One of the best parts of coming to Time Out for Women as a presenter is looking forward to meeting the women who attend and experiencing the weekend that Heavenly Father has in store for them. For me, the theme that kept popping up last weekend in Reno, NV was this: life is challenging, but you can overcome the challenges and obstacles that come your way with the Lord’s help.
I was lucky enough to present on Friday evening with Laurel Christensen and Virginia Pearce. Both women gave wonderful presentations that completely distracted me from preparing backstage for my own presentation. I loved when Virginia talked about Sister Beck’s talk from the 2010 BYU Women’s Conference, emphasizing the importance of doing the things that are essential, then the things that are necessary, and then the things that are nice to do. (Go read the talk. It’s awesome.)
Saturday morning is always so exciting. I love getting there early to see how many people are waiting outside the doors to get in and find their seats and get their tote bags. (And how awesome are those tote bags this year?!)
Hilary Weeks kicked off the Saturday event and shared some of her brand new songs (Did you pre-order her album yet? Click here!!). Other presenters included Amanda Dickson, Emily Watts, Anthony Sweat, Matt Baldwin, and Kris Belcher.
It was Emily Watts’ talk that was the biggest takeaway for me personally this weekend. She gives a marvelous talk about building habits of happiness, and I was really struck by the idea of building traditions - specifically the tradition of singing to my kids. That was the first time I had heard her include the audience when she sings “Blue, Blue Sky” (“My Heavenly Father Loves Me”), and I thought that was a really magical moment for all of us.
Because I was photographing the event, I was lucky enough to sneak into the Time Out for Girls event off and on throughout the day. I was so struck by the power of the Young Women in that room. The spirit was so strong every time I walked in. They were drinking in everything that was said by the presenters, and Carmen Rasmusen, Anthony Sweat and Laurel Christensen did a great Q&A session with the girls at the end. My favorite answer came from Anthony. The question was, “Have you always had a testimony?” and his answer was YES! He quoted Revelation 12:11 to the girls, which says that in the war in heaven, we overcame Satan with the word of our testimony. He said that when we feel the spirit, that is us trying to remember the testimony we already have.
On a personal note, thank you to the women who came to talk to me and shared some of their stories. It means more to me than I could ever express, and I was truly humbled and in awe of so many of you in Reno. There’s a great deal of strength in you ladies.
We love you, Reno! Come see us again next year in Sacramento!
We love you, Reno! Come see us again next year in Sacramento!