TOFW - The long version

My cute friend Sole rang me back in March to ask if I would like to go to Sydney with her and attend
Time out for Women.

First instinct is this - that would be lovely but in no way would it be possible.

Cost, kids,schedules, time off etc.

I thought it so kind an offer, but just not possible for me. THE END.


Then a few weeks later I was reading this post over at Crazyland. She had asked several people and could not find anyone to go to Womens Conference with her in Utah. So I left an angry comment...

Tell all those people they just DONT KNOW HOW LUCKY THEY ARE to have womens conference on offer to them!! How dare they not go and attend with you!!! And a sleep over one?? AWESOME!! TOFW is coming to Australia for the first time ever and its 1000 km away from where I live. You all just DONT KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU HAVE IT.

Then I sat thinking that I need to put my money where my mouth it. Surely it would be possible for me to work out a way to get there. Surely I could participate in a First. Surely this is important to me.

And you know what? All things are indeed possible.

{Especially when you have a super awesome friend to arrange it all for you.}

Even when I said several times when it looked like things would not work out....

I just knew you would not be able to get the time off work to look after the kids
I just knew we would get sick and prevent me going
I just knew our ride to the airport would not work out
I just knew....

Nothing, because all worked out in the end!

I have so many pages of messy handwritten notes. I'm finding it hard to organise them in a way that would be readable here.  So sorry if these make no sense. Indulge me in my ramblings.

Laurel Christensen

"Well aren't you just the most cheerful pessimist ever"
I laughed at this point in her talk because I felt an instant pierce to the heart - THAT describes me perfectly! I'm happy and cheery and talky all the day long but boy I love negative things too!

Widow's Mite Principle. Even if your faith is small, if it is all you have - IT IS ENOUGH.

Don't be the one thing standing in your way

God has high expectations for us; therefore we can have high expectations of God.

Beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing {fear}

Often we have more faith in outcomes than faith in Jesus

Ask for bread be given a stone principle.
Often we are too scared to ask of God because we might not want what we are given. If I just don't ask I wont be dissapointed in God. Therefore I think I have a good relationship with God.  However this self protection actually weakens faith. Choose to ask God.

Hillary Weeks

We have the eternities to know our children as adults, but only precious few years to know them as children.
Oh how this spoke to me. I've blogged about learning to love my children as adults because frankly we will spend more of our time with them that way. But I love how she put the positive, time ticking slant on it. I must enjoy them now.

The divinity that shapes our ends comes from within ourselves

BE KIND - Everyone you meet is enduring something difficult.

Visualise outcomes as an extension of your prayers


Virginia H Pearce

Mothers should accept you unconditionally, help others to become what they need to become
You can be a mother to many

Think of a way you want to become and find mothers to help YOU

Good mothers are stable and anchored

I don't need to be recognized {praise of man} I just need to be USEFUL

None of us are entitled to a life without pain.


Brad Wilcox

A version of the whole talk can be found here

It's not what Jesus saves us from... But what is he saving us for?

Grace isn't the light at the end of the tunnel, it is the light that surrounds us.

God is more concern with the offerer than the offering

Those who say there are too many things that Mormons have to do don't understand Grace and Atonement.

Jesus doesnt 'make up the difference' HE makes ALL the difference

On the last day there is no Him or me, but ONLY WE.

'..After All that we can do'
{nearly his whole talk was a dissection of that scripture - I'll never look at it the same again}

Sheri Dew

Sometimes we act as if we are going to stay here {on earth} We can't We arn't We wont.

More interested in the long hereafter not the brief present - Satan knows he has but a short time.

We have to have roots, otherwise it won't take much to uproot us

We ALL have influence and we are ALL influenced.
So choose wisely where we are looking and who we are listening too.

Be aware that most of the world is an illusion. How much of the world we live in is fake?
We were shown another version of this Dove Ad which had quotes along with it
 (which I cant find) and Sheri said
We can never say I'm not as cute as her! She's NOT even as Cute as her!
The world is full of distraction, illusion, falsities which will attempt to take us offtrack

My claim to fame? Sheri Dew asked for a Pen to sign peoples books and I totally said

"I HAVE A PEN!" Afterwards we were acting all fan girl 'Sheri Dew touched MY PEN'

{totally joking I hope you know} but it was fun to fan our faces and pretend to be all fangirl like.

Yeah we're totally crazy.

^ Look closely. That's MY PEN in her hand :)

Normally I have a personal 'NO approaching famous-ish LDS speakers' rule

{I really don't like to bother them and feel sorry for people who have to shake a million hands and hug people they don't know from a bar of soap - yick.} but Sole talked me into some walk bys and photos :) We even got a hug from Laurel Christensen and she Sheri Dew. I suppose since TOFW was a paid event as opposed to Free we paid them to put up with hugs and sobs from us, so thats how I justified Sole twisting my arm to go up the front and have a few brief interactions even though I felt completely rediculous doing so. She was making fun of my not wanting to.

Time Out for women was a great event and uplifting and I hope they come back again next year.

I'm so glad I got to participate in the very first one to Australia.