This past weekend I had the opportunity to jet plane it to Orlando with the Amy's to attend the Gospel Coalition Women's Conference.
First things first. This is what we saw on the jetway as we boarded.
Gotta love such a fitting slogan for this fashionable city that I live in.
It was such a good conference for many reasons. I feel like I drank from a fire hose with all the rich teaching. The theme was "Here is our God" and most of the talks were geared around the glory, holiness, and sovereignty of God. There were so many great speakers that I felt like I couldn't even take it all in. I took lots of notes, but haven't digested it all yet! I'm looking forward to processing through it all and hopefully re-listening to some of the talks once they are posted online
Along with the great teaching, it was such a treat to connect with some of my favorite girls from my Campus Outreach days! The conference was huge (3800 women) but I never thought about the fact that I might know someone there. It was such a fun surprise to see so many of the Campus Outreach women there from all the different regions.
Ashton and Abbye were two of the girls I spent a lot of time with when I was at PC. It was so fun to eat lunch with them and hear about their lives now. God is using both of these girls for His kingdom. It is always encouraging to see the people that you invested in walking so closely with the Lord.
Seeing Samm was also a sweet surprise. Samm was the Campus Outreach staff girl when I was at Western. I met her before I even began college and she invested in me my first 2 years at WCU (before she went to Minneapolis to start CO there) . She showed me Jesus at a time in my life when I was trying to run away. I am so thankful for her commitment to my holiness and her continual investment in my life. I still value her wisdom so much and am always thankful when I get to soak up time around her.
You know it's a women's conference when they have a photobooth for you to take pictures!
Dinner with the Redeemer staff girls. One of my favorite things about the conference was that 9 of the Redeemer staff got to attend (not including Tim and Kathy Keller who both spoke at the confernece)....and 7 out of the 9 were Children's Ministry staff! It was so great to get time with these ladies outside of the daily routine at the office. Sidenote: best moment of the weekend was when I made 5 of the staff go down the big waterslide at the hotel with me. I mean if you do Children's Ministry sometimes you just need to act like a kid:-)
Pictured below: Me, Amy R, Lindsey, Amy A, Kathryn, Stacy, and Lyn. (not pictured: Spring and Tracy)
Although the conference ended on Sunday, the Amy's and I decided to make the most of our little Orlando trip and hit up Disney for a day (this was especially an easy decision when Amy R's brother could get us free tickets)
The weather in Orlando was terrible Sunday and Monday, but that didn't stop us from hitting up the happiest place on earth!
It was Amy A's first trip to Disney, which made the visit even more fun!
Sometimes you just need to enjoy the simple things in life.....like spinning round and round on the tea cups until you can't walk.
Or riding "It's a small world" and soaking up the goofy little characters
Amy and I laugh at how many photos we have of me with cotton candy in my hand. I blame my cotton candy addiction on my sister, but no matter what if I see cotton candy I must eat it! Thankfully you can't buy the sugary fluff in NYC, so I don't eat it too often!
We tried to hit up all the big rides at Magic Kingdom, including Thunder Mountain Railroad. I remember when I was 9 getting totally freaked out on this ride. After riding it on Monday, I feel completely confident in the fact that i was a complete wuss at age 9.
Amy waving to the crowds as we rolled past. Yes, her friendliness stays strong even on a rollercoaster!
It was such a great weekend and conference! I am always thankful to learn from such wise people, and am thankful that weekends like these get to be a part of my job!
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