Last year for Christmas, Sue gave us Daughters-in-Law an amazing gift….time. In November, we got to spend our time. She got us tickets to Time Out For Women!! She paid for food and a hotel (so we could have a real getaway, even though we’re still close to home), it was so fun!!
On Friday, we headed up to the Maverick Center and checked into Crystal Inn, literally right next door. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel and saw some fun things in the shop there. Friday night, the festivities began and we heard Hudson Lights sing, and Sheri Dew, Teryyl and Fiona Givens, and Ann Romney speak.
They showed a video about Emilie Parker, one of the children killed in Newtown. Her mother spoke of Emilie’s kind heart and generosity. It was very touching. She also said, “God allows each of us to make our own choices, good and bad because that’s the only way we can have good within us because we choose good over all else.”
Sheri Dew is one of those women that you know you’d be immediate friends with, a kindred spirit. She spoke about truth. What is true?
1) Life is all about discipleship, who will we follow? Latter-Day women of God cannot be limited in what we can accomplish.
2) We each have a divine errand. Ask ourselves, “Am I doing what I need to be doing?”
3) God wants to talk to us, but we have to learn his language. Ask the Lord to teach us, he knows who we are, what we’re worried about, and we can receive revelation.
The Givens’ spoke of righteous women of the past that had great impact on the earth. Sarah Edwards who was married to a preacher, but felt a closeness with God and loved him instead of fearing him. Catherine Beecher didn’t believe that those who weren’t ever baptized were lost forever. Eve is the heroine of the human family, not fallen but led upward into eternity. Lady Anne Conway, Eliza R. Snow, Emily Dickinson…there are many women that have changed the course of history in their own (sometimes quiet) way.
Ann Romney was great, I’m already a fan. She is so poised and handles the pressures of public life with grace. I did like it when she said, “We didn’t lose on election night, the country lost.” Amen sister!
We went back to our rooms and had a great time. I stayed with Sue, and Liz and Amy stayed next door. In the morning, I realized I had forgotten to bring a shirt to wear under my sheer shirt…oops. Luckily, my awesome Amy got us all shirts last night, so I was able to wear that and be just fine!
As we were waiting for it to start, we went and got some drinks and stuff. Amy had walked further down and ran back to get me, “Sheri Dew is taking pictures!” We ran down and caught her right before she went in. Lucky!! She’s so cool.
Saturday was full of goodness. We heard Mary Ellen Edmunds, Hilary Weeks, Sandra Turley, and Michael Wilcox.
Honestly I took the most notes with Mary Ellen Edmunds (MEE), she’s hilarious, insightful, wise, and I could listen to her all day. She used to teach us sisters every Sunday when I was in the MTC. I think she still might do that. Today, she spoke about Thinking on Purpose. If we don’t plant good thoughts, we get weeds. We see or hear things we wouldn’t choose to think about, but while we can’t control many things, we CAN control what we think about. It’s our Spirit that thinks, not our bodies.
“There they sit, side by side, the Book of Mormon and the T.V. Guide” (Jacob de Auger), what things catch our attention? We should meditate, pray, take time daily to be still and ponder and write our thoughts down. Make a To-Be list.
Hilary Weeks is funny and talented, an enchanting combination. She spoke about an experiment her family tried. They cooked some white rice, then split it evenly between to glass bottles, put the lids on and put them in different parts of the home. The two rooms were similar in light, temperature, etc. But every day, they would go speak kind words to one jar of rice and speak harsh words to the other jar. She showed pictures and I was amazed that the “Love” jar remained white and fluffy while the “Hate” jar turned soupy and yucky. It had something to do with the vibrations of the voice, but it was a clear lesson of the importance of kind words. “Say Love.”
She encouraged us daily to repeat something encouraging to ourselves. For example: “I am a beautiful, healthy, capable, courageous and dynamic daughter of God.” Say it until you feel it.
Sandra Turley was Christine in Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, she is gorgeous! She spoke of her challenge having kids. After many heartbreaking years, her husband gave her a blessing before an in-vitro procedure and promised in nine months, she would be holding a baby in her arms. She got pregnant, then lost the baby and didn’t understand why. They began procedures for adoption and nine months after the blessing, she was holding a baby girl in her arms. Joy, then sadness when the birth mother changed her mind and took her daughter back. Devastating. She relied on the atonement and instead of feeling bitter and angry, she felt peace and she felt love for the birth mom. Their family was eventually blessed with four children. “Because I knew you, I’ve been changed for good”, from Wicked.
Michael WIlcox talked about prayer…simple right? Nope, we don’t pray, we pour our whole souls out before God! Do we have anger, regret, sorrow? Pour it out to God. If not, things grow inside, but if we pour out, then God can pour in. He spoke of the recent Christmas when he lost his wife to cancer as she lay in a bed near the Christmas tree. He didn’t want to celebrate Christmas for a couple of years, then he heard the song “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can count on me.”, and heard his wife’s voice in those words.
Are we knocking at the door, or is the Savior? Both. Sometimes he’s on the outside, sometimes we are. When someone we love is at the door and says, “it’s me!” we recognize the voice, there is familiarity. We should have that same familiarity with Christ.
Let’s just say this was a weekend to fill my bucket. I feel like I will be a better wife, mother, and woman after hearing these inspired words. Thank you Sue for such a memorable and meaningful weekend together…love you!!!
