A lot to process: She Speaks 2010.

Hello bloggers. I have SO much to tell you and SO much to process, I may never get through this post. [smile] But I will try, ok?

God has been speaking to me in a very simple way. He keeps saying, trust in Him and to believe in His promises. Simple enough. But I am apparently very complicated.

So a few nights ago, I opened up the door and saw this amazing rainbow. I’m sure I’m not the only one in Charlotte who felt this way at that moment but it was as if God sent this gorgeous sight…just for me. The preparations for the She Speaks conference was…a lot. I poured a lot into my book proposal, more than I ever had. And this reminder from God was, I can prepare and prepare until I have nothing left to prepare. But God’s promise is His promise and that is where I am to stand, always.

I went into the four days of the She Speaks conference with that beautiful image in my head and heart. God’s promises to us are simple but true.

I’m so mad at myself for the lack of pictures I took. But this was one of my favorite people at She Speaks this year, Cindy. God is taking Cindy to heights she never imagined with her story. Cindy was selected as the Lifetime TV shows Army Wives winner for what she is doing with her journey through breast cancer. One of my favorite moments of the weekend was sitting on the floor in the prayer room just praying over her. She’s amazing and I’m so blessed to have her as a friend.

This was another amazing woman I got to meet. She is actually a friend of my mom’s who has been so encouraging to my mom through her journey through cancer. This is Kim and she’s just as sweet as she looks in this picture. Love her!

I also met some amazing people named Lee, Wendy, Nichole, Kimberly, Pamela, Carol, Mary, Emily and so many more! My heart was FULL after this weekend. There were some AMAZING women there. And now we are all BFF’s. [smile] I also got to hang out a little with the amazing Samantha from P31 and the Compassion girls, Shawna and Laura -who I LOVE dearly.

And this my friends is our little team: The She Seeks crew. Each of them mean so much to me and they were amazing to hang out with this weekend. We laughed, they wiped my many tears [that’s another post] and we just had a great time together! I’m so blessed to be apart of this team and I cannot wait to see where God takes us this next year as we embark on year #2 of our ministry.

Now. For the moment we have all been waiting for. Oh yes. The moment I met one of my writer hero’s, Angela Thomas! I have replayed this moment in my head over and over. Let me see if I can put it into words.

Saturday July 31st was my 30th birthday. I have to be honest and tell you that it started off really bad. It was the most emotional roller coaster day I have ever had. But the moment my whole day started to turn around was at this moment. I was sitting at the She Seeks table and I noticed that a lot of people were standing around. But I just thought a session had just gotten out or something.

Then, all of the sudden I heard a huge group of people singing, “Happy Birthday!”…and I know my face turned a thousand shades of red. I just thought it was a sweet gesture from some of the attendees. So I looked over at my friend Lisa and I was laughing and she says, “Just wait, it gets better.” And I turned my head and looked and behind a swarm of people was Angela Thomas, with a cupcake, singing Happy Birthday. Just writing about this brings tears to my eyes.

She came over and gave me a big hug and I was stunned. I had so much to say to her, but I just went numb. It was like one of those moments where you have been dying to meet someone and then…you have nothing to say! But she is super sweet and I just LOVED meeting her. One of the top five moments of my life for sure. So thank you, thank you again to everyone who was involved in pulling that off! I was so surprised!

The rest of that day was amazing and God really did some neat things. It’s just a day I will never forget.

I know a lot of you are wondering how my publisher appointments went. I can tell you this, they went good. I received good feedback but I also have some things I’ve got to think through and pray through. But be looking for some changes soon on this blog. I know…sometimes change is bad but this time it will be good. I promise. [smile]

And last…but not least. I have the greatest husband ever. God has been doing some amazing things in our marriage lately and Kris made my birthday so special. He planned a surprise getaway to the beach on Sunday for my birthday. It was JUST what I needed after four amazing but information overload days. [smile] He’s the best. And I know your husband is the best too but Kris is really the best…for me.[smile]

One more thing…the winners to the giveaway. I know, I’m so slack you may never enter a giveaway on my blog again. [ha] And the winner is…Tanya at Life in 3D! Email me your address so that I can get Stacey to send you your goodies. Thanks everyone for participating and helping spread the word.

So I’m pretty sure I’ve missed something on this processing update but I think I covered a lot.

And now…loads of laundry, grocery shopping and errands are awaiting my presence. So off I go. Love you all and if you were at She Speaks please leave a comment and let me know if you posted about your experience, I’d LOVE to read it.