Conference | BEVY Goods

Having just returned from The Influence Conference, my soul is nourished, my heart is lifted. A conference based on building community, ironically, I didn’t know anyone going into it. Anyone in “real life”. But that quickly changed.

It was beautiful. Beautiful how souls were shared. Hugs were given. Prayers were said. Hearts were lifted.

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A few of the many ways my heart was healed, my soul was encouraged…

The lies we hear from the world and let ourselves believe: your voice is worthless, nobody loves you, you are not seen, your gifts aren’t as good as others, that value is determined by someone other than God. Lies! Jesus is enough. We are so loved.

God did not give us gifts, just to take them away.

Fill the unknown with faith, not fear.

Don’t invent enemies.

My dream, my gifts, are a gift from God. I am a Steward of a Dream. To use. To pursue. If I let fear & lies take over so I don’t follow it, I’m being unfaithful. Believe this, friends. Don’t be idle and let your dreams fade.

God doesn’t say “follow your dreams”. He says Follow Me. Align your dreams with God’s will, God’s plan. It’s not about how many followers I have. It’s about me following God’s will.

Over 250 women tracing & cutting shoe patterns for Sole Hope the first night.

My Ginger Lane clutches in the Market. I set out notecards & pens for people to write encouraging notes to the girl we sponsor through Compassion. Child sponsorship is at the core of the Ginger Lane Mission. I can’t wait to send the notes to our child! One of the highlights of the weekend was the photoshoot for my Ginger Lane products.

Megan photographed, Kristin & Brittany generously agreed to model. I am giddy & encouraged & blessed.

The other highlight? These amazing women. My sisters in Christ. From the left, Rachel, me, Kathleen, Jennifer, Jenny, Amanda, Whitney, Lena, Tawny, & Katie.

The gift of taking a 6am flight home was viewing the sunrise from the sky. My Spirit worships while viewing God’s natural creation. I kept thinking about how He created all of this. All of us. And imagining all of the people below and how He knows and loves each of us individually. That Jesus died on the cross for each of us, individually.

I am home: refreshed, challenged, overwhelmed, encouraged. With Hillsong’s “Oceans” on repeat in my heart from our worship:

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior”

The Influence Network was launched in January and it is already one of my favorite online spots. These women (yes, I’ll generalize for a sec) are real, genuine, creative, Christian bloggers. To continue with the growth and depth of the community, I’m linking up with all these lovely ladies. I look forward to meeting you all at the next Influence Conference!

Looking for a photo made me realize that there are no photos of me. Except for this one. And what I love about it is that it’s from a surprise 10th anniversary trip my husband planned for us in Napa. (No small thing coming from Boston and finding childcare for triplets.) Drinking champagne at Mustards, with my love. Heaven.

I met God. During an emergency surgery after the birth of my triplets after my health began to fail, I was surrounded by pure white and His complete joy and peace. It was like a giant hug from God and the most amazing experience of my life. Read more about it here.

I’m allergic to most raw fruits. Unhelpful when dieting or walking through New England apple orchards.

God uses me to connect people. I can be chatting with someone about a need, problem, whatever and He will bring to mind a different friend, acquaintance, resource that can help. It brings such joy and gives me goosebumps every time. I can’t force these situations, so I’ve started praying every day that God use me to connect people to others that can fill their needs, give wisdom, whatever it is. Since we’re all part of One Body, I feel like I must be a ligament or synapse.

Community. Wisdom. When I first started this blog journey last summer, I was really put-off by the networks that asked everyone to play these games of commenting on each other’s posts and clicking on their links. Not because they were genuinely interested, but just for numbers and page views. I was looking for genuine people, genuine community. So when I came across the folks that the Influence Network attracted, I knew immediately that these were my people, my sisters in Christ.