Monday, March 30, 2009

Guess Who I Met???

Happy Monday morning! Life is GOOOD!!! I have been given the OK to run again! I had my third round of rabies shots this morning...and that precious little doctor gave me a darlin' pink Barbie bandaid!!! I LOVE pink and grew up playing with Barbies! I have just a minute to post before I'm out again! This time to the gym for strength training. I've got a lot of ground to make up before my race in May! Last week sorta put a damper on things...but all is well!

This weekend, the Extraordinary Women's Conference can to town! Woohoo! Just wonderful! I heard Chonda Pierce, Newsong, Angela Thomas, Charles Billingley, Stormie O'Martian, and Michelle McKinney Hammond...and one of my most favorite fiction Christian writers....Karen Kingbury!!! Y'all....she was so sweet! She stood in line for hours signing autographs and taking pictures with crazy people like me! Of course, I had no camera, just the one in my cell phone! Hmm...two weekends in a row with using those cell phone cameras!! Anyway, my friends snapped this to prove that I met her!

(And yes, it was pouring down rain, and my hair was as frizzy as could be!) But, I got to meet the author of the Baxter family! And the gal who wrote the Tuesday Morning series after 9-11. Karen was as down to earth as she could be! Her husband and all 6 kids were with her. She had us laughing one minute and crying the next. It was really cool the way that she encouraged us to love the cast of characters that God places in our lives. There will always be the antagonist--satan--that we must deal with. But God has a plan that will complete our story with a "happily ever after" if only we will give our hearts to Him. Love this girl! Check out her website when you get a chance! It's KarenKingsbury.com.

The theme this weekend was free to be real. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18) Free to show off the real glory of God--free to call on Him at any time. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Until we give our burdens to Christ--whether it's depression, abuse, no job, becoming a single mom, pridefulness, etc., we will not reflect the glory of God. There is a veil over our face--just as it was the face of Moses--that hides God's glory. Moses wouldn't take off his veil. We cannot see God until we remove ours. Our spiritual wisdom is blurry (Angela Thomas)! I don't know about y'all, but I want to see clearly at all times...especially God!! God desires for us to remove that veil so others can see Him in us! We must lay those burdens down, and only then will we be able to lift the veil so that others see Christ in us. Powerful weekend, y'all!

I thought about some you all out in bloggyland as well. Those of you aspiring to become writers in order to fulfill God's calling on your hearts. One day, it might be you up there at one of these conferences signing books and giving hugs! So....that being said, I'm asking in advance,"Would you please sign my book?" And on that note, my roomie from She Speaks last year emailed me last night. She said that her book that she presented there last year is going to be published in April! I am so excited for her! I will be sure to have her website up and running at the end of next month!! Way to go, Mary Singer Wick!! God is SO good!!

Many Blessings,

13 comments:

Yolanda said...

I loved every bit of this and wasn't ready for you to end. What an awesome lineup of speakers that you were blessed with over the weekend and then like the sweet cream on top of our Latte's....Karen Kingsbury.

Wow...You friend, were blessed, but you know what? They were blessed to meet you as well!!!

Removing the veil,
Yolanda
HIGHER GROUNDS

Gotta Run..... said...

I missed the boat but am glad you had a wonderful time!! Until friday evening I thought the event was in Charlotte not Greenville.

I need to open my ears!

Kimberly said...

How fun! Isn't it a treat when we get to meet those people who we truly respect and admire? :) I am so glad you got to go to that conference!

And I have to say...I just love your attitude. You get shots for rabies and yet you still manage to be joyful and pleased with your bandaid. You make me smile. :)

Hope you have a wonderful week, friend!
And congrats to your SheSpeaks roomie for getting her book published! I know she is super excited!

Blessings,
K :)

Sharon Sloan said...

So glad you are back to running and the leg is being healed!

What fun to meet Karen! I have never read her books, but people I know rave about them. I gave one to my girlfriend for her birthday, and she loved it!

Congrats to your roomie!

On Purpose said...

Praying for your training and race in May!

Thank you for sharing your excitement and lessons learned over the weekend with us! Its a treat for me to see Jesus working and doing His thing all over this beautiful world!!

Kelly said...

Well, I'm glad you (and my 5 yr old daughter) both feel better just by adding a pink Barbie bandaid! LOL!

Glad you are running, and I hope to be able to autograph a book for you one day! It's a deal!

KelliGirl said...

I loved hearing about the conference. What fun! And to meet one of your favorite authors is a treat indeed. (BTW, your hair looked great.)

That's so great about Mary's book. I remember her practicing her pitch to us at dinner at She Speaks. Tell her I said, "Congratulations!!"

Hugs,
Kelli

kari and kijsa said...

So glad you are able to run again!! What a great conference too!!
blessings,
kari & kijsa

Empty Nest Full Life said...

Oh how I need one of those conferences, but your words definitely have spoken to me today. Glad you are getting better and are able to start running again! Looks like you had a great weekend. Jackie

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Maybe I need to be your roommate this year! Congrats to Mary.

So glad for your refreshing weekend. I so need a weekend like this...anywhere, especially when the topic is freedom!

Also glad for your release to hit the trails once again. You have purchased your spray haven't you?

Thanks for stopping by.

peace~elaine

Wendy Blight said...

Susan,

Thank you, thank you for stopping by my blog today and leaving such sweet words of encouragement. Especially thank you for inviting your children to pray for Lauren. That so touches my heart. I know the Lord has a special place in His heart for the prayers lifted by His children.

Susan, you bless me so everytime you stop by my blog. I pray that God will bless you tenfold for so faithfully using your precious gift of encouragement. I sat with my sweet Lauren as she cried herself to sleep last night (which is so rare for her to cry). It was so hard for me, and I slept so fitfully. Your words and prayers carried me through this day.

With gratitude,

Wendy

BECKY said...

Sounds like such an exciting time!! And very spiritually profitable and edifying for everyone there!!

So glad you were able to go!!
Also glad you can get back to your training!!

God is so good!! I've told your story several times and people are just dumbfounded!! They had a story the next night about a coyote in ORLANDO!! They say they are coming out because it is so dry here!! ACK!! Just what we need...gators and snakes just aren't enough!!

Your excitement is def. contagious and I am giong to check out that writer's site!!

Hugs and joy to you!!
Becky

Rachel Olsen said...

Hey Girl. I've got another author you'll probably love. It's the author of the book series that spawned my Saturday movie watching marathon on the Hallmark Channel. Her name is Janette Oke.

The first book in her "love series" is Love Comes Softly. Each subsequent book traces the lives of another generation of that family. I adored the movies so much, I'll be getting the books as well.

So glad you had a great conference!