YOU GUYS.
I can hardly stand how very blessed I was by the Influence Conference.
Like seriously blown away by all of the amazing, talented, beautiful, genuine and loving women I met this weekend in Indianapolis.
Did I mention beautiful?
Holy cow.
When I walked into the main room the first night I could not believe how gorgeous everyone was. There were women of all shapes, sizes and styles and they were all stunning!
I may have felt a little insecure for a minute.
Ok, maybe 5.
LOL
But as I’d encounter each of them they would smile or reach out a hand to shake and I’d realize they were just regular women who are spectacular because they love God.
And now that I’m sitting here typing this, I think they seemed even more beautiful because of their love for Christ and because they understand how much He loves them.
This is the real beauty secret!
Know how well loved you are by the God of the universe, and love Him back and you’ll radiate joy and beauty like whoa.
Bottle that up and sell it for free this instant!
But to be completely honest, I didn’t exactly realize right away that these women were more than pretty faces and amazing outfits. I may have formed less than accurate (or fair!) opinions upon first glance.
Stuff like, “She’s so blonde and petite and trendy…she’s probably into all of that more than real spiritual depth.”
HORRIBLE. I know.
Little did I know that she has a story of pain and triumph. She has had to bury a baby girl, and she’s had a million other life experiences that God has woven into a unique story of beauty for Him.
AND I COULDN’T SEE PAST HOW ADORABLE SHE WAS.
Shame on me.
God has graciously revealed so much of Himself to me over the past year and He’s opened my heart to truth and depth and peace and it has changed me forever.
But I’m still critical.
I’m still judgmental.
I’m still full of pride.
Instead of that making me “try harder” or feel ashamed, I’m learning to embrace the truth that I’m fallen and sinful and that’s why I need a Savior!
If I could be good on my own, I wouldn’t need Him.
And boy, oh boy, do I ever need Him!
I was bathed in that truth (the gospel) again and again. Each speaker that I had the honor of hearing pointed me straight back to the good news.
They were amazingly gifted and talented women, but instead of sharing their point of view, they shared scripture. It was wonderful.
Those really are the only living words.
And I came home feeling alive and excited.
I’m not sitting here with a list of things to do or ways to get better. I’m sitting here knowing that I’m needy. He is strong and I am weak and I’d have it no other way.
You bet your bottom I’m going to do everything I can to be at the conference again next year. I would not want to miss all of those ladies and all of that truth and energy and momentum.
It was powerful y’all.
Here are some pictures from the weekend…
Cutting out fabric for Sole Hope who provides shoes and medical care to children in Uganda.
When we reached under our chairs to look for a special Sole Hope card, a bunch of us grabbed the “by penalty of law” stickers off the chairs! LOL
Kind of hard to read in this pic, but I loved the Influence sign behind the registration table :)
LOVED meeting Kate from the Small Things Blog, but hated that I had 3rd-day hair with greasy bangs and a ponytail. But it was a good lesson in remembering that I’m something special only because I’m loved by God. Not because I have impressive hair.
Blurry pic at P.F. Changs before we shared a delicious dinner :)
Had fun chatting after dinner with these ladies :)
This is Shauna Niequist, author of Bread and Wine which I posted about in my favorite things post!
I was working hard eating this delicious raspberry-filled cookie while Diana was working on HTML code :)
WE GOT TATTOOS!
This verse from Psalm 23 is very significant to me because in October of last year, God used it to tell me how much He loves me. It’s in Andy’s hand writing which makes it even more special :)
We are kind of tattoo buddies now because I was with Diana when she got her twin boys’ footprints tattooed on her wrists in NYC last year. I couldn’t get one then because I was pregnant with Aves, but I was ready this year!
Downtown Indianapolis was really lovely.
Coordinating polka dots and Caroline G. Shop necklaces with the lovely Caroline G herself :)
I had dinner and fantastic conversation with these ladies Friday night and it was so awesome.
Got to hug Molly!
How adorable are these two?! And talented to boot!
Melody Joy lives near my in-laws in SC, so I just may get to see her outside of a conference one of these days!
It wouldn’t be a Daily Rebecca post without some kind of food picture, right? Diana and I got brunch before parting ways and I devoured this Cuban Breakfast from Cafe Patachou…ah.maz.ing.
I had a few people ask me to give a recap because they wished they could have been there, so feel free to ask questions in the comments since I feel like I couldn’t possibly capture everything I experienced in one short post!
If you were at Influence, I’m so glad I got to meet you and connect with you and I can’t wait to sort through all the cards I collected and start following you online! :)
Oh I don’t think I got to meet you! I think every single time I walked into the big room, I had to give myself a pep talk – just smile, people aren’t mean, find a seat, you’ll be okay!
Haha! It could definitely still be overwhelming :) Hopefully we can meet next year!
Yes! Jesus is the real beauty secret. I love that. Also, I love the tattoo! It’s beautiful. I wish we had connected at the conference but am so thankful God can use the internet too :) God bless you girl!
Thank you! I’m loving the tattoo, but the healing process it a little rough right now…no pain, just looks weird which is making me paranoid. LOL I’m so thankful we can all be connected online too! God bless you :)
I so identify with where you’re coming from on the judgement! She does X therefore she must feel Y. And it’s SO FAR FROM THE TRUTH.
It’s convicting but in that way that makes me feel through Him I can be more holy. In the way that we’re washed of the unclean and brought closer to Him that we might see Him more clearly.
I love your tattoo! Such a good reminder of the work He’s doing on our behalf even now.
You’re right…it’s all LIES! But I love that through Him we can achieve holiness. Such good news! Thanks for the tattoo love! I’m hoping it heals well and looks crisp and clear…right now it’s a little blurry which is making me freak out. LOL Either way, it’s a powerful word from the Lord and in my hubby’s writing, so how bad can it be? :)
I really appreciated your honest story of the way you might start to think of someone upon first seeing them and how you were humbled when you found yourself wrong. That’s an issue that I’ve thought about many times since 7 years ago, in high school, I met a guy who looked exactly like my idea of a gangster/punk/thug. Fast forward 7 years, he still looks pretty much the same…and he’s a husband and father getting his master’s degree in pastoral ministry, and he’s been an excellent friend across states and continents through high school, college, and beyond. It’s a good lesson to learn, that people might be completely different from what they appear to be on the outside.
It was humbling and actually embarrassing to share my honest thoughts, but I’m learning that the more I acknowledge my weakness, the stronger He can be in me! Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart…I gotta remember that! Thanks for your comment :)
Looks like yo were busy…love the tattoo…before I read the caption I was thinking wow I love that font..and then I seen it was Andy’s handwriting…how awesome is that. He is one lucky guy to have a women like you…missing you…
It was a full weekend, but OH SO GOOD! I’m so happy that the tattoo is in Andy’s writing…that’s almost my favorite thing about it :) MISS YOU TOO!
What fun! It sounds like you really enjoyed it. Love the tattoo!
Thanks! It was awesome…you should go next year!!
I loved hearing all about your conference!!!I have been smiling this week knowing the blessing it was in your life… I love, love, love your tattoo! I am next!!!!
Your excitement about the tattoo helped me get over my jitters. Thank you! I can’t wait to see yours :)
Oh girl, it was SO GOOD seeing you again. You just radiate happiness :)
I really really wish we had had like 20 minutes to sit down and chat over coffee. That’s my regret. That I didn’t get the chance to connect like I wanted to for longer than 5 minutes! But I know everyone was busy and had plans and well, I’m just selfish like that. I wanted people all to myself :)
I hope you’ll go back next year. I’m planning on it! I was blown away. So glad I got the chance to hug you!
I’m definitely planning to go next year! It was great to see you too :) You are the cutest pregnant woman ever! Love that sweet little bump :)
Felt like I was there too! Love how you share your life with us Rebecca. Feel so blessed to be a small part of it.