Snippets from Relevant

I'm a little disappointed because I feel like I went from Relevant to Real Life in 5 seconds flat.  I've not had much time to process what God taught me there as I returned home to full days of work and mothering.  I have so much I want to share with those of you who were not able make it!  I pray God will give me time to do that soon.  In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with some thoughts from the main speakers that were worthy of breaking out the highlighter :)  I promise to share more as God gives me opportunity.

These are the concepts I know God was speaking to me through these women:
From Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom: What are your First Things?  If they are not your relationship with the Lord, your relationship with your husband and teaching and nurturing your children, your priorities are out of order. 
I appreciate a hard word spoken in love from a sister who has been there and triumphed.  Crystal's message, which opened up the conference, was just that!  I hope to share some of her wonderful tips for managing your time so that your priorities fall into His order.

From Sally Clarkson of I Take Joy:  Are you being faithful in your home?  Are you obeying God?  Are you being gracious and loving?  Figure out what season of life you are in and let God set your priorities.
Are you seeing a pattern here?  Yes, God showed up at Relevant and His message there was the same at a Christian women's blogging conference as it is anywhere else.  Be faithful in the little things, my children...


From Angie Smith of Bring the Rain:  Be careful of what you are reading.  Ask yourself does this blog make me want to run to Jesus or somewhere else?  Be careful of what you share.  Your readers are not always who they appear to be.
That one question about where a blog makes me want to run was monumental for me.  I will use it as I determine which blogs I will read regularly.

From Ann Voskamp of Holy Experience: Write for an Audience of One.  Speak God's Word and serve Him through your blog.  Be real and remember who might be reading- perhaps one who is one decision away from disaster.
I did not think it was possible for Ann to be as beautiful in person as she is through words on a screen.  But she is- even more so, if possible.  She is the real deal and her words always make me want to run to Jesus!  She is going to do a series on her blog based on her talk at Relevant called Blogging in the Upside Down Kingdom.  Don't miss a post.

Multitude Monday

Here are some of the things I was thankful for this week:

701.  Feeling hopeful and armed for a chronic challenge

702.  The gift of time to "get it all done" before going to Relevant

703.  The Relevant Conference

704.  Sarah Mae, Jessica and Dana for their vision and effort to make Relevant a reality

705.  Attending Relevant with my sweet friend, Andrea

706.  Meeting old bloggy friends: Michelle and Michelle, 

707.  Making new ones

708.  Meeting bloggy mentors: Kat, Bonita

709.  Meeting Ann Voskamp!  I cannot wait to tell you more about her!

710.  Gleaning wisdom and truth from Sally Clarkson and Angie Smith

711.  Being blessed by the heart, music and ministry of Todd Smith

712.  Learning from so many others in workshops and at meals

713.  Meeting GOD at Relevant

714.  Ending the conference by joining 200 of my sisters in worship!

715.  Safe travels to and from

716.  Returning to a healthy, happy husband and children

717.  Returning home with a full heart and excitement for processing what God spoke to me- I can't wait to share with you!

718.  Returning home with bags full of goodies I can't wait to share with you!

You can find my running list of 1,000 gifts in my sidebar and read why I got started here.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow afternoon, my IRL and online friend Andrea and I will embark on a road trip to Hershey, PA to attend The Relevant Conference!  I am so excited but also kind of nervous.  To use the analogy of Michelle from SomeGirlsWebsite, I am feeling like a 40 year old freshman right about now!  But it's too late to turn back now.  And I am looking forward to meeting some of my online friends and hearing from some of my very favorite bloggers!

Since I haven't packed a thing yet, I'd better not stay too long here :)  I have a post scheduled to publish tomorrow morning.  Outside of that I am not sure how much, if at all, I will be posting from the conference.  I'm sure I'll have lots to say about next week, though.  For those of you who are reading but will not be there, have a great weekend!

Relevant Bound!

I'm not entirely sure but I think I registered for The Relevant Conference before I even published a single blog post.  If it was not before my first post, then it was soon after!  I couldn't help myself once I knew my two favorite bloggers in the blogosphere- Ann Voskamp and Angie Smith- were going to be speaking at the conference.  I asked my dear, IRL and online friend, Andrea if she would be interested in going together and when she enthusiastically agreed, we signed up on the day registration opened!

I am so excited for this conference!  Since registering, I have checked out the blogs of all the other speakers and many of the attendees as well.  I know it will be a blessing to learn from the speakers and attendees.   Gather Inspirit, whose vision is to "simply to inspire, encourage and uplift all bloggers in their journey and in life" has also helped me get to know many of the attendees.

I must admit, I have also had some anxiety about the conference since I am new to blogging and don't have a big "following" as it seems many of the attendees do.  I've wondered if it is the right place for a small voice like mine whose intent is simply to reflect on my walk with the Lord and live in community with others who love Him and read and comment here.  When the session topics were released, my anxiety was relieved as I realized they really do apply to all kinds of bloggers.  Oh and there's this!  Chocolate has always relieved my anxieties before so if I need an emergency fix, I'll be all set at Relevant ;)

"The Relevant Conference exists to offer a place of face to face interaction with Christian women bloggers who want to be relevant in the larger blog and social media world. Our goal is to go beyond the surface into intentional blogging and real life living. We support women turning their hearts toward home and using their blogs to bless their families while also engaging the world for the glory of God. Relevant is a one-of-a-kind conference that seeks to engage women by teaching blogging techniques and social media skill while also urging and encouraging women to live fully integrated lives with their faith and family."

 Won't you join me at Relevant?