This was the highlight of our trip to Southern California. Click Here to learn more about Time Out for Women if you haven't heard of it. I'll admit... I was skeptical about it, but I LOVED it! It was great to have a whole day away to have fun, be entertained by some amazing speakers and be spiritually recharged. And check out the cool aqua and chocolate brown tote bags! We loved them!
The Musicians invited to preform were Cherie Call and Kenneth Cope... I have fond memories of Kenneth Cope - my very first Youth Conference was a bus trip to BYU... he sang the song, "Never a Better Hero". That was 20 years ago and I still remember how amazing his music is... 20 year later nothing has changed. In our program it said, "He could sing the phone book and you'd likely ask for an encore..." Well Said! I also loved Cherie Call... I'd never even heard of her before Saturday, but she had a powerful testimony and a GORGEOUS voice. I plan to buy at least one of her CD's... maybe more! 
Here's a brief summary of everyone who spoke and what their overall message was:
Mary Ellen Edmunds... this woman is a hoot! The facial expressions alone very cracking us up! She asked, "Are you a travel agen for guilt trips?" She taught us about avoiding contention and making the best of bad circumstances. Case in Point: Your in a hotel (this didn't happen to us) and you are so tired and the family in the room above you has 3 kids that are obviously training for the 2012 Olympic Team. You have some options... you can launch a missle through the ceiling or..... you can plug in your ipod, bury yourself under the pillows and send a note to the room the next morning tell the parents how blessed they are to have 3 healthy, happy children.
John Bytheway... (another Youth Conference Favorite)... Lahonti Principe... Satan tempts us by "degrees"... remember that the Lord was tempted 3 times to come down from the Mountain/Temple by Satan and he never moved an inch. He stood firm. He recounted a "conversation" from the movie, Cool Runnings. The quote to remember, "If you are not enough without a gold medal, you will never be enough with it."
Emily Watts... LOVED her! She is the resident expert on a malady we all suffer from: MotherGuilt... She talked about how the mother in the home is like our core muscles in our body. When our core muscles are strengthened, all the muscles in our body are strengthened... as it goes with our home as well. Key points... Our children are little "Free Agents" running around. We cannot control your child's reaction to your parenting. Instead we can control our own reactions to what happens to us. We can choose Love (instead of Guilt) and we can choose SERVICE (instead of gossip and judging others)
Jason Wright... Author of Christmas Jars and the Wednesday Letters. Jason is on a quest to restore the power of the written word. Nothing beats going to the mailbox and finding a well written, well timed hand written letter just for you. Take time out of technology to write a letter to someone who needs it. Bear testimony of your joyful life with everyone you can through letter writing.
Sharon G. Larsen... The Lord wants us to be happy, but if we are not paying attention our life can turn out to be harder than it needs to be. And even when we screw up, the Lord will still be there for us. The Lord can fill our hearts with joy when we keep our covenants. The Lord is dead serious about his promises to us - we need to be Dead Serious about our promises to him in return. You cannot live in Zion and keep a Summer Home in Babylon.
Favorite Quote of the Day: Taken from "The Uses of Adversity" by Carl Fred Roderick
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT insurance against pain; it is resource in event of pain."
Funny Story: I'm walking around the back of the room waiting for things to get started and I hear my name... I look up and it's none other but Nancy Zundel! My local friends will know her... she used to be my Visiting Teaching partner before she moved back "home" to a San Diego suburb. What a fun reunion that was! Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of us together, but it wouldn't matter... she looks exactly the same as she did when she left!
After the Conference, we went back to our hotel, ate some snacks and grabbed our temple bags. We went and did a session at the San Diego Temple that night. It's one of the most spectacular temples I've ever seen. I would be totally okay with one (or all) of my kids getting married in this temple!
