I didn’t really know what to title this post, so I automatically default to 90’s jams.

I dont talk about the following things often, because I tend to just keep things to myself, but I’m excited…so we’ll see how this goes.

It’s been a week since the Daughters of Unity conference at our church and I’m still sort of pumped on it.  Which is weird.  Not weird that I would leave a conference excited about Jesus, but weird that I would have this feeling after attending a “Womens” event.

Yes, I am in fact a woman, so some may find this strange.  Although, I’m finding more and more that I’m not alone in this thought.

For most of my life women’s events have sort of turned me off from the get go.  If there’s tea involved – I’m out.  I’ve always been sort of annoyed that women had tea parties and mens events always revolved around “STEAK!” and “BBQ’s!!”.  Ummm…I love steak, and bbq and black coffee and all that “Manly” crap.  Why do I have to eat a teeeeeeny tiny cucumber sandwich and talk about motherhood and floral arrangements?  That may be a bad example, because I sort of love flower arrangements, but I think you get the picture.  So, whenever I attend these sort of ladies gatherings I usually leave with a craving for In N Out and a feeling like I missed the point of why we got together.

This conference, however, was different.  The design of it really was just a place for the women in the church to get together and get to know each other on a deeper level and to sit with each other and have a weekend worshipping and learning about Jesus.

After recapping the weekend with a friend, I realized my favorite part about the conference was that, there was NO discussion about being a woman.  There was no discussion about how to be a better wife, how to be a better mother, how to be a better homemaker.  We talked about Jesus the whole time.  We talked about what He has done, is doing, and will continually do in our lives.  We talked about how to be a better follow Him and how to love him greater and how to be loved in return.  We had women share their testimonies, preach the gospel, and lead everyone in worship.  The message was clear and could definitely be received by males or females, but we just happened to be all women.

At the end of the day, we found that we are all filled with the Holy Spirit, and there are some seriously gifted women in the church.

Sure! A lot of us are mothers, wives, daughters, sisters…and we definitely talked about our families in small group time (because, that’s whats closest to us)…but that’s not the point.  And YES!  I totally want to know how to be a better person for my husband and daughter.  All of these things will flow out of being a better follower of Jesus.  Out of pursuing him more, having more quiet time,  and being in the word more.  It comes from Him.

I do believe that there are some ladies out there who have always wanted to be a wife and a mother, and they feel like that is what God has called them solely to do, that is their ministry.  That is totally great, and I admire these women in many ways. To be honest. I am not one of them.  I did not always want to be a wife and mother.  It all sounded like a lot of responsibility to me, and I was gonna be a wild stallion forever that could not be tamed!

Then I met Brett, and he’s legit, so I married him.  Then I became an aunt.  YOU GUYS!  Nieces and nephews are the gateway drug to parenthood.  So eventually we decided to have a baby.  Bam!  Cue Penny.  I feel like I should mention, both of these things took loooooots of talking and praying and figuring things out…these were not decisions we took lightly.  They were decisions greatly cared for.

So now…I have these new titles of “wife” and “mother”, but at the end of the day…there is more to who I am…and that is totally okay.  Being a wife and mother has taught me so many things, and has caused me to grow and stretch as a person in ways I didn’t think were possible.  It’s hard work, but I could not imagine my life with out my family…they are my favorite!  BUT, I also want to figure out what my gifts are and find out how to use them and use them well.  I have dreams and things that I want to achieve and those things havent stopped because I have a family.  They look different, yes, but they are still there.  And I’m pretty sure God put these things there for a reason, and he doesn’t want me to push them aside and never think about them again.

I feel like it should also be noted that not ALL women in the church are functioning in these roles.  I know women who  do not have children, or are single, and while we’re at it high school girls do not want to sit through messages about how to submit to your husbands!  These women need to know that they have places in the church as well.  That you don’t ONLY find worth in motherhood or relationships.

I was super encouraged by last weekend.  That you are not just your titles.  There are women and young girls in the church who are preachers, teachers, worship leaders, artists, ect.  These things need to be nurtured and encouraged ESPECIALLY among the ladies in the church.

We are all different.  We all have different gifts.  Lets find them and allow space to move and function in those things.  Single, married, 1 kid, 8 kids…whatever.  Lets do this ladies.  And lets have more events like this in the future.

Amen.