Well after long last, I am back from my trip to Memphis, Tennessee.  I had an awesome time.  Got to reunite with some great women from the last conference.  I can't wait until I can go back next year.  Now without further adue:

Thursday, March 25, 2004

We're Off!

We left the church about 2:30 and arrived at our hotel after 6:00.  Tristian saw me off.  It was his birthday but we had done a weeks worth of celebrating before we ever made the 15 minute ride to our church parking lot.  Our hotel was the Wingate Inn on Germantown Pkwy.  Surpisingly enough, our rooms were lovely and spacious.  However, I wish I could say the same about the conference room.  It was incredibly tiny and I don't see how we fit 40 people in it at one time.  It could not have been any bigger than our hotel room.  I am not joking. 

Upon our arrival, we were greeted with friendly faces that we had come to know and love.  It was exciting to see all my friends from last year:  Val, Debbie, Jane, Jo, Angie, and Stacey.  I also got to meet some new faces that I instantly took to.  The ride down seemed a bit long towards the end but until we hit the Tennessee line it was full of stories about family and friends that made us all laugh, sigh, or awww.  Only six of us (me, Shari, Judy, Dottie, Regan, and Tina) got to go this year but that is fine because we had a blast.  I ended up rooming with Tina and two other girls from Arkansas (Deliliah and Teresa). 

Debbie M.  was definately the dominating presence of the entire meeting.  Not that she was overbearing but that she is great at leadership and getting the ball rolling.  She was (how you say...) "Large and in charge."  Actually, Debbie M.  is anything from being large.  In fact, I have always thought she could easily pass for Faith Hills (not too much) older sister.  But not only is she beautiful outside but inside as well. 

The first thing we did after checking into our rooms was to head to the dinning area and get some amazing dinner.  We had three different pasta dishes: chicken alfredo, vegetable lasagna, and beef ravioli.  A salad and garlic bread was provided and I have to admitthat  it was some dern good food.  Perhaps, it was so good because of the long ride to Memphis or maybe just because I was starving.  But I ate my fill.  Dessert was a brownie.  It was half burnt so I could only eat half. 

After dinner, the conference began.  It was about 8:00, I guess.  First speaker up was my assistant pastor and incidentally the same woman that hitched Tristian and I together.  She spoke on Building the House of the Lord.  She had me rolling in the aisles with all her "here's the deal" jokes.  She has always been funny like that.  One time she wrote a song called "Jesus is the Baddest" to the music for the song  "Funky Cold Madena."  She says things like "Let it rip... tater chip!"  She is a real with you kinda person and you never have to wonder what she is thinking.  I think the best thing she said during her lecture was this: "Your purpose beat you here (to earth before you were ever born)."  I was left in awe. 

The conference ended for the night about 10:00 and everyone returned to their room.  Some of us hung out in our rooms laughing and telling stories, jokes, and secrets.  (There is a rule at our women's conference that will never be broken and that rule is, "What is said in your rooms... stays in your rooms."  That means that our rooms is a type of sanctuary and if someone needs to talk about things... those things never leave the room.)  I was really tired and planned on reading my book and then turning in.  That is until Stacey, Shena, and Laura knocked on our door.  They ended up convincing me, Deliliah, and Teresa to go get in the big hot tub downstairs.  Boy am I glad I did.  That hot tub ROCKED!  The clorine was a bit too much but man was it refreshing.  We stayed over an hour sitting and laughing it up with about 15 other girls in our group. 

By the time I got back to my room all my roomies were passed out but I was suddenly refreshed.  So, I took a shower, put on my pj's, grabbed my book, my calling card, and a pen and headed back to the downstairs lobby.  I made the ever faithful, "I got here safely." call to Tristian.  We said our "I love you's" and our " I miss you's," and then finally our "goodnights."  The lobby had these great cushy sofa's so I sat down and made myself at home.  I have been reading "The Purpose Driven Life."  It is excellent.  I think everyone should commit to reading it. 

Friday, March 26, 2004

I didn't get down to breakfast fast enough (which is pretty typical of my character) and I had to hurry and eat so that the next day of the conference would not start without me.  I ate some cereal and a bagel.  I grabbed a coke from the machine on my way down so I had caffine goodness to help wake me up.  Only I don't really like coke that much.  It is way too strong and more carbony than sweet like pepsi.  I squeezed into the conference at the last minute. 

We started off with some really intimate praise and worship and I soon began to love the song we were singing over and over and over.  It was called, "I Desire" and it went like:

I desire... to be like you,

Just like a son or a daughter,

I want to be like my Father.

I desire... to be like you,

You swore you would never forsake me,

And I'll risk it all if you make me,

More like you.

(ending chorus)

Father, I want to be just like you,

Daddy, I want to be just like you,

Father, I want to be just like you,

I want to be just like you.

The first speaker was Val.  She gave the most beautiful message about being the bride of Christ.  I had never seen myself in this light before.  she spoke about Esther (or should I say 'Establish Her).  How Esther spent a year soaking in oils (the anointing) and perfumes to spend just one night with the king (Jesus).  Esther went to the king pure and brought nothing from the outside world into his world.  She could have brought something in with her for comfort but she choose not to.  Because of this the king fell deeply in love with her.  He had hundreds in his herems but he fell in utter total love with Esther.  Then Val related it to our walk with God and questioned if or how we were preparing to meet God.  I really became reflective about my life's walk when Val started going deep into the heart of her message. 

We got to take a ten minute break and then Debbie G.  was our next speaker.  Her sermon was called, "Get Out of the Boat." Debbie comes off as very timid and shy but since last year she has done a total 180.  She was bold and funny and inspirational.  I was so glad for her.  She taught on why we are not going after our calling.  She related us to the disciples in the boat when Jesus came walking onto the water and said that Peter was the only one that knew God's voice and he got out of the boat to seek him.  Then she said, "Why aren't we getting out of the boat too?  Why do we stay like the other disciples did?"  Bottomline, it is ourselves that keeps us in the boat and not forfilling our purpose in life.   It was a life changing word. 

After Debbie spoke some line dancing broke out to some song by Vickie Wynins called "Shake Loose."  It was a song that the girls in Arkansas' church sing all the time and they had DANCE MOVES TO IT!  It was a song about getting rid of your burdens and being free. 

We broke for lunch which was wraps from Jason's Deli.  It was delicious.  After we ate, about half of us loaded up and went to the mall just down the road.   We were some shopping maniacs.  I found this awesome store called Torrid.  It sells cool clothing like Hot Topics only for sizes 12-26 (plus size).  I had never seen a store like it in my life.  They had the coolest black tank with pink pipping that said, "Beauty School Dropout" on the front.  The other girls had to drag me out of the shop.  The mall was huge like the Galleria in Birmingham, Alabama.  We got back an hour early from shopping so some decided to take a dip in the hot tub again but I chose to retreat to my room.  I spent that time getting to know my new roomies. 

Now more than well aquainted we all went down for dinner.  We had Corky's barbeque.  It was pretty good.  We had so much left over that we ended up giving half over to another youth group that was staying at the hotel. 

The last speaker of the day was Pastor Hunt.  Man did she rock my world.  She was amazing.  She runs an inner city church in the worst part of Memphis.  She said her congregation usually consists of prostitutes, drug dealers, gang members, and other thugs of society.   She is a very brave woman I thought.  She convinced us that we were not at a conference at all but rather at a RETREAT because we were taking a break from the battles of war to get revamped.  She said a conference refers to the fact that perhaps not all members of the conference are not saved.  Which wasn't the case for us because we all are saved.  So she said we were at a RETREAT instead.  She also spoke about desires and how above all things that God be our ONE desire and everything else falls to second place.  And how if our ONE desire isn't God then we need to get some desires straight in our heart.  I bought the tapes of the conference so I will definately be passing her word out to everone that I know. 

With the second night of the conference over, the girls headed to the hot tub once again.  So I joined in this time.  I was able to capture some alone time later that night and read my book.  I noticed I hadn't been shy even once this whole weekend.  Usually that is not the case. 

Also, before I forget... I learned that the word "Wingate" (like our hotel name) means Holy Way in the Hebrew.  Cool huh?

Saturday, March 27, 2004

I did a little better on time at breakfast and made it on time to the  opening conference.  We went straight in to door prizes when we came in.  All of our tables had been taken away and we now just had chairs in semi-circles.  I won a blue chinese vase that goes with nothing in my apartment.  I think I will pass it off to my mom.  She has some of that stuff in her house and her carpet is blue too.  First speaker up was my pastor's wife.  She spoke about getting in the presence of God.  Worshipping him one on one.  She only spoke for like 15 minutes and then she handed everyone blindfolds.  We used the blindfolds so that we could not see anyone else and they could not see us and we could worship God with out being inhibitated by what people were seeing or thinking. 

The next speaker was the fabulous Debbie M.  She spoke about how God give us trials to strenghten our relationship and character with God.  Then everyone began to pray over everyone else and  next thing I know it is time to get on the road.  We are hugging and saying our goodbye's and telling each other that we will see each other next year.  Before I can leave, Val grabs me and tells me that she knows that the women that were at the conference from my church are the ones that are going to strengthen the fellowship between the sisters that didn't get to come this year.  Then she looked at me and said... "It starts with you."  I nodded.  I knew (for a long time) the fellowship between the women in my church wasn't as strong as those of the women in Arkansas and I did want that for my churches women.  I told Val this and she just shook her head like she knew already.

We grabbed a bite at Mickey D's on the way home.  The same subject Val talked to me about came up during our conversation and eating.  We all decided that we must get involved with our women at our church and we began making a plan. 

We didn't get home until 7?  Probably because we took a 25 mile wrong turn out of Memphis before we realized it.  But we got home safe and sound and everyone had a good time. 

All Trip Pictures can be found<a href=http://www.angelfire.com/al4/who_news/CWRetreat2004.html border=0>here</a>.