Time Out For Women

I just had the most amazing weekend ever! I am just at a loss for words to say what this TIME OUT FOR WOMEN did for me! This is actually my 2nd time going. It is 2 days full of the cream of the crop speakers and inspirational music to make your spirit fill full and ready to take ANYTHING on! I wish I remembered to take my camera. These are actually pictures my friend Katie took.... Friday evening we were able to hear AWESome music from Jenny Oaks Baker. That girl can play! She is a wonderful violinist. In fact, she used to play for the National Symphony in Washington DC at the Kennedy Fine Arts Center for 7 years. She was the top violinist. It seemed to be the perfect job because she rehearsed 20 hours a week, and got full time pay and benefits too! It was all fine until she was pregnant with her 4th child. She felt she needed to leave her job! She knew if she did this, she would never be able to return to it. She said she realized that no money or prestige could replace the hugs and kisses and time spent with her kids! She worked her whole life to get to that spot! What a wonderful example she is to me! I am SO grateful to be a mom. Yes, there are times that I feel really overwhelmed and underappreciated, but this helped me to refocus and see that this calling to be a mom is divine and although it is hard....it's something I would NEVER trade! It's all about prioritizing, and taking time for the most important things. I'm still going to cut hair, but this year I've been shifting things around to make sure I have more time with my kids!

Jessica and Katie came with me this year. They are such great friends! We kept laughing and crying through this seminar! Totally good for the soul!

Here we are with KENNETH COPE! :) Pretty handsome man, huh? He has an AMAZING voice! It was a great experience to see him in person. I grew up listening to his music and playing it in church!
I think my FAVORITE speaker was Kristin Belcher! What a funny name, huh? She is an AMAZING woman. I think I've said amazing a few times. When she was 7 months old she developed cancer in her eye. with all the radiation she had, it left her with an hour glass shaped head. I'm thinking her bones didn't keep growing in the eye region or something...She is now totally blind since the cancer came back....Being disfigured AND blind would cause most people to be so angry and feel sorry for themselves. She did feel like that at first, but then decided that she could be angry or could learn from her adversity! What an example she is to me! It's so easy to get overwhelmed with the daily grind. It's so easy to think "I'll be happy when.....we pay off the bills, when I lose 50 pounds, when my kids start behaving better, when I don't have to be the taxi driver anymore, when we can go on trips whenever we want, when we get a bigger house, etc.......the list can go on and on. I learned that you have to try to see the POSITIVE in everything. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take everything so seriously. Kristin was poking fun of her situation and had us ROLLING on the floor with laughter! She told of funny things people have said and done! One quick example is when they went up to a cabin for a family reunion. She went into the bathroom right after they arrived there. She talked about getting into the bathroom, shutting the door, and right before she sat on the toilet, she reached behind to feel if she was actually sitting on the toilet and not the sink or tub and instantly felt a head of hair! She quickly pulled up her pants and said to the little girl, "I bet THAT was scary!" She wondered why the girl didn't lock the door or say "I'm in here!" I can't even explain what I learned, but I know that I'm more determined to "be delightful" and to be "Fun to be married to" and to know that I'm not required to do everything on MY OWN. I need to remember that Jesus is here to make up the difference. We can do ANYTHING with HIS help! We just need to ask! Even if it's just for strength. We can't ask for Him to take it away, but we can ask him to help us get through the things we need to. That is where our relationship grows with God and where we learn to trust in HIM no matter what experiences we have to go through! I am SOOOO thankful to have the gospel in my life! I really don't know where I'd be without it!
To read more about Kristin's experience, she wrote a book....
HARD TIMES AND HOLY PLACES by Kristin Warner Belcher