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Sunday, October 14, 2007

Women Of Faith and a Day With My 5 Year Old

This weekend I went to Women Of Faith. I'm sure you have all heard of it. I had an awesome weekend, however, the actual conference itself left me a bit disappointed.

I always like to start on a positive note, so...

The great parts:
A weekend with friends. Great food, great fellowship, shopping (I hit up Eddie Bauer and Gap outlets and made out like a bandit!), deep debates over religion well after midnight, and laughter. Lots of laughter. AND, none of that was at the conference!

The conference had it's good points too. Again, I laughed, and laughed , and... you get the picture. I heard some great stories, but really, that was about it.

The messages were VERY entertaining, but nothing I've not heard. There were no "wow, God is really speaking to me here" moments. I felt an undertone of , shall we say ... feminism. I guess a woman beating out her male co -workers to become the president of a bank, or a CEO of Mobil oil does NOT impress me, but I'm an old fashioned kind of girl.

I could overlook that, but there was one thing that really grated on me throughout the conference.

"Buy our books, if you buy 5 you get our discount, AND a free tote bag!" "If you adopt a child through World Vision AND use your credit card you can get this nifty shirt!" "Sign up now for your Women Of Faith credit card!" Yeah, that's in scripture. "Buy this CD". "Sign up for this other conference", etc, etc, etc.... The materialism was enough to make me want to barf! Between speakers they would put commercials on the big screen selling their "stuff". It was like the friggin' circus!

Did I walk away from Women of Faith with a few good nuggets? YES. It wasn't a bad experience, but I think my expectations were to high. I wanted great worship, and a fresh word. I didn't get that. Instead I got a sales pitch, and a message that I felt was tainted with a "world view" Javamama loves that word ( ;

I'm not against women working, I'm not against selling books at a conference, heck, I'm not even against credit cards used wisely. I guess I was just repulsed by the format they used.

Next year I'm going back, but I'm skipping the conference. My friends and I are going shopping, we are going to chow down on desserts, and stay up all night talking about shoes. We are going to find a church with great worship or go to a worship concert, then go back to the hotel, pull out our bibles and get our fresh word straight form the source. I'm going to hear testimonies from the "Women of Faith" in my very own hotel room. Then I'm going to write another post telling you all how great it was!

On a completely different note. My youngest son (he's 5) has decided he's a hardcore charismatic. At church today (keep in mind we are at a baptist church) he started to raise his hand (very cool... his rebel mama does the same thing despite the dirty looks she gets) Then both hands went up high, and he went into some odd goofy dance. At this point my husband and I were laughing pretty hard (probably the reason for the dance). Then he started laughing. Before we knew it the whole family was in hysterics (Toronto style) although I must admit it wasn't holy spirit induced. Finally an older gentleman looks at him and says "why are you so wild today?" His totally matter of a fact reply "'cause I've got rabies".

It was the best worship I've had at that church yet. Thank you God for my crazy children and husband who find humor in the driest moments!

On the way home my husband asked my children what they wanted for Christmas (I do NOT agree with Christmas talk before Thanksgiving, but too late, The "P" word (present) was mentioned and there is no going back now)... back to my story... my oldest daughter said "drums and a baby sister (boy is she out of luck this year) My second daughter said an Ipod (what do they think we are made of money or something?) and a baby sister. First born son "ipod, baby sister". I see a theme.

Now my five year old thinks for a moment. "I want a goatee, like daddy's, and some baby stickers." I give up.

15 comments:

javamamma said...

So you give up? Meaning you're surrendering and giving in to their wishes? :)

Sorry about the conference. I'm heading to one this weekend that I have extremely low expectations of and keep going 'why am I going to this?'. (I will not reveal the name of the speaker, lest I be stoned for my attitude)

Either God wants to speak to me in spite of my attitude or I totally am going to support the friend that asked me to go. We'll see.

Mrs. Darling said...

Oh my goodness your kdis are downright funny! I too raise my hand now and again in my ultra conservative baptist church.

You know what? I ws invited to Women of Faith again this year and turned it down for that very reason. I have never gone away from there feeling like I have been blessed beyond measure. And the last time we went we went to the Q&A and that was a fiasco. It was taken over by lesbians asking why the church doesnt accept them and the speakers never telling them their lifestyle is wrong. I was horrified that the speakers told them that yes, they are right God loves everyone and he understands we're not all made the same and "you do what feels right for you". Say what?

I was disappointed!

Cindy-Still His Girl said...

Rabies! LOVE IT! What a funny kid.

I've been to a WOF conference, too. And laughed a lot! And while it wasn't as "deep" or "meaty" as other conferences I've been to, I think they really are reaching people; especially people who might not be ready for a conference of heavy-duty soul searching or prophetic speaking. It is a great conference to invite non-believers to, or people on the edge of faith. I've had friends who were drawn in by humorous women who love the Lord and love to laugh. Then they buy the books by the women. And in the books they begin to find a God who loves them and wants to take them deeper. Fortunately God uses different methods to reach different people, and I'm sure the WOF conference and speakers (and yes, even infomercials for books) reached some women for Him. And you never know, next year's WOF conference very well MIGHT have a specific word for you. But shopping and eating and Bible reading in the room sounds just as good! :)

Halfmoon Girl said...

Too funny! Baby stickers!!! Maybe they will get their wish next year?!?! Glad you got some good stuff out of your weekend. I have never been to a Women of Faith. It falls close to the time of my own church ladies retreat which is A LOT less expensive, so I choose to go to that- it is also a lot smaller, it is held up in the mountains amidst beautiful scenery, and meals are included (and the food is awesome!). My friends and I did a mini retreat last month, with our own worship and Bible times, and it was fabulous too. Sounds like you have a great plan for next year.

Anonymous said...

Goatee! Sweet! That's "producible!" He could have asked for a feather duster and duct tape...to cuddle, of course. :)

So are you staying blogging now? I check out of the blue and there were 7 or 8 posts I hadn't read. You go girl!

I have an aversion to women's stuff too. We must get a DNA test. I'm positive we're sisters! ;)

EEEEMommy said...

Me thinks you and I are cut from the same cloth...

Gayle said...

This is my second year of women of faith and while I enjoyed myself the first year I was really expecting something a bit meatier. This year we left early and went shopping. Next year we are just planning a girl weekend and skipping the whole WOF thing. Quit selling me stuff and just teach me something already! It did smack of feminism a bit and that's a big turn off for me too!

Gayle @ thewestiecrew said...

I have never been to a WOF, but can I just tell you that that would make me beserk too?
I would have been disappointed right along with you because I am so NOT into being the recipient of a sales pitch during worship...or should I say, "worshop".
Oh dear, that was completely cheesy.
I agree with Emily, you and I think alot alike.

Gombojav Tribe said...

My church has four fantastic conferences each year. You could make So. Cal your weekend away next year. ;-)

Chelle said...

Your girls weekend sounds like fun! I've never been to WOF, but have seen similar things happening in other conferences. blech.

Love your little guy!!

Anonymous said...

When the Holy Spirit grabs ya there is no going back! I am smiling ear to ear over your son's dancing. :)

I know what you mean about finding events that have great moments and intentions but ends of being a sell-fest. If the message is powerful and the books are complimentary they usually sell themselves.

I am in the process of writing a blog entry on the "P" word. I am already about 65% done.

Kimmie said...

I am standing 'by and ready' Karlie if you need adoption information...lol! though baby stickers would do my heart good lately ;-)

Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted

EE said...

I'm soooo glad you are back...I've missed your posts!
Your kids are cracking me up...love the worship story!
My girls want Ipod for Christmas, too. Sam's has them for about $10 less than the other stores.

Terri said...

"some baby stickers" Hahaha! That's so funny, I literally laughed out loud which isn't something I do easily (I'm not sure why. I guess something has to strike me as really funny.)

I'm brand new to your blog. I love the look of it. Very clean and neat, not cluttered. I also like the black background.

Angela Watson said...

I went to the Women of Faith conference this year and felt the same way. If you are looking for a fresh Word from God and a serious Bible study, I recommend the Deeper Still conferences. AMAZING.