Women of Faith – August 2011 – Dallas – Part III

It is 5:30AM on Saturday morning. An alarm is going off somewhere in my dreams. Oh right, the alarm is actually going off across the room where my phone is plugged in. Why is my alarm going off at 5:30AM on Saturday morning? I have not had enough sleep! Oh right, early start today at Women of Faith. I’m up, Nikki is up. We are moving. Dress, pack, check bags with hotel, breakfast, checkout and we’re off.

We arrived just at the American Airline Center was opening. At the door we entered these guys were there with their signs, cheering us on.

Guys at aacenter

We are in, cleared security, what is in store for today?

I am still on a bit of overload from Friday. No coffee before we left the hotel so my brain is a bit fuzzy. But the first thing I must accomplish is to meet Patsy Clairmont. So off to the line. Whew, I’m only about 15 people back so I should be good. My good friend Steve Anderson is a good friend of Patsy’s. He said I should take the opportunity to meet her and say hi. Mission accomplished. Patsy and I got to have a very brief introduction and conversation.

Now to my seat. Even though I have had breakfast there are so many smells and temptations between the line and my seat. But I make it to my seat with only a bottle of water. I have always believed that when you resist fattening temptation, some amount of weight should be released from your body, but not so. The entire day was great, but these are the memorable moments stuck in my head from the day.

  • Brenda Warner showing us her God given talent at the opening of her talk. She stood in the middle of the stage and effortlessly did the splits in a long dress with heals on. The she easily got up.
  • Patsy Clairmont telling us about “Change Can Be Good” using the story of her son’s (Marty) story of a devastating illness and the recovery process. Remember, planning and discussing change may take a long time, but when change occurs it is immediate.
  • Learning what a Blessing Ring is from the ladies on our row. Here is a link with some info about How to Make a Blessing Ring.

  • Mary Graham recognizing several of the group leaders. I am in awe of a lady (Debbie) with stage 4 cancer who brought 75 ladies.

Sandi Patty – first she sang “Over the Rainbow”. It is the most beautiful version and voice I have heard sing it. I saw someone else say it is there favorite Disney song. I have to agree. It is a song of so much hope. After Sandi Patty tells her story she begins singing “We Shall Behold Him. During the song she begins signing. How beautiful. Then she motions toward the area of the arena where a team is signing to deaf people. A young lady runs onto the stage and joins Sandi Patty. I have never seen anyone sign with as much feeling as Lisa Smith did in conjunction with Sandi Patty. They were each singing this beautiful song in their way.

I cried then, I cried when I found the following video that was taken and posted on YouTube.com. I have watched it again 2 more times and I still cry. This has been one of the most emotional experiences of my life. I heard someone refer to Lisa Smith as a disabled person. I’m sorry, I don’t see disabled. Whatever disability this young lady has is far exceeded by her abilities.

And just one more thing for my Saturday experience. We arrive back at the hotel to retrieve our luggage and drive home. Mary Graham was talking to some other people. So it was my great pleasure to get to meet her and say hi. We have corresponded in the past on Twitter. It is always great to make a face-to-face connection with someone that you have met online.

Thank you BookSneeze and Women of Faith and all of those that shared with us for a wonderful experience.