Being a Woman of Faith...

This summer some of the ladies in our Twenties and Thirties (and Forties) group at church read A Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.  It is an incredible book about about joy amidst suffering and thankfulness being the key to joy.  My friend, Andrea, saw that Ann Voskamp was speaking at the Women of Faith conference in Anaheim, CA (a mere 5 1/2 hr drive) and invited all of the women from church to go.  So 12 of us ended up spending last weekend in Anaheim at this amazing conference .  I had a great time between being challenged spiritually, worshiping with 10,000ish other women, and socializing with some great women from church.

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Me and Greta at Johnny Rockets Friday night

 Believe God can do anything!  We had so many great speakers.  The two that challenged me the most were Rick Warren who talked about the tests of faith using Hebrews 11.  He talked about the deep struggles that people in the Bible including Abraham and Noah endured and the great rewards that also came from their faith.  Hebrews 11:8 By faith, Abraham, when called to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going.  The reward and the cost.  That verse blows me away every time.  Ann Voskamp also challenged me in her pursuit of thanks.  She said, "Joy is a function of giving thanks and thanks is a function of perspective."

 We also had some great worship with the praise band, Jamie Grace, Kari Jobe, and Mercy Me.

 Our group

 

 We did not go to Disneyland though we were very close, but we had dinner in Downtown Disney Saturday night at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen.  I tried fried green tomatoes.  They were so yummy!

 Caramel Corn!

 Sunday most left right away, but a few of stuck around and went to the beach to relax.  Lynola was the only one brave enough to be buried.  She is so fun!

Curious how many showers it took to get rid of the sand?! :)