My Side Of The Story: Simply Free 2011- Day 1

Last Labor Day weekend, I attended Simply Free. It's a "conference" hosted by Branches Recovery Center. The amazing, life changing work that Branches does is remarkable. I had Tay until lunch on Friday and we had a few last minute errands to run. Surely, I wouldn't leave anything until the last day to get it done, right? I needed to wash my car and have it cleaned; but I was trying to save a few dollars, so we cleaned it ourselves.

We had to get my oil changed and car looked over. I ended up needing to replace a part before leaving for Nashville. So Tay and I had to wait at the car shop for a while. He was a trooper. And I'm thankful that I brought the Ipad along.

Once, I dropped him off, I headed to Nashvegas. The ride there went pretty well. At one point I thought I may be getting sleepy, so I stopped for something to drink. I chose these:

I was ready for anything!

I picked up Kaylynn from her hotel and checked into mine. We grabbed a quick bite to eat before going to the church for the conference.

She felt it necessary to nap. Also, God has changed so much of her life in the past few months. She's gotten married, moved to Kentucky, and is now expecting a baby.

Goofy girls

Our great friend, Pam, (who I visited in Tampa) drove up for the weekend. Big Shout Out to her husband, DAVID, for letting me steal his wife for a few days. Pam met us at the church. The praise team lead us in worship and Amy Connor (The disease to please) shared her story with us.

-If you deny your slavery, you deny your freedom.

- God is big enough to handle our whys.

- You have to be broken before you can be put back together.

- It has to get hot to be on the Potter's wheel.

Lee Moss also spoke (The loss of a child) that night.

-When we have clouds in our lives, God is able to bring out the best colors in us.

-How do we deal with the crisis in our lives? Phil. 4:6-7

-Why should I trust God? Romans 8:6

-How do I process life's struggles? Mal. 3:6, Is. 55:8-9

-How can I be confident that Robert is in Heaven? 1 Thess. 4:13-18, John 6:39-40, Is. 57:1-2,

John 21:4-12

-Will I ever heal? Jer. 30:17

-How do we process and accept what we don't understand? Prov. 3:6

Pam, Kaylynn, and I went to Old Chicago to eat and meet up with Kaylynn's husband Tim after the conference. We had a great night filled with friends and laughter!