best parking option and its pricing. They also provided maps of the arena with seating section numbers so you knew where you were going to be and where to look for friends coming with other groups. Those were invaluable resources!


(2) Many church groups made a weekend of it, staying in local hotels and doing the adult version of a slumber party - this definitely added to their flair and fun. If you have to travel to an event, make the most of the trip!

(3) I was pleased to find out that WoF does smaller-scale, single day events, usually in cities not hit by the main tour. If you're not a fan of crowds or can't quite budget weekend event ticket prices, I highly recommend checking out these alternatives. (See the main tour page for more info.)


(4) Talk to your other half about your budget before you go. There are lots of great package deals and shiny extras at the sales tables, but they start at $50 and run up from there. The event also features partners like World Vision and encourages participants who can to consider sponsoring a child. All that is good, but if budgets are a big deal in your house you'll want to do a little thinking or extra saving ahead of time.


Have you been to a WoF event? What would you include on this list that I've overlooked? 

Note: I completely spaced bringing my camera to this event which, if you know me, is not the first time... So sorry! There are tons of awesome pictures and video at the WoF website, and I encourage you to check them out!

Fresh Brewed Life

Women of Faith speaker Nicole Johnson invites readers to pull up a chair, wrap their hands around a hot cup of coffee and join her in reflecting on life, pulling back the veils of lies and expectations we surround ourselves with and exploring what it means to live well and freely.

The author's heart and love for women shone brightly through the pages, as did her honesty in sharing the trials, mistakes and hurts of her own past with others so that they could bring hope and new perspective. Most of the topics covered (journaling, dealing with anger, embracing dreams, living fully) are standbys of the genre; few will be new to readers. If you read a lot of this type of book, you'll be tempted to skim the pages and hit just the highlights.

That said, the book was easy to read and abounded with encouragement. If you're new to genre, this would be a great place to start.