The Weekend That Was

(And still is, for some folks!) My weekends begin on Fridays, and last through church time on Sunday. Then begins the first day of my work week. I'm really enjoying having Fridays off. It gives me time to take care of business, or keep appointments, without having to take time off from work. And since I don't start work until Sunday afternoon, it seems like I have a little "extra" time thrown in there. I remember when I was negotiating my shift with Tammy, I asked her if I could just be on call and take my cell phone with me and go to church. Understandably, she wasn't able to do that, because if concessions are made for one, then they must be made for all. I really wanted the Sunday through Thursday shift, but was not willing to work every Sunday morning, so it looked like I would not be able to take the job. I feel like God honored that, and Tammy and I were ultimately able to negotiate a schedule that was a win-win for everyone. So that's how the "extra" time is added to my weekend. Granted, I'll work til 9:00 p.m. tonight, but that's fine by me. So anyway. Back to my weekend. I hope you read the last post that tells about the awesome new chair I have purchased. I'm excited! Furniture scouting wasn't my only activity this weekend- we had our annual ladies' conference at church. This consisted of dinner Friday night (a catered affair in which the marvelous menfolk of our church, most of them in black tie, served us... how great is THAT!), then our featured speaker, Terri Butcher, spoke to us about Hope In The Wilderness. She's one of my favorite speakers, and though I disagree with one particular issue (regarding the chemical-imbalance element of depression), it was a moving, enlightening, encouraging time together with the women of my church. Saturday morning we met for breakout sessions that dealt with other wilderness experiences (Finances, Loneliness and Depression, Aging and something, i don't remember). Our speakers were super, and so willing to give and share personal experiences with their journeys through the wilderness. In our closing session, we were encouraged to endure our times in the wilderness by studying and learning God's Word to enable us to come through on the other side- having learned the lessons we were meant to learn, and going forward from there. It distresses me at times that I am not nearly as faithful as I should be reading and studying my Bible. I find so much comfort, encouragement, instruction, and wisdom within those pages, yet often it seems like it's the last item on my list of things to do... when in fact it should be the first. Because we all know what happens to the last few things on our list... they usually get put off until tomorrow. Then tomorrow has a new list all its own, and the cycle repeats itself. Each time I attend one of these ladies' conferences, whether at my church or some other church, I always come away with (at least) one definite message... and this time is no different. It reminded me how important it is to continue to study and grow. Years ago I was in a Bible study, and part of our class was memorizing scripture. We memorized a couple of entire books (James, 1 John), scattered other chapters, etc. While some of it escapes my memory now, it is still comforting to know that I have retained some of it. Anyway, it was a great conference, and I thank my dear old Mom for my ticket. Thanks, Mom! You Rock!