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Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real {Women of Faith 2011}

~PRETTY~
My mother.  Isn't she pretty?  We went out for breakfast yesterday and found a delightful restaurant on the boardwalk.  The sound of the waves crashing while we sipped coffee and chatted was so special.  We will be back next week!


~HAPPY~
I've been away from the blog for a few days.  My mother, sister and I spent a fabulous girls only weekend in Charlotte.  We attended the Women of Faith Imagine conference.   Last fall we had attended WOF (Over the Top) in Greensboro, NC and had such a moving experience we signed up again for this year.  Sheila Walsh was a the main headliner along with Dr. Henry Cloud, Luci Swindoll, Lisa Parker, author Karen Kingsbury and dramatist Nicole Johnson.  One of the best parts of women of faith is always the music.  We were treated to two concerts, one by Mary, Mary and one with Natalie Grant.  She sang Peace Like a River and my tears flowed like one too!  I dare you to listen to her sing it and not get chills!



~FUNNY~
Dr. Cloud spoke all about happiness.  
He talked about having a few good "monkeys" in our lives.  Monkeys are the people with whom you can feel safe and be yourself freely.  He said,
Match your level of vulnerability to the capacity of the people in your life.
In other words, be careful who you let into your innermost circle of friends for they will have the most power to hurt you or to encourage you.  He reminded us that real happiness is a result of giving in relationship rather than taking.  However,  he cautioned that we are not obligated to give and give and give to relationships that simply suck the life away from us.  For the rest of the weekend we joked "Who's your monkey?"  and "Choose your monkeys wisely!"


~REAL~

We are three silly monkeys with all our birthdays in one week.  We had fun opening presents in our jammies while wearing blinking flowers in our hair.   Those flowers make an appearance whenever the three of us are together.
This is reaaallly real!  I guess I am not used to those late nights with the girls because by Tuesday afternoon I was whipped.  I fell asleep trying to put my toddler down for a nap and he stayed awake and took this photo on my phone while I was snoozing!






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Comments

  1. I have truly missed your posts, but it looks like you had a lovely time...and what a beautiful family you have! Sister and mom time is the absolute best, isn't it? (And I love the picture that your son took. Too cute!)

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  2. What a wonderful time! Looks like a blast :)

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  3. Oh my gosh - he took your picture! Wait a little while - in no time you can get him to do your blog photos!

    Looks like you're a fun loving family!

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  4. I like Natalie Grant, as well. How great you were able to be with your "monkeys". The older I get, the more important sleep becomes--so great your son captured this.

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  5. I like that point about the monkeys.

    You had a great time!

    ReplyDelete

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~Grace and peace to you~

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