Well, tonight my blog friend April posted on Facebook about registering for Created for Care 2012. Instantly, I felt the Lord nudging me. I saw she had listed two friends of hers that were sharing a hotel room (the max occupancy is four) and I wondered to myself if maybe - by some bizarre chance - I could go to this conference and maybe share a room with them!? I was scared though, because I wasn't sure if that was completely rando and weird for me to room with them (meaning if they would be weirded out), if I would be able to leave my babies (especially not knowing how Liam's adjustment will be going), not knowing anyone else at the conference (except for Alison), etc. etc. etc. However, I still felt prompted about this conference. I saw that last year, the conference sold out in 48 hours, so I knew time was of the essence. I sent April a Facebook message and asked her if she thought I should go, based on when Liam will most likely come home. I didn't even say anything about the hotel room. She messaged me back almost instantly and said "YES! I was just about to send YOU a message! Will you be our fourth person!?" I was so excited, and felt confirmation from the Lord that I needed to take this step.
So, I am officially registered for Created for Care! It will be January 27-29 in Georgia, near Atlanta. There are 400 spots available and over 200 have registered, so if you're the least bit interested, act now! I am staying with April, Mary Leigh (another blog friend) and another friend of theirs. I already know that God will use this time to impact my life in a huge way!
I don't go to many conferences. It's not because I don't love them - I LOVE hearing interesting speakers, taking notes, having cool print-outs, etc. I just don't get the opportunity very often and it's not something I typically research and plan for. I don't make conferences a priority, per se. But for some reason I'm more and more drawn to that setting, especially having friends or acquaintances with me. And I think it's very appropriate for my first "grown-up" conference (going by myself) to be about adoption, which is huge on my heart!
We have several master sessions, and then several breakout sessions. Here are the breakout sessions I've chosen:
Using Your Blog as Ministry with bloggers Lovelyn (Moments with Love), Missy (It’s Almost Naptime), Kristi (We love our Lucy), Lara (The Farmers Wife Tells All), Gwen and Suzanne (147 Million Orphans). I'm excited to go to this session about blogging, because I believe there's more to blogging than just posting cute pictures (although that's great too!). I want people to be drawn to the Lord through my blog, so I'm excited to hear these speakers!
Yes, you CAN do this! Encouraging and Equipping Moms for Post-Adoption Success. We wait and wait and wait--and then we bring our new one home...and many times find ourselves tired, feeling unequipped and not connected to our child. Come be encouraged by Cris Peters with practical steps and ways to get through the first days, weeks and months--and ultimately create a strong foundation for your family to grow together on. This is a perfect session for mom’s waiting, close to referral or newly home.
“I Drive a Bus.” Get ready to laugh and enjoy this session with some of our favorite bus-driving adoption mommas and how they they thrive as they grow. Come hear how they not only survive but thrive as a growing family. The laundry, the homework, sports, date night (really--a date night?!), romance (really--that too?), connecting with each child and loving their mommy callings. You are in for a real treat and this session--just might be OFF the record with these ladies giving you information they’d never blog about;-) (147 moms, Emily Alexander, Joy Portis and Kristi Johnson.) Kurt and I plan to have a fairly large family, and I'm excited to be around like-minded people. I also know this will be funny, simply because of the title of the session!
I am so thankful that in a very short amount of time this evening, God prompted me and opened doors for me to go to this special weekend. I am confident that He will be faithful to speak to me and many others who are there! Again, hurry and register if you feel like this is something you'd like to do!
