Women's Conference

Women's Conference was GREAT!!! I want to go every single year!!! The first talk was by Sheri L. Dew and it was the perfect talk to begin the two days. She talked about the need to Awake, Arise and Come Unto Christ. Whenever I have had the opportunity to listen to her speak I have been amazed at the power of her talks.
Points of her talk that stood out to me:
*Embedded in our spirits is the need to be something more, we as women of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are sleeping Giants, we need to AWAKE
*We all have more influence than we think, righteous influence is a gift
*If we would unleash our full potential the Kingdom of God would be changed
*Motherhood is the greatest potential influence in life
*Women are the Lord's secret weapon
*Are we talking of Christ on a daily Basis?
*Think of life as a ministry - the influence to lift others comes from following the influence of Christ
*It is time to stop being led by the women of the World and Start leading them
*Do something to walk away from the world and Come Unto Christ
We also went to classes on gifts of the spirit, self reliance, raising daughters, cheerfulness and on not having fear. The talks on Lay hold upon Every Good Gift were so good and helped me realize and more fully understand that all good gifts and talents are gifts of the spirit. For example I would have never catergorized my ability to never take naps, run after my children all day, and do all the things necessary to take care of our home as the gift of energy. Sister Ricks who gave one of the talks also discussed that we need to do three things 1st discover our gifts, 2nd develop them and 3rd Honor them. It has been good for me to contemplate this and I am grateful for a Heavenly Father that will bless us with gifts and talents to bless our lives and the lives of others.
On Friday Morning the opening speaker was Sister Beck the General Relief Society President. She spoke on Faith and Fortifying our homes. She challenged us to think of our home as a fort or place of refuge that has a draw bridge and not let anything into our homes that will lower the bridge or break down the walls. She also said "where you are the weakest put your most effort." One other thing that stuck out to me in her talk was when she talked about raising our children: she told us it was our job to fortify the schools they attend. There is no such thing as "they will do it." There is only you. We need to be there for our children and pointing them in the direction of the temple. I loved listening to her speak and could truly feel of her love as she did, she is an amazing women!
John Bytheway spoke on not having fear and he is not only spiritually uplifting but had us laughing most of the time:)
A few things from his talk:
*Fear stands for False
Expectations
Appearing
Real
*It doesn't matter what "IT is... FAITH in Christ is the answer
*#1 on our agenda should always be Faith in Christ
*There is nothing to fear because we are bound to Christ and Christ has conquered all
*Having Faith in Christ means having faith in his timing
The last breakout session we went to was on raising daughters. I was really looking forward to this one and was not dissappointed!
Sister Morrison was one of the ladies that talked and had several good thoughts on raising girls.
*When you teach a boy you teach an individual. When you teach a girl you teach a generation
*Are our examples worth emulating? We are an open book in the eyes of our daughters
*It doesn't matter who we AREN'T when we know who we ARE, the spirit can show us who we are
*skills in the home are being lost it is our responsibility to teach our daughters homemaking skills
*Motherhood will fill your memory with treasured experiences
*Don't tell God how big the storm is, Tell the storm how big your God is
*Heavenly Father trusts you as a mother
*We as mothers set the tone of our homes
*Children deserve to be enveloped in light before they are confronted with darkness
*It is our job as parents to be in the front seat in teaching and nurturing our children
*We can't teach what we aren't willing to live
*Good things to provide your children: Personal time with each child, Praise and encouragement, a clean home, show love for spouse and the gospel (be a good example), fun family time, set expectations and guidelines
The last speaker at the conference was President Monson. It is always an amazing experience to be in the presence of a prophet (even though it seemed like we were about a mile away:) I could still feel of his love very strongly. I am grateful that we have a prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God.
President Monson talked about the common threads woven into the tapestries of our lives.
*The first thread: Finding Joy in the Journey. Don't let the important things pass us by. Everyday in your life is a special occasion! Don't postpone those things which could bring joy into your life. Never let a problem become more important than a person. Pile up a lot of tomorrows and you will find a a lot of empty yesterdays. Always express your thanks.
*The second thread: In adversity look to examples of faith. When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on. A jeweler once explained that to reveal the true beauty of precious stones one must put them in a abrasive solution and shake them up, we are like precious stones and can become more beautiful through challenges and trials.
*The third thread: Threads of Service. The love we show to others when we serve them can never be fully measured.
I love the Prophet!
I had such a great time at Women's Conference and am grateful to have been spiritually fed by such amazing people!
I am also grateful for the time spent with my sister and mom... Great memories!
Here are a few photos from the weekend...
Olivia thought it was funny I forgot my toothbrush until she discovered she had left hers home as well:) We had a good laugh!

We really laughed when we had packed matching pjs without planning it.

I was so glad that we were in town to go to Eliza's Birthday party! Happy 1st Birthday!!!

I love my sister!! We had so much fun running from class to class! (We had to leave my mom behind a couple of times but she did pretty well keeping up despite the fact she is still using a cane from hip surgery.)

This next picture is not clear at all but it shows just how many people were there. It was good to be surrounded by women who are all trying to come closer to Christ and be better... It also didn't hurt that there was not a single child or baby there. Such a great Idea, It really helped the focus of the Conference. (I missed my girls SO SO much but feel that I will be a better mom because of the growth that came from this conference!)