What I Learned…

Over a month ago I went to the NW Ministry Conference in Washington.  It was an incredible weekend, and I have been wanting to sit and reflect on what I learned.  I got to hear one of my favorite authors speak, Annie Downs.  Then we bonded over fun nail polish afterwards.  It was a fun weekend away with some wonderful ladies from church.  Here’s what I learned about the Lord over the two days.

Do you know the difference between a full life and an abundant life, *|MMERGE4|*?  On our first day of the conference, Annie Downs talked about two women from the Bible, Anna and Lydia.

She referenced Acts 16 when teaching about Lydia.  Annie shared how Lydia was basically a small business owner.  She was creative, had friends and hung out with them on the Sabbath.  Lydia was busy doing stuff, but it wasn’t until she heard about who this Jesus guy really was that things changed.  Her life before Jesus was full and busy – but not abundant and meaningful.

Then, we switched to the story of Anna from Luke 2.  She was an old widow – and had been a widow for the majority of her life.  Anna knew loss and struggle.  Yet, she stayed plugged in, fasting and praying and serving her fullest.  She had an abundant life, even though she did not have much.  Anna had and recognized the one thing that mattered: Jesus.

Which lady do you identify with?  Are you hustling and busy like Lydia, but not soaking up Jesus?  Or do you have an abundant life even though you might not have much, like Anna?

Annie Downs was the main speaker for the women’s track of the conference, but we also got to hear from many other inspiring women.

Cynthia Cavanaugh taught multiple workshops that I was interested in during the conference.  The first one was all about being anchored when we are in a storm.  She shared about the life of Job in the Bible and how he remained anchored to the Lord through the rockiest times of his life.

I took another class from her about taking care of ourselves and what that should look like.  She talked about how we need to schedule time into our days, weeks, and years to pause and take care of ourselves.  She mentioned that she tries to take an hour during the week, a whole day during the month, and a weekend retreat during the course of the year to take care of herself.  It was such a good reminder, and convicting, to listen to.  I am not the greatest at slowing down and taking care of myself.

The second day we listened to Annie Downs speak twice.  The first session was focused around the theme of the women’s portion of the conference: Even If Not… from Daniel 3 and the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace.  I would encourage all of you to grab your Bibles and flip to Daniel 3.  I’ll wait while you go read the chapter.  🙂

You are where you are on purpose.  God wants to partner with us.  God is still going to do awesome stuff, even if He doesn’t give you want you want.  And my last takeaway from this session?  Daniel 3:29 –> There’s NEVER been a God who would pull off a rescue like this!

The second session with Annie was all about not quitting, which has been a theme in my life lately.  We just cannot give up on what God has for us!  Here are the different areas she touched on that we need to focus on NOT quitting!