...of She Speaks Conference part 1

Friday afternoon, the 31st of August 2009, at 1:40 p.m., I entered a welcoming lobby that housed the ‘Proverbs 31 Ministries’sign and a team of smiling women who were ready to serve. As I approached the registration booth, feelings of, “Oh wow, I’m here, this is it!” rushed me. I began to stress just a little bit because I didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew that I wanted to be there. Weird.

Going backward, up until I actually entered the convention center, I really did not think that I should have been there. About two weeks before ‘She Speaks ’09,’ I decided that I did not want to submit the chapters that I’d planned to, (opportunities to meet with publishers were available), my bio could not be written by me, and the book’s title…well, I didn’t think anyone would “get it.” So, the stress began. I became so overwhelmed that I was not working on the proposal at all. Anton would ask me how much more did I have to do and I’d just look over at him with wide eyes, pursed lips and a wrinkled forehead. He knew that meant I was doing nothing! Of course, two nights before I left, I made that my “deadline.” NO MORE CHANGES! This was the first time that I’d begun to question if I should attend the conference.

Driving to Charlotte, (the conference was in Concord, North Carolina but my sister lives in Charlotte so I stayed with her to save a few bucks), I was practicing the pitches for publisher meetings and not focusing on driving. Therefore, when I saw a silver Charger with flashing lights rapidly approaching the red Cadillac that I just so happened to be driving, my eyes immediately darted to the speed odometer and I saw the needle pointed at 90! “NO, NO, NO! WHAT AM I DOING?” Of course the State Trooper asked me if there was a reason I was speeding and I told him that it wasn’t. I also told him that I really had no idea how fast I was going because I had not been paying attention until I saw the lights and looked at the speed odometer. Officer “I forgot his name” then asked me what did I see and I told him 90. He then complimented me by saying, “That’s pretty close 'cause I got you at 91!” Yeah, yeah, yeah, he asked for the usual documentation and guess what…I COULD NOT FIND THE REGISTRATION!!! He was very nice in saying that it was okay and he would just look it up. I received a citation to appear in court on the 17th of September because anything over 80 M.P.H. requires a court appearance. The advice to slow down was given as the State Trooper bided me a good evening.

After a series of other testing events, I found comfort when Lysa TerKeurst flawlessly guided over 600 women in, “Finding Your Own RemarkABLE.” We learned that to do this, we must first know the necessity of discipline, next, know the power of choice, then there is the most important thing which is to remember that it’s not about me, and finally, the last thing is to know the true mark of success, which is thankfulness. You all will have to contact ‘Proverbs 31 Ministries’ for the lesson in its’ awesome entirety, but listening to Lysa was like throwing myself onto my bed after a “bad” day and exhaling…

Oh, by the way, the posted speed limit was 65!