Ladies Day Apart

I am still sorting through it all in my head. What an awesome day! The worship time before each session was incredible! Carol Kent sharing from her heart was dynamic!

Session one was titled "living a new kind of normal". I always snicker when I hear the word normal. Most of you know why. In session one she spoke on 6 topics: The power of unthinkable circumstances, the power of relinquishment, the power of heartache, the power of community, the power of faith, the power of speaking up.

When she discussed the power of heartache, she emphasized that everyone has pain. No ones pain is any greater than anyone else's. "Pain is pain".

I really liked the word picture she gave for the power of community. Based on Luke 5:17-30. She said that our friends are our "stretcher bearers". What a great picture!

And she also said that our lives were "polka dotted" with trials in reference to James 1:2. And how true it is.

Session two was titled "developing spiritual authenticity". The topics she discussed in this session were: develop a passion for Jesus, do what the King wants done, cultivate honesty about sin, focus on thoughts beyond natural behavior, think in terms of eternity not time.

We are to be the real deal. Points to ponder; Do I try to give the impression that I am better than I am, or do I embellish or exagerate, does my conscience feel uneasy, do I do anything in private that would offend my friend. Wow!!!!

Session three titled "becoming a woman of influence". There were seven principles that she discussed, but the one question she asked impacted me for the rest of the session. "Who do you want me to influence?" Here are the principles: We need to spend time with God, we need to be walking and talking, we need to be willing to tell our story, we need to be willing to ask questions, we need to have compassion, we need to be able to cast vision, and we need to show unconditional love.

Writing it out like this certainly doesn't give the impact of being there. I am so blessed to have been able to attend.

I am going to add one more thing. The ladies at Calvary Bible Church in Derry went all out decorating for the event. The beautiful flowers on the stage, to the banners, to the bathrooms. That's right, they decorated the 6 bathrooms that were being used for the day. The 2 men's rooms were even transformed into ladies rooms. I went into 5 of the 6 bathrooms and found two of them to have polka dotted theme, one was decorated with Japanese Kimono's, and two were decorated with beautiful spring colors and flowers. I couldn't find the 6th bathroom. What a fantastic job they did to make us feel welcome and special.