Posted November 4th, 2008 by Women of Faith
This year’s Conference was amazing! Wow, I am still flying high from the incredible experience we had! This year was awesome!I was blessed beyond belief to have my mom, twin sister, wonderful sister-in-law, and my other sister Mandy join us…(at the last minute!) It just so happened that we were in touch ( been a really long time!!!) the day before, she said she was free to come if there was a ticket, I looked in our offering box (we keep for things like these) and there was exactly enough money for us to purchase her a ticket! So she ended up joining us and having the time of her life! Oh, man, it just felt good!
There was a fair balance of hysterical laughing (Anita Renfroe’s “The Mom Song”! – have you guys heard that? You have to You-Tube it!!!), brilliant skits depicting the lives of real women/moms and relevant issues that we face, Women speakers that just blew me away with their words, testimonies, and exhortations, incredible worship, intimate to downright making you get out of your seat and start dancing, and so much more.
Each speaker spoke on a different topic. Each of them had such a wealth of experiences, mostly heartbreaking ones that truly gave them the credentials to be up on the podium. Divorce, A husband dying ( and earlier in life her baby dying as well), overcoming paralyzing fear, and even someone having committed adultery and the journey back to God’s wholeness and redemption.
Another thing that stood out was the a team of youth that did choreographed dance while Nicole C. Mullen sang. I’ll post a picture. One song was just a beautiful picture of a woman trying to break free from all the garbage in her life. The girls wore T-shirts with words like fear, shame, regret, abandonment on their backs and were literally taking the form of this garbage and physically taking this woman captive, not allowing her to break free from them. Then in the middle of the song as the woman began rising up and gaining strength and pushing them out of the way, they came and draped her in a beautiful white gown as she began dancing free. The girls became glorious angels changing into white as well and dancing beautifully with white scarves around the stage to show unity, and freedom! Wow. I was so moved! It just was a beautiful picture of a passion I possess for my own life, my mom, my sisters, and all women in my life.
Afterwards, we all talked about how it impacted us personally and just soaked up every thing we could. It was so, so fun and so, so worth every cent!
Some of you know the absolute miracle this is that my sister Mandy came to this event. I do not share alot about this subject so most of you don’t. My sister is a beautiful person with a pure heart that truly loves others. She’s had alot of hardships in her life. Had unspeakable losses which have shaped her undoubtedly. But she’s BACK.
I cannot describe the feeling that I had that we were all together for this conference this year.
Like an extravagant present wrapped in a beautiful package someone just handed to me and said “open it. It’s yours!”.
We are women that have all faced some huge stuff in our lives. Some that by their sheer impact could have killed us.
But sitting in that Rose Garden together one moment during a powerful song about the legacy of a mother, as we all looked at each other with tears were streaming down our faces silently acknowledging the profoundness of this moment, time stopped for me.
I saw each of us as we were. Mother and daughters. Struggling through life. Each of us with a story. Some in a season of pain and some in a season of joy. And one of us returning after what had been a long, long journey.
But we were here.
Together.
And we weren’t gonna stop.
We’ll never stop!
Mom, Mandy, Andrea, Amber, me
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Posted November 3rd, 2008 by Women of Faith
The Women of Faith conference was held in Greensboro this weekend. Oh, what a treat!
Patsy and I hadn’t preordered tickets, and when I mentioned several weeks ago something about going, she (and I) didn’t want to pay the price of the tickets at $75.00 apiece…especially since at that late date, we would probably be up in the rafters. About a week ago one of my church friends asked if I had tickets for it, and I explained the able to her. She said that she had a conflict and wouldn’t be able to attend….and would sell her pre-bought $45.00 ticket for $40.00. Another person in the church had a set, too, that we could buy. So, we bought them!!
The theme this year was Infinite Grace. Mary Graham, the president of WOF, who usually does all of the introduction of the speakers, was taking a break (was there, but not active.) Lisa Welchel, who played Blair Warner on The Facts of Life, filled in for Mary.
Patsy and I arrived around 6PM for Friday night’s program that began at 7 PM. We were the first to arrive in our assigned section. It wasn’t long, though, until Nancy, the woman who had ordered all our tickets arrived. She had a gift of hand cream and hand sanitizer for each of us. Soon, others from my church arrived; Kathy, Melinda, Rita, Margaret, Trudy, Joan and Donna, then a little later, Sheila, Mickey, and Debbie. The Women of Faith Worship team opened the program with several inspirational songs. Lisa then introduced each speaker with most of them giving just a small foretaste of what they were going to present to the audience at a later time. They included Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Sheila Walsh, Allison Allen, Sandi Patty, Nicole C. Mullen, Louise Duart, Natalie Grant, and Anita Renfroe. Longer presentations were given by both Sheila Walsh and Natalie Grant…with her sing several songs and Sheila expounding on her topic….praying. She voiced how pray does not have to be a bunch of pretty words, or formality…but one just needs to talk to God…that’s all He wants for us to do…just talk to Him. Around 10 the program wound down. Our group gathered in a closing prayer offered by Donna.
Saturday morning, Patsy and I headed out, stopping by McDonald’s for a bit of breakfast.
Patsy Clairmont was her usually ball of energy and was a delight. Marilyn Meberg gave a moving talk on abandonment. Braving traffic and parking, we finally arrived back at our seats. Patsy Clairmont was the first to speak. She was her usually ball of bursting energy. I just knew I would remember what each one spoke about…but for the life of me, I can’t remember her topic.
Marilyn Meberg gave a wonderful, humor filled talk on the sad subject of abandonment. We each have felt this despairing emotion whether the abandonment was a voluntary abandonment or an involuntary one. She ended with the reminder of the One who would never leave or forsake us…no matter what.
Allison Allen preformed several sketches that were written by Nicole Johnson.
Sandi Patty’s talk about our wrapping ourselves in layers though our lifetime…layers of guilt, pain and shame…and allowing God to remove those layers to allow us to become the women God planned for us to become. Plus she belted out sever wonderful songs.
Nicole C. Mullen…what can I say!! She, alone, was worth what we paid to get in! She sang Redeemer; Black, White, Tan; Witness; Come Unto Me and Brainwash…may have been more, but that’s all I can recall right now. Talk about an energize powerhouse! She sang with her entire being… a theatrical singer/dancer. Team NCM joined her for several numbers. Great job!
Anita Renfroe actually only spoke on Friday night. She sang her The Mom Song ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM )a wonderfully funny whatmomssayallday to the tune of William Tell Overture. She also did a funny one called Before I eat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygWO30gdpK4
Louise Duart, a talented impressionist told her story of how God used a broken dream and a broken marriage despite the fact that at times it seemed He had perhaps forgotten her. She laced her entire program with great impressions of George Burns, Joan Rivers, Carol Burnette, Edith Bunker, Hilary Clinton and Cher…among others.
The evening was closed with song by Natalie Grant.
All-in-all a great weekend. Looking forward to next year’s WOF conference.
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Posted October 27th, 2008 by Women of Faith
As some of you know I had the privilege of attending Women of Faith Conference last weekend in Portland. I knew I would have a great time, as I was going with fun friends and getting to room with three of them. I also knew the conference would be great, and that I wouldn’t get much sleep. All three of those things were accurate. I had a great time with friends, eating, chatting, chatting and laughing. I loved the conference, laughed, cried and enjoyed eating up wisdom from others.
I LOVED Anita Renfroe, Kristin blogged a fun performance of Anita’s. This woman is hilarious. I got to meet up with Cathy there too, (she scored us some awesome seats so we didn’t have to sit fearfully in the steep, high nosebleed section) Cathy blogged about Mandisa, who was amazing to see in person. The whole thing was fun.
I wanted to share with you some of the great wisdom tidbits I brought home with me to chew on. Quotes, scripture and observations…they are my fragmented notes in context of a bigger message, bear with me. 
- “Emotions don’t have brains” We are foolish to be led by our emotions. They’re completely unreliable and wavering. We need to be grounded by The Word
- Thoughts on the election and economy;
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government wil rest on his shoulder. These will be his royal titles; Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah 9:6
- If I want to move freely through life I must choose to grieve the losses in life, and grieve the “what could have been’s”
- When we grieve, it releases us, and it’s a decision to heal past pain.
- You can’t heal a wound by saying that it’s not there. (Jeremiah 6:14)
- Grieve the loss–embrace the reality
These are some highlights of my notes…things that spoke to me. Of course there was so much more, these are the highlights for me.
The overall experience was a 9.8…not quite a 10 b/c I came home too tired and feeling sick. I highly recommend going, and do take a friend! It’s so worthwhile!
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Tags: Conference, Infinite Grace, OR, Portland, women of faith
Posted October 26th, 2008 by Women of Faith
Freedom in Christ. The women in this photo are free to worship their Lord without fear of being judged by anyone. All of the women in this place love the Lord. March of 2007 I was right behind these ladies lifting their hands in praise of the Savior. Watching them encouraged me and lifted my soul as I observed their witness.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to join my friends at another gathering of the Women of Faith, a conference held each year in major cities across the nation. Filled with women from all flavors of Christian faith, the air in the coliseum was charged with the electrifying energy of thousands of Christian women singing praises to their Lord. Singing never felt so good and lifting my hands to the Lord never felt so right. My soul was soaring. Several speakers, comedians, singers, and dramatist used their God given talents to spread the news that we are saved by grace and that God’s infinite mercy was worth our rejoicing. Praise the Lord!!
Not all worship assemblies can be as electrically charged as the ones my friends and I got to experience. Oh, but wouldn’t it be marvelous to experience the freedom to worship…REALLY worship in our home assemblies? Free from all fear of others who won’t understand? Free from those that would judge our motives behind our actions? As the song says, “There’s a stirring deep within me…I will rise up, rise up and lay my crown at His wounded feet.” I want to be able to sing that song with all my heart and soul with my hand lifted high to the Lord. But not in the place where people don’t understand. Not there because not only would some not understand, but others would feel compelled to tell us to stop. It discourages me and saddens my soul when that happens.
I begin to feel as though the rules are chains wrapped around me locking in that which longs to be free. The air in that place is heavy as it bears down on my chest and my souls cry out for mercy. I long for a fresh breath of air to come into that space where it can rejuvenate tired souls and we can breath in the springlike grace of God’s spirit. Jesus has set us free to joyfully praise his name!
Lord, Give us the freedom and boldness dive into a meaningful place within our hearts and souls to be with you. A place where we worship your name and where there are no rules to do that which we are lead to do. Lord there is strength in your name. It is in that name that we petition you to walk with us along our way and give us the strength to live for you. It is in the name of your son Jesus that I pray. Amen.
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Tags: houston, Infinite Grace, Stories, tx, women of faith
Posted October 25th, 2008 by Women of Faith
I am not a sitter. Okay, I am kind of even childish about sitting for long periods of time. Car accidents, a fall, childbirth and Ants In My Pants all combine to make it very uncomfortable for me to sit for long periods of time without squirming, shifting and moving around.
So I do not relish the idea of going to any conference, meeting, car or airplane ride, or anything where I have to sit still for long periods of time or disrupt others with my squirming. So it is quite a feat that I have gone to the Women of Faith conference each year for about 10 years. I think I started in 1997, missing only 2001 because conferences were canceled due to the events of 9/11.
I have never been bored. I always walk away with lots of encouragement. The music is worshipful. They even bring food to us so we don’t have to negotiate the throngs of women, unless we want to.
And, yes, I did wait in line to get Mandisa’s autograph for my little girl, just like I said I was going to in my Saturday post of that week. Mandisa is gorgeous. And she is real. She’s not just a Hollywood Christian.
I got to meet Nicole C. Mullen too, which was a big deal because one of her songs means alot to me. She, too, is real. When she sings, she means every word. When she dances, you can tell what she is expressing what is truly in her heart. What I love best is that she is herself, with a fun, funky, and unique style that is all her own.
There is a song of hers that is so much more impacting in person with her vignettes, or on her video, than it is to just listen to it on a CD (see below).
Here’s me with my girlfriend Nicole:) Not the greatest picture, but it was really fun and meant alot to me.
No matter what we are dealing with — abandonment, rejection, addiction — or whatever, if we can just touch the hem of Jesus like the woman in the Bible, he removes it all from us (please click on “abandonment” to read my friend’s story) . This song, “One Touch”, touches my spirit and reminds me to call on Him. And that is why I am posting it for “Then Sings My Soul Saturday”. It just takes One Touch and we can shed all of our “issues”. I hope this song touches you as it does me.
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Posted August 25th, 2008 by Women of Faith
Meet Kim. She is a Women of Faith Group Leader. This year she brought 42 women to the Infinite Grace event and has registered to bring 65 next year!
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Tags: Group Leader, Infinite Grace, Stories, women of faith
Posted August 25th, 2008 by Women of Faith
Janice has attended 2 Women of Faith events and loves the message.
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Tags: Group Leader, Infinite Grace, Stories, women of faith
Posted August 4th, 2008 by Women of Faith
What an experience it is to attend a Women of Faith Conference, especially when God leads the way.
My sister called me a week before the conference and asked me if I’d like to go. I said yes I would, but I could not afford it. She asked if I had money to pay for my own food, I said yes I could afford that. She said pack your bags and plan on going.
I started asking myself what it was going to be like, Was, I going to be okay around a group of women I didn’t know? I figured they were friends of my sisters so they had to be pretty nice. But most of all I just wanted to be able to have a weekend with my sister. I can not express the gratitude I feel.
That whole week I prayed and asked God to give me the peace in my heart that I once felt.
God held me in His arms the whole weekend, as one speaker after another shared there stories and opened my eyes to things I had suppressed and decided I had not wanted to look at in my life.
I don’t know if you are familiar with David Pelzer and the books he wrote. “A Child Called It”, “The Lost Boy”, and “A Man Named David”, but I grew up as the female version of his story. Over the years God has helped me remove layers of unbelievable things. Things that some people are amazed could ever happen to a child. My friends can’t believe that I turned out “okay”. I give all the credit to my loving Abba Father. (Isaiah 49: 15 – 16 Can a woman forget her nursing child, And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands… ) I’ve found myself cradled in God’s hands while I’ve gone through the process of forgiving people that have hurt me. But there was always one thing that I held on to. Because it was just so awful, I felt I didn’t need to forgive her. After all God would surely see to it that she paid for what she did.
Once Sandi Patty got up and shared her story, I knew what I was there for, peace, and God showed me just how to get it. How amazing is that.
I’ve known of Sandi for many years. My children grew up listening to her “Friendship Company” songs and I’ve seen her in concert several times. But never have I felt such a connection to her as I did at the Women of Faith Conference. As she poured out her story, I felt God tugging at my heart. It was the first time I had ever heard of another person who experienced the same thing I did. But Sandi hit a home run when she gave specific ages. When she said, there are women out there, who experienced the same thing when they were 10, 13 and even 4, I knew at that very moment God put me there so I could be freed from that overwhelming burden. After all how many people experienced it at those very ages. As I sat there crying, I started thinking now what do I do. Sure enough, out comes Louise DuArt and shares her story. As Louise tells her story she talks about forgiveness. I’m sitting there thinking to myself, right! But when God gives you a clear message how can you argue with it.
On the way home everyone was sharing what they got out of the conference. I sat there so nervous because there was no way I could tell these women that I barely knew what happened to me. After all, my sister didn’t even know my story because we didn’t grow up together. When it was my turn I got up enough courage and let them know that I was really touched by Sandi’s story and that God had really showed me that I still have some healing to go through. My sister said, “Oh yeah, I guess we’re going to have a late night talking”, and we did.
We talked for hours. She reminded me that when God tells us to do something we need to be obedient. Although I knew this I really didn’t want to hear it. I was raging my own war inside my head, trying to convince myself I didn’t really need to forgive.
After I got home and spent a few days in turmoil, I called my sister and asked her to pray for me. I told her my heart was willing but my mind was not. I told her I realized I couldn’t forgive on my own and that I had been praying for God to help me be able to forgive. She reminded me that the Bible says in (2 Cor. 10: 3 – 6 … even though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh.) And that Satan has a way of attacking us through our thoughts, telling us that it’s okay not to forgive because it was so bad. Then I remembered one of my favorite verses, (Think upon these things, whatever is true, … honorable, …right, …pure, …lovely, … let your mind dwell on these. Eph 4: 8).
Right then and there I knew everything was going to be okay again. As I process all that has happened in the last two weeks I just want to say THANK YOU for being willing to share your stories. Especially Sandi Patty, God’s grace is amazing.
Philippians 2: 1- 4
If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Shari
Posted April 29th, 2008 by Women of Faith
AMAZING, INSPIRATIONAL, UPLIFTING, TEARFUL, JOYFUL, INSIGHTFUL, AND WONDERFUL… are just a few words that can be used to describe the Women of Faith conference that I attended this weekend. The women there were full of texture, layers, honesty, purity, and the list goes on.
Their stories were often my own stories. Their struggles, their hardships, and their pain, reflected mine. I could relate to these women. And the good news is…well, it’s God’s good news…that none of these experiences are important anymore. He has showered us with his divine GRACE…his infinite GRACE. We have been cleansed by his grace. Whatever we have done, whatever has happened to us, it’s all been erased in God’s eyes. He sees us only as the beautiful, yes, I said beautiful, and flawless women He CREATED us to be.
Our own history, and the pressures we allow to be put on us by society, have tainted the vision we have of ourselves. If there was one thing I took from this experience it is that the ONLY thing that matters is what God sees in me. Yes, I have to live among many in this lifetime, and I will tend to care what they think and say, because I am human…but at the end of the day, when I am home, and in my quiet place with God, I will ask him to wash away those negative thoughts and restore in me the only thoughts that matter….HIS!
The woman that touched me most was Sandi Patti. She has a story to tell and she tells it well. She is probably the one I related to the most. She has a book called, LAYERS. As she spoke about some of the things she tells more deeply about in her book, I was struck between the eyes. I know about layers…I got a lot of them. We all have layers I think. Not to get too into it, you would need to read her book, as I have in 24 hours, but I realized that I have layers upon layers of shame, guilt, regret, abandonment, pain, and this list too goes on and on.
What Patti shared was how she peeled back those layers, a very painful process, and then allowed herself to be cleansed and renewed in God’s GRACE. What a beautiful image! So because of this weekend, I am now working on peeling back my own layers and replacing those feelings of shame, guilt, etc., with God’s infinite Grace. I’m replacing the negative views of others, and myself, that have been layered on me, with God’s perfect view of me.
In closing, I’ll just mention the amazing and beautiful Nicole C. Mullen. Look her up when you can. Her voice is so angelic and her music powerful and moving. Her music is for God, that we just get to enjoy. You must listen to “When I Call on Jesus”. This song will move through you. Enjoy! There will be a new Women of Faith next year, in Sacramento. You may want to consider heading up there for it. You won’t regret it. And the time away, focused on God will be worth the time and money! Blessings
Carianne
Posted April 21st, 2008 by Women of Faith
It was my first time to attend and I was in awe. It was so inspiritaional and up-lifting. It was a great time for me. I came home and have already talked to about 15 friends that I want to go with me the next one. I couldn’t have picked anyone as my favorite because they all related to me. Keep up the good work and God bless you all and in your work.
Thank you so much.
Martha
Submit your own conference story by emailing it to stories@womenoffaith.com
