29 Pages

Yes - 29 pages.  That is the number of pages I filled in my journal last weekend while attending Women of Faith - The Imagine Conference.  I've attended Women of Faith numerous times.  I've never gone to the conference without returning better than I came.  Women of Faith is just that good.  However, this weekend was better than I imagined!  I don't know if it was the fact that I knew I would be blogging about this weekend for Book Sneeze who sent me to the conference, or if it was because I needed this weekend more than ever, but I couldn't get enough.  I hung on every single word from the speakers to the musicians. 

My sister and I traveled to Indy on Thursday night.  We checked into our luxurious hotel.  Yes, we stayed in a luxurious hotel.  This is not our usual custom.  We had used Priceline and I must say we landed an amazing deal.  God showed off all weekend by blessing us over and over again.  It started with the invitation to the conference and was followed by staying at the beautiful JW Marriot hotel.  I cannot speak enough about the excellent service we recieved. 

Thursday morning came and we grabbed a taxi to the Conseco Fieldhouse.  We took our seats just in time.  Within minutes the Women of Faith Worship Team took the stage.  I was blessed by them every single time they took the stage that weekend.  If you love Praise and Worship music (who doesn't) I suggest you pick up a copy of their newest CD Rejoice. 

The first speaker of the day was Sheila Walsh.  Sheila spoke about the woman from Mark 5:21-29.  Sheila reminded us that this woman lived each day under 603 rules and one of those rules sentenced her to a life of being unclean as long as she had this issue of blood.  No one touched her for 12 years.  Sheila told of the woman's risk at being stoned to death if it was realized that she had touched Jesus.  I had also never considered the next thing Sheila said.  When Jesus turned and asked who had touched him, he knew.  He risked being considered unclean by those around because of her touch.  Jesus gave the woman a bigger miracle than she asked for.  He freed her from the shame.  The heart of Sheila's message was summed up in her closing remark, "When the lies of the enemy come, resist them because you are loved by God."

The next speaker was Henry Cloud.  I had never heard Dr. Cloud speak before.  I have already ordered his book "The Law of Happiness: How Spiritual Wisdom and Modern Science Can Change Your Life" and I have "Necessary Endings" on my wish list.  If you ever get the chance to hear Dr. Henry Cloud speak, you must!  The heart of his message was that we should 1.  Be a giver.  2. Be connected. 3. Have goals.  He went into great depth explaining the necessary components of each of these things and how they are essential to our lives.  He spoke again after lunch and reminded us that "God mets you where you are and tells you of a different tomorrow."  Using the Biblical accout of the Israelites  leaving Egypt for the Promised Land, Dr. Cloud reminded us that:
1.  The boat can't set sail if it's still tied to the dock.
2.  You can't get to the Promised Land while dragging Sodom and Gomorrah along.
3.  Today may be the enemy of your tomorrow.
He also used the analogy of pruning roses to pruning the unnecessary things from our lives. 
I cannot tell you enough about how wonderful these messages were.  I am different because of these messages.  They were not only life changing, but life giving.  I feel as if I have new breath.  Thank you God for using Henry Cloud.  This message was followed by a Question and Answer session with Dr. Cloud and Sheila Walsh.

Sheila spoke again and reminded us that "Peace is not the absence of trouble, it is the presence of Christ" and "The bigger the trouble you are in, the quicker you should run home."

Lisa Harper spoke Friday evening.  I was excited to hear her speak after reviewing her new book for Book Sneeze a few weeks ago.  She did not disappoint.  She spoke about compassion.  It was a message I needed to hear.  She asked the question "Are you holding the rock of resentment in your hand judging those around you?"  This was a message I needed to hear.  There are situations that have occured in my life and I need to drop the rock and let them go.  Thank you Lisa. 

Saturday was full of great messages from the rest of the Porch Pals.

Sheila Walsh spoke Saturday morning about the Jesus our shepherd.  It was an excellent talk that drew me closer to my Shepherd. 

Nicole Johnson spoke about her life and reminded us that when we give God our broken peices, he puts it back together into something beautiful. 

Angie Smith brought me to tears with her testimony of suffering the loss of a child.  She reminded us to keep our eyes on the Lord in the midst of storms.  Her testimony is full of wisdom, humor, insight that touched me deeply. 

Luci Swindol, one of my favorite Women of Faith speakers, reminded us that we should live with joy and fill our lives with things that bring us true joy.  She also said that we improve the world by enjoying it.  Life is a gift!  Thank you Luci for that reminder.

The weekend was summed up by each of the speakers.  They did an amazing job of bringing closure and giving us a final nugget of wisdom for the road. 

We were also blessed by songs from Mary, Mary and Natalie Grant.  Both of them were excellent and their music was filled with messages of hope!

It was an amazing weekend.  I left rejuvinated and ready to tackle life knowing that I don't face it alone!  Thank you Book Sneeze and Women of Faith. 

Stained Glass Hearts by Patsy Clairmont

Stained Glass Hearts is the newest book from one of my favorite Christian authors, Patsy Clairmont.  Patsy has always been one of my favorites!  I went to hear her speak at a church earlier this year.  I spent most of the day between fits of laughter and buckets of tears!  She has long been a favorite of Women of Faith attendees.  I have always felt a connection to Patsy.  That connection has deepened after reading Stained Glass Hearts.  This book is a mixture of devotional readings, art lessons, literature suggestions, and music appreciation.  Patsy has paired each chapter with songs, literature and music suggestions.  These suggestions especially appealed to my creative side and enhanced my reading and understanding of the chapters.  Being a stained glass artist also made this book quite appealing to me.  The subtitle of the book is seeing life from a broken perspective.  Patsy uses each chapter in this book to help us understand that while God didn’t intend for us to be “broken”, He does want to use it.  We must be ready and willing to be mended and molded by a father who loves his children.  In the book, Patsy uses a quote from Maya Angelou which states, “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”  This book doesn’t have all of the answers, but it, like the song the bird sings can be enjoyed and can spur us on to a closer walk with the mender of stained glass lives.

Women of Faith

I cannot wait to blog about the incredible experience I have had at Women of Faith!  It has been fantastic and we still have all of Saturday left! 

Stumbling Into Grace by Lisa Harper

I am eagerly awaiting my trip to Women of Faith.  I am so excited that Lisa Harper will be one of the speakers for that weekend!  Lisa is a gifted speaker, but I recently found that she is an excellent author as well.  Her book "Stumbling Into Grace" was recently sent to me by Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson Publishing. 
"Stumbling Into Grace" reads like a diary or journal, yet it's content is more of a devotional.  Lisa paints a beautiful picture of our walks with Christ.  Lisa mixes humor, Biblical encounters, and life application lessons throughout the three sections in this book.  The first section is "Real Life".  This section shares encounters with Jesus.  My personal favorite from this section is caled "The Very Real Problem With Pantyhose:  Jesus and Binding Things".  The second section is "Real Gifts".  This section leads us through encounters with Jesus and different gifts that he has given us.  The final section is called "Real Growth".  This section is about how Jesus helps us. 
I found this book to be excellent.  Lisa's insight provides the reader with teachable moments.  This book would be a great Bible study for a women's group.  At the end of each chapter is a section called "Living in the Light of His Story."  It is a prayer that is followed by a section called "Personal Reflection and/or Group Discussion Questions."  I liked how Lisa adds scripture references to the reflections.  At the end, is a starter for a journal entry.  This allow the reader to take the time to contemplate just what God is trying to teach them through this chapter. 
If you want to read a book, that as the introduction puts it "describe God's unconditional and miraculously accessible love for us through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ", please get a copy of "Stumbling Into Grace."  If you want to hear from Lisa Harper herself, I suggest you get yourself to a Women of Faith conference.  If you happen to go to the one in Indy, I'll be the girl standing in line at Lisa Haper's table.  I can't wait to thank her for this book. 

Thank you to Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson books.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.



Look Out Indy - I'm Going to Women of Faith

I've attended Women of Faith many times. However, two years ago Women of Faith stopped coming to the St. Louis area. The other dates and cities just hadn't worked out for me. While Indianapolis is close, it is on the first day of school. What teacher misses the first day of school - right? Well, this year this teacher is. As part of Book Sneeze, I will be attending and blogging about my Women of Faith experience. If you've never attended Women of Faith, you are missing out. If you can't attend an event, then I urge you to purchase the DVDs, gather some women from your church together and hold your own mini-conference in your living room. Thanks to Book Sneeze, Women of Faith, and my school for letting me use a personal day on the first day possible. I promise I will be a better teacher for it - a weekend with Women of Faith has a way of making you smile for months to come.

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

Story Engineering - Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing

As someone who hopes to have a published book someday, I chose to read Story Engineering with the hope that it would kick-start the courage to actually begin putting the story ideas that have been swimming in my head down on paper. While I haven't delved into the writing yet, I have stepped out of the boat and at least chosen the idea I want to work with. I believe that taking the time to study "Story Engineering" was well worth the invested time I spent reading it. It is not a book to be simply read, but one that must be studied. I had to read and take the time to really think about the chapters. I had to spend time thinking of how they would and should apply to my writing.

Story Enginerring is organized into 8 sections. The introduction gives an overview of the 6 core competencies and the reasoning the author states that they are important to good storytelling. The first core competency is concept. This section really helped me evaluate the story ideas I have collected and to prioritize them into which ideas might actually be worth exploring. The next section leads us to the second core competency which is character. As a instuctor at the local junior college, I can tell you that we spend a lot of time talking about character in the composition and analysis classes I teach. I found this section to be very well written and thought out. The author examines all of the various avenues that play a part in the development of character in a story. The next concept the author addresses is theme. While this section of the book is shorter than other sections, don't be fooled into thinking that theme isn't important. The information provided in this section of the book really captures the difference between plot and theme. The next section covers story structure. To me, this is the author's best work. This was the treasure I was hoping to find. This section isn't really a "how to" or "formula", but more of an inquiry into what makes a good story. It's taking those things, tearing them apart, examining them, and applying them to the story you are hoping to craft. The final parts are scene execution and writing voice. After the "meat" of story structure, I found these sections to be informative, but they didn't necessarily lead to that "aha" moment. The author finishes up the book with a closing section on the process of story development.

In all, I would recommend this book. This book is an investment - not something to be read quickly. Not a book you will devour. It's one you have to take in small bites and contemplate. Thanks to Book Sneeze for offering me the opportunity to read this book.

I received this book through Book Sneeze, a part of Thomas Nelson Publishing. The opinions expressed here are my own and were in no way influenced by the publisher. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Fedral Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.

Reggie by Reggie Dabbs with John Driver

You Can't Change Your Past, But You Can Change Your Future

I do not know Reggie Dabbs and before I read this book, I didn't even know he existed. It was with some reservation that I chose this book to read. However, I am so glad that I did. It is filled with messages of hope, hope that often comes out of despair. Reggie has risen from a past that could have destroyed him. As the book states, "You can't change your past, but you can change your future." The book is a nice mix of personal anecdotes, Biblical accounts, and inspirational messages. This is a message that is so timely for young people today. This book would make a great graduation present. The ten chapters in the book contain information that encourages the reader to know ten things: to know your story, to know your truth, to know your pain, to know your choice, to know your voice, to know your name, to know your passion, to know your future, and to know your Father. At the end of each chapter are questions for individual and group discussions. Thse would be great for a mentoring program or even a small group of college students. Reggie has traveled the world sharing his message. Take a look at this book and let him share this message with you. I am confident you won't be disappointed.

I received this book free from the publisher as part of the Book Sneeze book review bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this information in accorance witht he FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.