Just a little tradition...

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go to Time Out For Women for our church with my mom, aunt, my aunt's mother and sister, and my brother's girl friend. It was such an amazing weekend, complete with wonderful speakers and music. My mom and I started this tradition a year ago, and now we just love it. If you haven't had the opportunity to go to this event, I strongly encourage it. It's a great time to spend time with those you love, and to have a sweet escape from the hustle and bustle of the world for a few hours. And, it's totally worth it.

This year, we went to the session in Salt Lake City, and we got to hear speakers, such as Brad Wilcox, Sheri Dew, Hilary Weeks, Wendy Ulrich, Emily Watts, Michael Wilcox, Stephanie Neilson, and Laurel Christensen. These men and women were so inspiring to listen to. If you haven't heard of Stephanie Neilson's story, it is truly inspiring. She and her husband were severely burned in an airplane crash about three years ago, and hearing her story of how she had to move on with her life and accept her new life was a real tear jerker. I'm not kidding, in a room of thousands of women, I think everyone was crying when she spoke. Anyway, all these speakers really helped me have a spiritual boost, and I really needed it. Here are a couple of quotes from some of the speakers.

"One who chooses Christ chooses to be changed" --Brad Wilcox

"Some things are simply more important than others" --Sheri Dew

"The secret to becoming is learning" --Michael Wilcox

"Where you are today is no surprise to God. He knew this would be your plan A." --Laurel Christensen

(Side-note on the last quote, Laurel's story was about how she had different plans for her life, and how she came to realize she was where she was supposed to be. It was a great talk, a favorite among our group).

The music was provided by Hilary Weeks and Jericho Road. I loved hearing Jericho Road because I listened to them all the time as a teenager and I've LOVED them ever since. And I've just started to listen to Hilary Weeks about a year ago and am in love with her music as well. And I just loved every second of it.

Needles to say, it was a great weekend. A pleasant break from school, but a great boost to get me through the last three weeks. It was just so wonderful to spend time with my family, especially my mom and dad. Sometimes it's hard being grown up, and not being with my parents all the time. Of course, I wouldn't change anything for the world on where I am now, but I sure miss my parents. They are so wonderful, and I appreciate very much on all that they do for me. Thanks mom :)