Extraordinary Faith - Women of Faith Conference 2005 (Saturday PM)

Chonda Pierce performed after lunch (I think, I'm getting all these things mixed up! Oh well, it's not the "when" but the "what"!) and if you haven't seen her live, you need to! She is absolutely hilarious! LOL She even revealed a bit of herself playing off of Sheila Walsh and her story about Spanx! Pierce rolled right over the top of her when she showed us her belly! LOL It was hysterical and I'm sure it embarrassed her children in a major way! This was my second time seeing Pierce and she never fails to make me laugh outloud. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I watched one of her videos and was laughing so hard that I recorded it on the computer and emailed the file to Katie. I still have it...want to listen? It's a soundfile of me cracking up at a Chonda Pierce story about her family camping and the noises they hear in the night. You know how you can get "spooked" at a strange sound far off in the distance? Well, as the family tried to comfort one another (as near as I can remember), someone said "that's the sound of wild bears eating the flesh off live animals." It was so funny! She reacted by humming "Kum-ba-yah", which you can make out in the soundfile. I can just see that happening on a camping trip!

Then we heard from Lucy Swindoll. She shared a very humorous story about a time in her youth when she "taught" her brother how to "smoke"! LOL She rolled up some paper, had her younger brother put one end in his mouth, told him to inhale and swallow when she lit the other end. She lit it and flames shot right up and burned Chuck's lips and tongue! LOL Well, it's funny to them now! LOL It's funny to me now! LOL Lucy claims that she is the one that first got him "on fire for God!" Her gift to the women in attendance at the conference was a match, because God will keep you smokin'!

We then had a mini concert by Avalon. It was so fun! I know a lot of their music and was most excited to hear Adonai and Testify, a CCM favorite of many. I got a little nervous when they completed their set and walked off without doing Testify, but they couldn't make it down the steps off the stage before they were headed back up to perform the classic amidst a thunderous applause. They were so energetic and their performance was so much fun! I took some video of those performances with my digital, but didn't upload it to the blog because of the size of the file, but if you want to see it, just email me and let me know. I'll be happy to send you the files!

The last speaker of the conference was Marilyn Meberg. She shared about laughter. She told us some very funny stories, but one part of her presentation was not planned for, and it received the biggest outburst of laughter of all! LOL She was sharing a story about one day when Lucy came to visit. (Lucy Swindoll and she are very close friends, and live in the same general neighborhood.) She told us that "Lucy came to the door, and some of you may not realize this, but Lucy suffers from frequent outbreaks of ringworm. She came in, looking rather clear, and we chatted for awhile." By this point, it was obvious, or rather curious, to those of us who have heard these speakers multiple times, that the whole ringworm thing was bizarre. We listened to her story and it ends up that when Lucy leaves, she decides to drive in reverse all the way home. The audience roared through the entire description of Lucy, sitting poised at the wheel, telling Marilyn through the open driver's side window, "I'm backing home!" And she did! She backed out of the drive and started heading the two blocks to her home in reverse! LOL Marilyn, not quite sure what to make of this, gets in her car and starts down the drive to catch her. She shares about the surprised looks on the men's faces at the road construction site, when the two cars, traveling very slowly, and nose to nose, go past on the way to Lucy's home! LOLOL

So, after that humorous story, Marilyn relays the fact that in the green room, prior to coming out for this segment of the conference, Jody McBrayer, from Avalon, said to her "I'll give you $100 if you can work the word ringworm into your talk." Well, Marilyn did it flawlessly! I was a bit relieved too! I hate to think that poor Lucy suffers with ringworm!

Marilyn's gift to us was the sound of laughter. Actually, all of the Women of Faith Speaker Team give us that gift. The creative, and often humorous way they have to share a message with us is remarkable. God really gifted those ladies and I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to see them, listen to their wisdom, learn from them, and get a Word from God through them. There is always so much to absorb after attending a WOF Conference that blogging about it just doesn't do it justice.

My hope is that next year I can attend the conference with my mom. I really think she would enjoy it, and I already know that I would! It would be so special to me to spend that time with my mom and go to the conference when it hits Columbus next year in April. I may have to plan my vacation around that weekend! Woohooo! I get excited just thinking about it!