Conference + Florida Sunshine

When in full time ministry the end of the ministry year is a time of celebrating and exhaustion.  This year specifically was a doozy of a year with it being my first full ministry year as Children's Director as well as the fact that we started a couple pretty big, new programs.  When June came I wanted to exhale and take a deep breath but so many things were going on. On top of work exhaustion I was recovering from a broken relationship, craziness with my living situation, and a few other things that created some extra stress. 

All this to say by the time the end of June came and it was time to go to the Gospel Coalition Women's Conference in Orlando, Florida I was worn out in every way.  

I was ready to be "fed"and refueled.

I really can't say enough good things about this conference.  This was my 2nd one to attend and both times I've walked away with so much.  

This year we went through the entire book of Nehemiah in a weekend and I got to hear my 4 favorite speakers back to back (Tim Keller, John Piper, Nancie Gunthrie, and Paige Benton Brown) as well as many other great speakers.

On top of the great teaching I spent many hours by the pool resting, reading, and journaling.

And then there were my friends.....

On top of the great teaching and lots of time to rest I was able to spend the weekend with 3 of my closest NYC friends.

It was so great to experience the conference with them, debrief with them, and just hang out with friends who know you so well.  

 Over the past month I've been thnking quite a bit about my friendships.  I feel like I could write a whole blog post on this(maybe I will at some point), but this weekend was a glimpse of the sweet friendships I've been blessed with. I've really thankful that the Lord has given me so many people in NYC and afar to do life with. It's something that I know I shouldn't take for granted in a world that really can feel so lonely.  

I'm really thankful for the weekend that I had. It was the perfect combination of conference+friend time+rest+personal reflection time+sun+fun.  

This conference only takes place every 2 years, but I would definitely recommend it for 2016.  You won't be dissapointed!