Hope Spoken

I'm in Dallas this weekend, and at the moment, I feel like a Solo cup that has been slowly filling, bit by bit, and I'm at that point where the liquid in the cup starts to dome up over the edge; much more and something, somehow, is going to spill out.

So there's this conference called Hope Spoken.  I ran across it (I can't even remember for sure how) on Instagram a couple of years ago.  From what I can tell, it's just a bunch of women gathered together to lift up Jesus' name, and each other in the process (and maybe there's something about a lot of them being bloggers?).  I've followed them off and on over the last few years and always thought it sounded fun, but life and priorities always conspired to make it not happen.  I wasn't going to go this year either, but at the last minute, a ticket became available, and I bought it, completely on a whim.  Or so I thought.

I've gotten to meet some amazing, amazing women over the last two days - women who have inspired and challenged me in great ways.  There's Karen from Ontario, a stay-at-home mom who's about to go back to school to get her Master's degree in public health...  Robin, a mother of nine from Birmingham, Alabama, and her daughter Taylor... Jen, a sweetheart of a civil engineer who lives in Washington State with her husband and three boys... Mia, the photographer from Abilene, Texas... Laura and Holly from Michigan... Ashley, the insanely creative blogger living the high life in Bryson City, North Carolina... Sarah, the beautiful art teacher and sometime ballerina from Houston... Celeste, a mommy with the face of a model and the heart of a seeker...

The cool thing is, I haven't just shaken these women's hands, so to speak.  We've gotten to listen to each other's stories, cry with each other, and open our hearts to one another in a way that so rarely happens, even at home, in our closest circles.

I got to listen this morning to Sarah Harmeyer, a single working woman, talk about the table that her dad built, and how she's used it to bless hundreds and hundreds of people, by opening her yard and home, feeding and caring and sharing the love of Jesus over and over and over again.  I walked away from that, literally bursting with inspiration, thinking, I WANT TO DO THIS.  I CAN DO THIS.

I met and chatted with Rubyellen Bratcher, the author of the Cakies blog and someone whose style and attitude I've admired for a really long time.  (I never even bother with meet-and-greets at concerts, but I won't lie, I kind of fawned like a schoolgirl.)

I laughed with Carina Schoen, a bubbly mom of six who makes what can only be described as the utter chaos of a large family of small children look positively fun (and she's really cute, too!).

I was moved to breathlessness at the story and heart of Tara Clapper, a humble, quiet young woman whose life story consists of one "yes" after another, with positively amazing results.

I've been blessed by the lovely voices of Lauren Dunn and Ellie Holcomb, lifted in song and in heartfelt, inspiring and uplifting prayer, and I've gotten to see and hear and contribute to the beautiful sight and sound of a bunch of women worshipping their Lord.

I've eaten way too much sugar and drank way too much coffee.

 

Through it all, I've felt some of the walls that I've built to protect myself start to shift and crumble a little.  I've felt hard edges, ones that I didn't even know I had, begin to soften.  I've been surrounded by women - gorgeous women with amazing hair and cool outfits and precious babies, who have reminded me of what being a Godly woman can be - that it isn't weak or narrow or ugly, but rather something inexpressibly beautiful, to glory and walk boldly in.  I've been reminded that there is no shame in loving, supporting and raising a family with a good man, and that there is no limit under the sun to what a woman who puts her Lord first can accomplish.  (Seriously. No. Limit. NONE.)

I guess, if I were to sum it up, I'm left feeling...brave.  I know that God has a purpose and a plan for me, and I want to walk confidently in that purpose.  He created me in his image, He loves me (he loves me!) and finds me beautiful, and because of that, I need never be ashamed or hide who I am or pretend to be something I'm not.  I'm ready to be done being a chameleon; it's time to SHINE.

He is good, so very, very good, and I want all of the things that he so lovingly bundled together to create ME to bring him glory and honor.

So anyway, that's some of what's stirring around in my heart right now.

One of the conference leaders talked last night about how they pray all year that the right women will find their way to this place.  Thinking of where I am in my life, the women I've met, and the impact we've all felt, I can't help but know that those prayers haven't fallen on deaf ears.  God hears, and he answers.  (Which gets a person to thinking, what if more of us did more of that sort of praying?)

Thank you, my Father.  I won't forget.