3 Things I learned from Speaking at the Born 2 Win Conference

You know that feeling you have when you do a thing? A pretty big thing- a thing that has been in your mind and on your heart for about a year? A thing that you’ve been praying over, prepping for, nervous for, waking up at weird times and writing to-do lists for….and then you actually walk it out…and then it’s *gulp done?

Yeah I have that.

This past weekend was the Born 2 Win Conference, and I was beyond honored and humbled to be a part.

First off, I gotta brag on this church that hosted us. They went above and beyond taking care of the speakers! Due to the fact that most of the outside speaking engagements that my hubby and I have done before have revolved around camps and missions trips…(which we totally LOVE!) lets just say, I’m used to roughing it a little more 😉

The first women’s conference I ever spoke at was at a soccer areana in Panama. It included about 100 women, 100% humidity, 7 3-legged dogs, and 4 random chickens strutting their stuff in front of the podium. (Ironically, its one of my fondest memories.)

So THIS conference was totally different. 😉 I was blessed (READ: spoiled!) by my new friend Kristin the entire weekend. You guys should definitely go check out her blog Simply Relevant Life.

She is an incredible women with a beautiful heart. I was blown away by her tenderness, thoughtfulness, stain removal abilities, choice of youtube videos, AND her snack selection. We are food sole mates. We even use the same kind of stevia. I MEAN…

I also met some AH-mazing young ladies in the church too. These girls volunteered all weekend and had so much joy while doing it.

It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of the body of Christ. There are so many ladies that I felt instantly bonded with because, ultimately, we had the same heartbeat. I love when God affords us opportunities to get acquainted with amazing people. And I think a stinky part of the job is having to say, “it was so awesome connecting with you, praying with you etc…and now, I gotta go.” 😉

But what I love about this life is this: just because an experience is over, it doesn’t mean it’s done.

The lasting impact of this conference is far from completed. I’m fully convinced that its residual effects will have lifelong implications for all the ladies who attended, myself included. So as I wrap up this week , here are a couple of truths that God reminded me of while speaking at the Born 2 Win Conference.

1. We need each other and we need each other’s stories:

One thing I know really well, mostly because I’ve learned it the hard way, is that as a woman, one of the most dangerous temptations we have is to isolate. There’s an imbedded self-consciences in our flesh that makes us want to run and hide when life is less than perfect. But, permission to speak freely: DON’T DO IT!

I shared a piece of my testimony last week. A piece that is very unglamourous and not very instagram worthy. It took some bravery that can only be contributed to the strength the Holy Spirit provides and a little extra coffee.

There’s was a lot of times, throughout the process of preparing that I didn’t want to do it anymore.

I mean, there are people who I’m close to that don’t know the full measure of what my husband and I walked through, why in the world was I going to share this with 600-700 strangers?! But you know what happens when you do something you’re scared to do?

Your soul gets free.

And then the redemption of God kicks in and others find hope in your freedom. And when they find hope in your freedom, they have permission to share their story.

And their soul gets free.

It’s a crazy beautiful cycle. It’s almost like God knows exactly what He’s doing or something 😉

We need each other and we need each others stories. Bonds are forged, God is glorified and freedom is found when we drop our pride and give each other the grace to be real.

 

2. God is the great redeemer:

  Yes, He redeemed my story. But that’s not all that I’m talking about. He also redeemed…my skirt. Whenever you’re going to be standing in front of a large crowd, you wanna feel kinda cute, am I right? Not in a way that screams “look at me!” But in a way that feels pulled together so your mind isn’t on you.

You want to feel confident and you want to make ABSOLUTELY SURE that there is no stain on your white striped skirt in the “buttocks region.” #JesusTakeTheWheel

Well, I still don’t have a clue WHAT I brushed up against that morning, but (pun intended) as I’m walking into the conference, my new friend Kristin, spotted the stain seen round the world…or at least that’s how it felt at the time.

SO, for the 1^st hour of the B2W Conference Friday am, I hung out in an obscure church bathroom scrubbing my skirt back into a presentable state. The behind (again with the puns) the scenes is SO GLAMOROUS haha! BUT (again, pun totally intended) God totally ordered every step. He gave Kristin and I a whole hour to connect and chat whilst scrubbing. He allowed other ladies at the conference to see their speaker in a vulnerable state, and who doesn’t love that 😉 Those same ladies were subject to the conversations we had in that little bathroom and some even joined in with their encouragement and God stories. I was super blessed by some of the conference volunteers running out to buy me stain remover. AND you know what, the stain totally came out.

See, God worked it out, maybe He even ordained that little hour to fill up hearts, and set my fears at ease. And that leads me to the 3^rd thing the Lord reminded me at the conference…

3. I Can Trust God:

Going into the conference, I wasn’t nervous about getting up in front of the crowd and sharing the most vulnerable places of my heart. You know what I was nervous about? Stupid. Little. Details. I’m used to traveling with my husband, an awesome speaker in his own right, who also happens to be

-tech savy

-great with directions

-always on time

All the things that I am not. And it’s the dumb little things that frazzle me. Anyone else?

But walking through this weekend, over and over and OVER again, I watched God take care of the “little things” that I had been concerned over. Like little kisses from heaven, they were reminders that He is the God of the impossibly huge as well as the minutely small. The details that would be lost on everyone else but you, He’s already covered.

He sees. He cares. He’s with us.

He’s writing the story of your life and is up to far more than you can even imagine!

It was an incredible weekend and I’m truly grateful to be apart of something that impacted so many. 

Our passion isn’t just to help empower the ladies from the conference, its also to inject hope and see YOU thrive and live a life worth Celebrating.  SO, if you’re into FREE stuff and content that you won’t find anywhere else on the blog...Click here.

Believing some great things are in store for your No Small Life,

Until Next Time,

Meg