Speak Up Conference 2017

Helloooooooooooo! I'm home from the conference! :)

If you missed last week, I'll catch you up by telling you I was gone from Thursday to Saturday at the Speak Up Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I have only begun to process all I learned in those three days, and I'm sure over the next few days, I'll be sharing a handful of nuggets that were meaningful to me, but today I'll give you the grand overview!

First of all, I would like the record to show that I do believe this is the smallest amount of luggage I have ever packed for anything in my life, including church.

I would also like the record to show, this is the least amount of sobbing I have ever done upon leaving Ryan (granted, this was only the 4th time in our 5 years together we've ever been apart). The only reason I dried it up was because I traveled with a friend and wanted to attempt to put my best foot forward. I was wailing on the inside, believe me. Leaving Ryan is the hardest thing I ever do. We were just not made to be apart.

This is my friend, Sarah, who was my traveling buddy/roommate for the weekend. Sarah has a book coming out in a few months, so you'll be seeing more about her! She and I actually were at IWU around the same time, but we met up again back in 2009 (we think) at a writing conference in Indianapolis. The blessing of social media has kept us connected, and she's the one who actually invited me to attend this conference!

The conference was held on the campus of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, and I thought it was a beautiful campus with a lovely conference center. (If I could have packed up the meadow with the weeping willows that sat just beyond most of the conference rooms, I most certainly would have. Stunning view.)

Ready to learn!

I mentioned last week that we had to really pray and plan over the finances for this adventure, but my goodness. I will say with all certainty that Carol Kent and her crew absolutely offer each attendee the maximum amount of opportunities to learn all they can. In three days, I attended six workshop sessions, two keynote sessions, two devotional sessions, a concert, five one-on-one appointments, two Q&A sessions, a mock publishing board meeting, and a small group writing critique (plus a handful of other tiny things). I appreciated all I learned and all the notes I was able to take!

 I met some new friends, had quite the treasure trove of roommates (excuse the obvious Instagram screen shot. My computer would not allow me to edit this), and became very aware of just how many God-loving women have passions like mine!

(Left-Right: Sarah Forgrave, Me, Brenda Yoder, and Amelia Rhodes)

Even though I learned much and immersed myself in all that was offered, I still tremendously missed Ryan, and called/texted him every chance I got. We even had coffee together in the mornings via the blessing of FaceTime.

(My reaction to his grocery shopping find. He went without me, and milk was on sale. Guess we're set for a while! LOL!!!!)

On Friday, I had a horrific headache that would not be calmed by coffee, food, or medicine. It was awful. And I never get headaches, so it was just frustrating and maddening. I powered through and tried to look better than I felt:

When it still hung on fiercely after lunch, I went back to my room and just cried until it went away. See? I knew tears solved everything!!!

But headache and Ryan-deprivation aside, I loved this conference, loved what I learned, and loved the people I met.

I told Ryan I felt like all the information this weekend fell into three categories: things I learned, things that affirmed me, and things that intrigued me.

Of course I just flat out learned some stuff. I expected that and wasn't disappointed. But I was surprised at how much information came my way in the form of things I already do. Often they were things I had figured out on my own. Rather than being disappointed that I wasn't learning more, I chose to interpret those moments as affirmation that I was on the right track and God Himself put me there. And then there were my favorite moments: when I heard about ideas and concepts that intrigue me. I don't know what they mean for my/our future, but I believe they are seeds of some sort, planted by the Lord. He'll water them in His time, and I'm excited to see what they yield.

So that was my weekend at Speak Up! If you're ever thinking of a conference in this part of the country, I highly recommend this one. Worth the money and the time!

(Scroll down to read more from others who attended the conference!!)

Linking up with Tamar!

SPEAK UP BLOG HOP!!!!!