Extraordinary Women ~ Saturday Part II

Alrighty then... Wayne's diapers has been changed a few times since that last post... now I'm ready to post some more. ;)

Karen Kingsbury was the next speaker... boy was she funny!!! I hadn't read any of her books -- but I wished I had, because she would tell stories on herself and then name the character that she wrote about in the book that did the same thing. Or she mentioned how she cried when so and so died. I think that's funny... her husband happened to walk in upon her crying once, after a grandmotherly type lady died, and he said, "You know -- I don't feel sorry for you -- after all... you killed her."

LOL!!

She spoke out of Romans as well.

Romans 12.2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I think the Holy Spirit was trying to HAMMER me on Saturday -- what do you think?

Oh then she ended up by reading a tear jerker of a story that she wrote -- really just writing it for her kiddos... but once some publisher got wind of it -- it ended up being a book too. Let Me Hold You Longer. Help us Hannah... she had us all holding hands with our neighbors -- so it was a mess in there... 2700 women or so... holding hands, and bawling... can you imagine all the sniffing, and tears dripping... ruining shirts. I tried to do a trick I heard Oprah say once... (Oh be quite... I know you've watched Oprah before)... she said, "Look up -- when you are about to cry...look at the ceiling." I was trying -- but a few dripped out anyway... I had to wipe them off my neck by the time she was done reading this story.

I was fortunate to be holding the hands of my friends... some were not so lucky. ::giggle:: I'm not poking fingers, mind you... but you know... clammy stranger hands... while snot is running down your nose... not always the best of situations.

Then guess what we did??? I believe -- but I may be wrong... we sang some more. YUP... same 7 song, or was it 11 songs.. who knows?? I left -- I had to go to the bathroom. I wasn't drinking water that day... but I did sneak in a coffee. ::gasp:: Don't tell on me... I was tired.

Did I mention I only got about 4 hours of sleep the night before?

I lay in bed there for 1 hour. I started with my parents, and started praying down the list. I've got 4 sisters... some of which are married... and a few others have kids.. LONG list... I think it was an hour. Well -- you know... I've got A.D.D. I'd get distracted every once in a while.

Then around 3:30... I was up again... I know -- I looked at the clock... thinking if it was close to 5:00, I'd get up and exercise. Not on your life... it wasn't even close... So I started praying for my immediate family -- then must have needed a lot of prayer... because I finally caved and looked at the clock again and it was 4:30. ::sigh:: Oh me... I did go to sleep eventually -- only to wake myself up with my OWN snoring... GREAT -- I was finally asleep... only to wake myself up. OH well -- I guess that's better than my map reading friend shaking the bed so I'd quit snoring. We agreed we'd do that... if the other was snoring... we'd just shake the bed a little. She doesn't snore -- she must have just been being nice to let me think I could wake her up if she was snoring. ;)

OK -- so I needed the coffee... I snuck some in.

Did I mention that this enormously gigantic church had a cafe. Neat little place. Really awesome workers... not the best coffee though... but I'm not a snob... if I can drown the taste with French Vanilla Creamer -- it's all good to me. HA HA!

Oh let's see... where were we? Singing and Swaying and Raising Our Hands... and then we get to sit down again.

Well -- then we broke up for lunch. Our fearless leader had ordered us box lunches. I was glad. I think there was only 1 restaurant close... Applebees. It would have been really, really, really crowded that day. I tell you want... my long legged friend got us to the "pretty close" to the front of the line for lunch. No standing for us... but I was pretty close to running. I lost sight of her once... she turned around... and I could see her face, and she couldn't see me... So I rasied my hand -- and almost started singing praise songs again. Sort of like Pavlo's dogs, I was... but I caught myself. She found us and we ventured on.

I think our lunch was from the ROC cafe, delicious, I might add. W.W. bread, which impressed the bread makers of our group. HUGE cookie -- which impressed me. Ü We had another gab session... but you know how it goes... What comes out of our mouthes in Raytown, STAYS in Raytown.

Next speaker -- Jennifer Rothschild. Now -- she was impressive. Of course I'd never heard of her either. I don't get out much -- did I mention that? I'm sort of a home body... I don't go gallivanting about listening to all these speakers... so -- another new one.

She has Rhinitis's Pigmentosis. Yeah -- I know... Firefox is telling me I spelled that incorrectly. Can you believe it? Get used to it... I'm a horrible speller. It means she is totally blind. Has been since the age of ... oh... I forgot to write it down. 15 or 16.

She graduated from high school blind, then headed to college. Where she met her dear husband. What a guy!

She talked about being a Risk Taker Rather than a Hole Maker... ever time she mentioned Hole Maker -- I thought she was saying Home Maker... so I kept getting distracted. It could have been that she was speaking last, or after lunch, or during normal nap time... I'm not sure... but her telling me not to be a HOME MAKER was messing me up.

One thing that DID really stick out was that our talent was not ours to bury... and that our talent may be something hard like... suffering. Oh wow... never thought of that.

So she told us to be Strong and Courageous. The Bible doesn't say be strong and confident... just courageous.

After she was done -- we sang some more... not as long this time... becuase they were going to have a drawing... and the natives were getting restless.

Woo Hoo -- they handed out free stuff... some lady won a cruise... all the rest of the ladies won free JUNK. Our group -- nothin... Oh well -- better luck next time.

So -- then they tried to make us sing some more. Not on your LIFE!! We bolted... when we heard them say, "Grab your neighbor's hand"... we ran. The lady on the end said, "Oh here -- let me move my stuff." I said, "NO THANKS! I'LL JUST JUMP OVER IT!" And I did...

Oh... it as fun. It as great to hear all the empowering speakers. It was really refreshing to be in such a positive environment.

The ride home was almost as fast as the ride down there.

We DID stop for Starbucks... oh me... I like Starbucks -- but not as much as Amber, the long legged, map reading friend. Goodness me... she LUVS Starbucks.

Kim did the driving again -- she's a good driver. She only closed her eyes for an extended time while we were passing the Semi-truck vs. Motorcycle accident. Motorcycle lost... but not by much.

Karen and I -- well -- we discovered there is a secret trap door that you can get into the trunk through... we searched and searched for the chocolate mint cookies -- couldn't find them any where.

Finally after sitting for a really, really, long time -- one of us tried to balance on their head...but I'll not mention any names.

We saw some friends -- going in the opposite directions. They were headed to a soccer game. Soccer Match? What do you call that? Soccer Meeting of the minds? Who knows?

We ended up stopping at a little Cafe in Lamoni. College town, you know... flooded with places to go, people to meet... I'm lying -- we saw nothing... finally we were about to head back to the inter-state -- we saw this dive. But man alive... can they cook there. I'm thinking of taking my dear husband there for our 13th Anniversary... he'd LUV it! ;) Can you say buffet?

I had a hamburger --


And some onion rings... but just a few -- because we shared them. ;)



We laughed and laughed at that Cafe. I think that's why I lost 1.2 pounds that week-end, in spite of the malt.



Thanks for the good time friends! I really enjoyed myself... you'll never know until you get to heaven what a blessing that was for me. I came home refreshed, in spite of only 4 hours of sleep... able to leap a burning building in one bound... or some such nonsense!

I Love You Friends!! Let's keep in touch! ;)

(Like that'll be a problem... you should see the e-mails a flying... ::tee hee:: yeah, more Raytown secrets!) Ha Ha HAAAA!! I bet you wish you knew!

Extraordinary Women ~ My Friends and I

Here are some photos to help you keep us all straight...

This is my laughing friend, Karen. (Isn't her smile gorgeous??)



The driver, Kim. She is a very good driver, I might add.



The map reader, Amber. AKA the speed walker!

See how she leans down -- yeah I was on my tip toes -- she is probably 47 1/2" taller than I, and it's all in the legs. I got quite a work out trying to keep up with her. Most times I failed!

What a blessing these girls are to me!

You can click on the photo to enlarge them, but I don't recommend it man... I've got some serious bags under my eyes! SCAREY!

Extraordinary Women ~ Friday Night

Oh -- boy ladies... if you get a chance to attend an Extraordinary Women's Conference... I say, "JUMP!" Well -- jump at the chance -- that is!!

What fun... I'll break this up into clumps for you -- so your buns don't fall asleep, trying to read through the entire week-end. There is so much to cover... this might take me all week!!

We headed south, out of Iowa, around noon. I was so excited about this trip -- that on the way to our meeting point, I pitted out my blouse. That wasn't so bad until I went to freshen up before the Event. Ugghh... I only bought 1 extra shirt. What was I thinking? I think what I was thinking was that since I didn't have any kiddos along with me to wipe their nose on me, or use me as a napkin for their cookies crumbs, or to bump my arm while I was drinking coffee... I'd be OK. Who would of thought the idea of being responsibility free for 24 hours would have caused me to sweat so. I didn't -- but that's o.k. I didn't raise my arms much... well -- I did some while we are praising and worshiping... but I'll get to that in a bit. (over and over again)... Oops.. almost gave it away.

You know -- that 4 hour trip down there... 3 1/2, what ever it was... it just flew by. Riding in the back seat with a friend who loves to laugh is the way to go! Let me tell you -- even during the 45 minutes.. well maybe 50 minutes - but who was counting -- that we were lost, trying to find this gigantic church, flew by for me. I felt absolutely no stress. Now - the driver, Kim - sister to the laughing friend, and the map reader, Amber -- they may have been pitting out... but my laughing friend, Karen and I, we were really having a good time. Everyone needs a laughing friend or two... that's what I think. I'm pretty sure that's Biblical!

Amber, the map reader - she got on the phone with some at the church -- and they gave directions. We did a silly thing -- well... it's an Iowa thing actually. We stopped and asked for directions from a man who was working construction on a less then horribly busy street. (Boy those big cities have busy streets)... Well -- the driver, Kim, ever so nicely asked for directions and I know he could hear her -- because we were on a not so busy street... but he just shrugged and pointed and said, "blah, blah, blah." Which sounded a lot like, "I'm living in your country, but I'm not adopting your language." So we all jumped out of the car and pulled out our flags and started singing, "America, America, We all Speak English Here!!" OK -- we did not... we rolled our windows up and locked the doors, and that's when the map reader, Amber, called for directions. H.E.L.L.O... English as a 2nd language is the class for you!

Oh -- I got sidetracked... didn't I?

We found the church!! I was beautiful from the outside. We didn't get out yet... our smart map reader had us FIND the church first so we could discover how close the motel was to the church so we could time our trips accordingly. How smart was that?? So next -- we headed to the motel. FOUND it -- lickety split!! Praise God for good map readers and great drivers. Karen, my laughing friend, and I -- we just laughed some more.

We unpacked -- some of faster than others -- I'll tell a story -- but you have to promise and cross your heart and hope to die that you won't tease anyone about it.

I went with two sisters... Kim and Karen. Well -- one sister said, "I bet as soon as we get there my sister unpacks her bag first thing." LOL -- we all laughed... what a funny thing to say about a sister. But you know what?? SHE DID!!! She was the first one unpacked and we had another laugh when she was all done. There -- she felt better... she was all settled in. I guess she does that every time.

Me?? I found the bathroom... I was an idiot and tried to keep up my alarmingly high water consumption on the way down south. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Well -- actually maybe not because I LOST weight on this trip. It might have been the water... but I'm thinking maybe it was all the laughing. I didn't drink quite so much the next day... I'm afeerd of public bathrooms... they scare me. So I kept my water consumption down to a minimum.

We then decided we'd find a place to eat. Applebees it was. I had Cajun Tilapia. Which I couldn't pronounce. Why even mention Applebees? BECAUSE... the waitress was a very honest little girl.

I gave what I thought was enough money to pay my bill and give a 10% tip, and said... you can keep the change.

She brought it back and said, "I'm not sure you wanted me to keep all that..." She brought back my $20 that was stuck to my $10 apparently. EEKK!! She did a good job -- but not THAT good. So then I rewarded her... and tipped her a little more. ::tee hee:: Don't tell my dear husband.

We got to the church on time... the entry way was very crowded and I could hear a voice saying, "Show your tickets... keep your tickets because you'll need them for tomorrow... show your tickets... keep your tickets" Etc. I don't even think we went through her door -- but I thought her voice sounded like a COSTCO sample ladies voice. I got a chuckle out of that.

First on the agenda -- Praise and Worship. Oh -- I loved it... I'm really into music. OK -- not modern up to date music. But church music. I love to sing hymns and choruses at church... I listen to the radio -- they play Praise and Worship music on that station... so I was familiar with the songs... and they shot the words up on a huge screen so we could all sing a long. Lift our hands up in praise... sway or get bumped and start a domino affect of falling. All us conservative Iowa girls -- we swayed... peer pressure... no one wanted to fall down.

Then -- Then -- with much nervous excitement (probably more sweating!) CHONDA PIERCE!!! Oh my gracious... she was a hoot!! She talked about tough subjects like depression and hair you napped on, all while laughing! Oh what fun. I really enjoyed that!! In fact, I laughed until I didn't feel like I need to do any crunches before bed time. I was feeling those laughing muscles in my midsection... Oh me!! What a pleasure she was to be in the room with.

Then more Praise and Worship songs. Well -- not MORE songs... just more TIME singing those same songs. At least I think they were the same... Maybe it's all one long song, who knows? The leader said, "We are going to sing this song until we know it this weekend." I was thinking -- there are the words right there... we don't have to KNOW it do we? And besides... I think I already know it. I lost track of how many times we say the same 7/11 song. Oh come on you've heard it... same 7 words 11 times.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying "HYMNS RULE", but if I sang the same hymn 11 times... I'd still be nauseous. Feeling a little dizzy from lifting my hands and swaying at the same time... to this merry go round of praise and worship ditties. ::sigh:: But it ended eventually -- and I ran to the bathroom again. LOL!! You think I'm kidding... I promise you -- I quit drinking water eventually...

Last but not least was Twila Paris. Oh -- I KNEW I knew some of her songs... I just couldn't remember what they were. I like her -- because her voice is right in my range. I can SING REALLY LOUD -- right along with her. Yep -- I did... I bellered!! HEY -- that place was full of 2699 other women... no one was going to turn around in their seat and gape at me like the little kids at church do. In fact... I thought I was hearing Kim, the driver, sitting next to me singing, and I looked at her once and her mouth was closed... it was the loud girl sitting next to her bellering right along with me and Twila. Hooray!! No one cares! I bellered!!

We waited until after "Beautiful", a song that was sung in Karen, my laughing friend's, wedding. Oh -- it almost brought tears to my eyes... but it could have been dry scratchy contacts. Ugg... let's get home and get these out!!

So we did.

Then to bed by 11:00ish.

Yep -- I skipped some didn't I? But you know what?? What goes on in Raytown... Stays in Raytown. °Ü°

To be continued...