(Wonder) Women of Faith Continued...

It was a fabulous weekend! Man, I don't even know where to start, other than you should sign up NOW for next year's Women of Faith Conference!

It was precious being with thousands of other women. Obviously worshiping the Lord is always a pleasure, but doing it this weekend with just women touched me in a very deep way.

I honestly think that was one of the best aspects of the weekend...a getaway, a retreat, a refresher with thousands of beautiful women...many of whom I love dearly! Take a look at these two cuties with me:

 I went with my mom, sister, aunt, cousin, and my other cousin's gf, I love doing and sharing special things with the women in my family! I haven't uploaded my pics yet (this is one Mags sent me...I think she got the best one of the 100 ones we tried to take...seriously, nothing in this area has changed since high school...we're still the girls that take 100 pictures until we get one we like) :)

It's difficult for me to sum up in words what I took from the weekend. So, instead...let me share with you some of the highlights that I really enjoyed that I want to share with you so hopefully you can find some enjoyment from them too!

Speakers: literally ALL the speakers were so great. REAL women facing REAL struggles. They all have their own books too, soooo about ten more books were added to my reading list. Ahhh (crazy crossed eyes)! Here's the line up of speakers (linked are their websites):

*Sheila Walsh (an amazing woman with amazing stories and wisdom!)
*Kim Kash Tate (check out her FICTION book!!)
*Luci Swindoll (I couldn't find a website for this hilarious, timeless, beautiful woman, but here's a link to her book you won't want to pass up!)
*Angie Smith (you HAVE to read this amazing woman's story...this is a personal favorite of Rachel, Maggie, and my sister's--they were already avid followers of her blog and were really excited to see her...and I have to say I fell in love with her too! She also has a book and is married to one of the lead singers in Selah!)
*Lisa Harper (couldn't find a website for this hilarious, refreshing woman either, but she has many amazing books to choose from--which are linked!)
*Nicole Johnson (I really enjoyed a lot of what Nicole talked about...she had some great analogies and I'm excited to dig into some of her books!)
*Henry Cloud (yes, there were a few worthy men invited to the WOF conference :) Henry had so many great things to share...especially something involving monkeys...more on that another time! He and Sheila have been friends for a long time, so it was very special to see their interactions and to hear them teach together).

PLEASE take some time to check out all this! Trust me...I will be following these ladies (and gentleman) for a long time coming, because God has blessed them with so many gifts and I know I have so much I can learn from them. I would love to hear them speak again someday.

 Music: 
Mary Mary was there to rock out for us and they definitely got the place hoppin'! For those of you who don't know me, I most certainly have a love for hip hoppin' (mostly the dancing part of it!) :)
Selah I fell in love with this group. WOW they can sing! And as I mentioned earlier, one of the men in the group is married to Angie...we were the ONLY WOF conference that Selah was available to grace their presence with, so it was very special to have that privilege. I realized later that I knew some of their music, but I will most definitely be more aware of them from now on. You have to check out their song "I Will Carry You" that corresponds with Angie's story.

There is another new way to give that I learned about that I am so excited to share with you all about, but at a later time...seeing this post is already a lot longer than I originally anticipated :)

I hope any of you who  haven't been to WOF before will consider going next year (it's going to be in August). This was my first time going and it was definitely worth it! Don't be worried about the price... a lot of churches give them at discounted rates as well as going in a group in general saves you some money). And it's definitely worth it!

one hot tuesday at Old Chicago...

...The Wonder Woman Diaries was born.

the three of us were sitting in a booth, in the back of the restaurant, munching on chicken and jalapeno pizza and brainstorming ideas for our hypothetical blog. the idea seemed like a joke at first, but as we got to talking about it, we decided to go for it. let's start a blog...why not??

but let's back up for a minute. over the past few years, jobs, husbands, babies and physical miles have intervened with our friendship. don't get me wrong, we ladies can always pick up where we left off, but i can honestly say that months would go by before the three of us would get a chance to just BE. no bachelorette parties, no baby showers, no husbands in tow....just Maggie, Hannah and Rachel. the blonde, the brunette, and the redhead:)

so we all made the decision to have girl's night once a month. leave the husbands to fend for themselves (and pray they remember to feed our kids:)) and have a rendezvous to catch up life. let me tell you....these nights were always the highlight of my month. as a stay at home mom and in-home child care provider, let's just say i don't leave the house much. not to mention the fact that i hang out with little people all day. every working wife and/or mom needs a girls night out. amen??:)

so thus, our sweet little blog was created. and it has been a wonderful ride ever since.

three cheers for caribu coffee. the latest venue of our girl's night.(ps...the chai was SO GOOD! better than starbucks, IMO)

take the grinch out of your life

this past weekend, hannah and i attended an event at valley e-free church called The Basket Bash. This event is put on every year by the women's ministries and draws hundreds and hundreds of women together to shop, eat, drink, mingle and enjoy a truly inspirational speaker. my mom and i have made it a tradition every year to go together, as well as hannah and her mom and sister. it's a great chance for moms and daughters to do something special together. and what woman doesn't like to shop, eat or chitchat?

you may be wondering why it's called "the basket bash"....no, nobody is taking a sledge hammer to any wicker storage devices (although that really sounds invigorating!). after purchasing a ticket to the event, you come with some cash in hand in exchange for some tickets. one ticket = one dollar. the tickets serve as your money as you "shop" the halls of valley church. here's where the basket part comes into play: the first step is to purchase your basket. one ticket for a small, two for a medium and three for a large. there is an assortment of holiday themed baskets, all ready to be filled with gifts for a special lady (or man!) on your christmas list.

tables line the foyer of the church and each has a different theme. there was a "hot drink" themed table with various coffee mugs for sale and beverages to fill it with such as chai, gourmet coffee, hot tea and hot chocolate. next was a "candy table" with festive cellophane bags and a variety of candy to give to that friend with a sweet tooth. and my personal favorite - the bath and body table. this is usually the table that's buried behind a crowd of women on a mad hunt for another bottle of frosted orange spice hand foam. the products are actually from Bath and Body Works and are sold at a steal of a price...three tickets! three bucks is an awesome deal, since things like soap and lotion are usually sold in the store for five or more dollars. and with this economy, a couple dollars go a long way:)
these are just a sample of the different types of table themes. there were also things like stationary, note cards, sticky note pads, candles, picture frames, hand-dipped pretzels, caramel apples...and so on. basically a smorgasbord of stocking stuffer type gifts. each gift ranges from one to three tickets in which there is a friendly, valley church volunteer, who is manning the table and will exchange your tickets for a gift.

once your basket is filled to the brim, you can head on over to the chapel, to top your basket off with some sweet treats. inside the chapel there are more tables waiting for some serious cookie decorating. sugar cookies, sprinkles and loads of frosting are spread out on each of the tables, ready for some creative cookie embellishing.

the last step is to complete the look of your basket. holiday tissue paper, basket filler (little strips of paper to place in the bottom to keep things in place...is there a name for this?), embellishments, ribbon and a cellophane sack are all provided to make one killer looking gift. so pretty, in fact, that you don't even have to put it in a gift bag....just wait until december 24th to place it under the tree, unless you want sneaky, peeking eyes to wander:)

after grabbing a complementary hot beverage, it's time to head into the sanctuary for brunch, door prizes and a speaker.my group scrambled (yes, scrambled! there were 350 women there!) to get a table together and once we were all inside the doors, we had a chance to marvel at the decor. the ladies that put this together didn't miss a beat. from floor to ceiling, there was fancy, holiday cheer. this year's theme was "how the grinch stole christmas", so there were bright pinks, blues and greens that filled the sanctuary. everything was adorned down to the toothpick that was holding the pickle on our plates. the menu was delicious! we dined on chicken
salad croissants, cranberry white cheddar cheese slices, grapes and pistachio salad. and homemade cake balls for dessert...still dreaming of those:)


while we ate, the folks of "who-ville" announced the winners of the door prizes. yep, the grinch, the mayor of who-ville and his wife were all there! they were all in character and quite realistic, i might add.

on to the door prizes. let me just say that these are not just your typical, measly door prizes. we're talkin' stuff like a pottery barn serving tray, a $50 gift card to Wellspring and tickets to the Women of Faith Conference! No winners at my table though:(

the last portion of the basket bash, is the main event. this year, the speaker was Thelma Wells, also affectionately known as, mama T. Thelma is an international speaker, author, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. she was the first african american woman to be a core speaker for the Women of Faith Tour and has quite the background. learn more about thelma here.

to go along with the grinch theme, thelma soulfully spoke about how to "get the grinch out" of our lives. she gave us a glimpse of the abusive childhood that she endured and how she clung to God's promise, even as a child. thelma's grandmother used to lock her in a dark, rat infested closet for hours. she would sing hymns to herself and to this day, she feels no bitterness toward the abusive people in her life. she also spoke of her wayward son, who pushed God out of his life and for 30 years, thelma prayed that he would learn to love God again. she excitedly told us, that her prayers had been answered and her son had given his life back to God.

she challenged us to get the "grinch" out of our lives. anything negative or harmful that may be getting in between a relationship with our Savior must be put to rest. whether that be resentment, addiction, doubt or any other sin of this world. we all have it and we all struggle with it. give it up to God. and though that may sound easier said, than done, releasing those battles to God will give you peace and contentment in your life.

overall, the basket bash was a morning well spent:) i shopped, i ate, i learned and i prayed. and i betcha the women's ministry of valley church is already planning for next year's basket bash...maybe i'll see you there!

something to think about: what is the "grinch" in your life? God wants you to lay these burdens on Him. are you ready to give them up?


here are a few pics..enjoy!

fancy center piece

just a couple of wonder women

some of the madness

basket bashers

the chapel - where the cookie making was happening.

the beautiful table!

the stage

some tasty eats

homemade cake balls with a sweet, little ornament to take home.

me and my mama!

they thought of everything...even the toothpick in the pickle!:)

Holy Smokes!

I have read the blog Bring the Rain for almost 3 years now.  Around my house, I'm on a first name basis with Angie (though she doesn't know I exist) as she is someone I talk about regularly.  Her blog has impacted me in many ways.  If you've never read it, I suggest you start from the beginning.  It's one of the most poignant stories of God's love in the midst of grief and she writes it so well.  In fact, she now has a book chronicling her difficult yet beautiful story.

Anyway, I was catching up on her blog just now and saw she will be speaking at the Women of Faith conferences in the spring.  And after I clicked on the link- I was shocked to see she will be in Des Moines!!  I feel like I've been to coffee with Angie hundreds of times and can't wait to be in the same room as her!  I have never wanted to go to a conference so badly.  Anyone else in?!?