SHE LOVES RECAP
there is something pretty special about going to a woman’s conference. i went to my first one in london (hillsong’s colour conference) when i was 18 years old. i left that weekend smiling ear to ear. i seriously floated out of wembley arena believing that God loved me dearly, that He had a plan for my life, that i was called and chosen and that i was surrounded by a sisterhood who would encourage me along the way.
almost 9 years have gone by since that first conference and i still love going to woman’s conferences. i still leave with truth imprinted upon my heart. i still leave smiling ear to ear.
this past weekend i attended she loves conference at relate church in surrey. we gathered a bunch of women from our church and loaded them on our big bus! it was ah-mazing. first of all, the conference is led by the incredible helen burns. this woman is hands down one of the most encouraging people i have ever met! she has such a huge heart for empowering women (especially across canada). her message on God’s garden thursday night spoke to me on so many levels.
the other speakers at the conference were monica prescott and lisa bevere. monica spoke two awesome messages, i especially loved the second one, ‘up your ask’ (lols!!) which was all about being shamelessly persistent in your prayers. i was so challenged on going to God first, actually asking Him to intervene (and believe that He will!!) and not just trying to do it my own way (because that never seems to work, ha). already i’ve seen answers to something i prayed on saturday…ptL!
and lisa, oh the lovely lisa bevere. this woman ooozes out amazing-ness. seriously. she’ll have you in laughter and tears within 5 minutes of her speaking. she is so anointed. i was literally on the edge of my seat during both of her messages. friday night’s message absolutely wrecked my heart. it was such a beautiful message on the power of forgiveness. ohhh Jesus, it was so incredible. i’m so excited to buy her new book, girls with swords (and you should be too!) forgive me for the crappy photo but the woman preached in a leather shift dress, she’s so major.
and probably the best thing about the weekend was getting away with my girlfriends, new and old. i had many inspiring, hilarious & beautiful conversations with these lovely ladies.
and then to top the entire experience off, my AMAZING husband picked me up at the end of it all with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. i wish i took a picture of him coming onto the bus all spruced up holding the flowers. i married a keeper for sure.
if you ever get the chance, go to a woman’s conference! you’ll leave feeling full, excited, loved, cherished, ready to BLOOM! #flourishbabyflourish
and if you’re in high school, join us for illuminate next february! ;)
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
HOME (BITTER) SWEET HOME
i’m baaaaaaaaaack!
we arrived home sunday afternoon from our incredible road trip. our journey home was bruuutal. we left sunny anaheim at 6am on saturday and arrived at our (sketchy) hotel in freezing centralia at 11pm. i drove the first six hours and then my incredible hubby drove the remaining 11! i am the worst back seat driver (must be because of my deep rooted control issues, ha).
we drove straight through the entire time, only making necessary stops for starbucks, gas, bathroom breaks, in & out burger (!!!!), random espresso bar (which looked promising but made a very weak americano and gross chai latte), & food in portland (went to the most amazing grocery store which was soooo portland, typical).
the thing that kept us both sane was the chronicles of narnia…on that drive we listened to prince caspian & the voyage of the dawn treader. both were so beautiful and magical. they swept us away from the long drive and transported us to stunning narnia…i highly recommend listening to these audio books (by focus on the family)
i’m still finding it hard to adjust from holiday mode to go mode…here’s what my desk looked like when i arrived at work on sunday..
our living room is even worse than this!
it was freeeeeezing yesterday..but today i got up early and ran along dallas road..it was beauty..of course i’m longing for sunny california but i’m glad to be home.. :)
i have so much to share with you about our trip, so get ready for lots of new blog posts…hooray!
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
PACKING FOR COACHELLA
two sleeps.
two sleeps!!!!!!!!!!!
two sleeps until we depart on our USA roadtrip.
we’re hitting up portland, redding (bethel church), san francisco, la, coachella, san diego, & disneyland and i am soooooo excited.
coachella knows how to do things right. they launched their mobile app, and they have seriously thought of everything. my wristband has a chip in it and it’s linked to my facebook account so basically i can “check in” to shows at the event by swiping my bracelet…uh-mazing!
we’re hitting portland first & i’m planning on doing some shopping (no tax woohoo), i’m hoping to score some festival threads.
here are some pieces i’ve got my eyes on…
seriously, how cute is that feather head piece???
ok, now i have to start real packing….eeeeeeek.
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
DIARY // EASTER WEEKEND
what an incredible weekend.
i know it’s wednesday and i’m still reflecting on the past weekend. but it was perfect. just perfect.
1. the greatest gift. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” john 3:16
2. costco feast. picked up our canopy for coachella!
3. on saturday we celebrated my mom’s and brother’s birthday. i love my family.
4. snapshots from our easter sunrise service. what an amazing time celebrating that Christ has risen!! i love my church.
5. unplanned matching bestie outfits.
6. i love him a lot.
7. picked up some tennis rackets! also enjoyed a beautiful easter dinner at my in laws.
what a weekend!
sorry for the lack of posts, will be better!
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
DIARY // DONE!!!!!!!
james & i finished our hebrews course last night….BOOOOOOYAAAAAAAHHHH! ok, it may not seem like a big deal but to us IT’S A BIG DEAL…it’s the start of a journey and getting over the first mountain wasn’t so bad. i’m excited to start my next course and continue this journey, remembering to walk, not run.
we leave on our usa roadtrip in 16 days… 16 DAYS… cannot wait to hit that open road, not to mention..COACHELLA & DISNEYLAND…be still my heart.
james is currently painting some of our furniture gold. THANK YOU LORD JESUS that you gave me a husband who approves my love of gold. gold on gold on gold on gold. we’re hoping to spruce up our living room, slowly but surely. one day we will find our dream couch (for a good price, in Jesus’ name!)
i’m pretty freaking excited that it’s Easter weekend this weekend!! can’t wait to spend time celebrating that CHRIST HAS RISEN! i’m especially excited for our sunrise service which is happening sunday at 6:30am…it’s pretty incredible to sing songs of praise to Jesus as the sun is rising up over our beautiful city. i’m also excited to spend time with our families this weekend, birthday/easter dinners are the best.
ok and one more rant here…how beautiful is the weather we’re experiencing!!? sands flashing sign reads 18 degrees right now…18! we haven’t had to turn our heat on since sunday…ohhh summer, i cannot wait for you.
hope you’re enjoying this beautiful sunshine :)
xoxo,
s.s.♥.