I Laughed, I Cried, It Moved Me!
Our 9th & O March 2015 “JOY From the Inside Out” Women’s Conference is now in the history books, but the nearly 200 women in attendance didn’t go home downhearted, nor empty-handed. We left equipped to apply and recognize the Source of daily JOY in our lives. From the mouth of that little green Veggie Tales arm-less wonder Larry the Cucumber to Bob the Tomato: “I laughed, I cried, it moved me!” That was our conference in a nutshell. There were some light, funny moments, times of deep emotional reflection, and thought provoking spiritual challenges as our very own 9th & O members Rose Booth and Jessica Joslin (with the authority of God’s Word) encouraged and challenged us to experience and to live Joy in our everyday Christian journeys – even in the midst of the daily struggles we have juggling homemaking, parenting, working and interacting with others.
Here are a few of the Facebook comments some of our ladies posted about Rose and Jessica following our two weekend sessions. (I took the liberty of highlighting and underlining two of the main take-away points):
“Rose is bringing it tonight @ NAOBC’s women’s conference.”
“I’m still echoing in my heart the many “nuggets” from Gods Word and your personal life examples shared at the conference. We truly ARE a blessed church!!!”
“Excellent first night of our Women’s Conference! Rose Booth was amazing. Love my church!”
“It was a great night and I can’t wait for tomorrow!”
“Great job, Rose! God was glorified!”
“…of course she was totally awesome! Such a testimony that the Lord is the source of our joy!”
“Rose has a wonderful gift of speaking and her study on Nehemiah was so appropriate for our conference.”
“Rock star!!!!!!”
“Clearly the better Joslin has taken the stage today (NAOBC women’s conference)! Jessica is killing it! And apparently loves Target.”
“What a way to start the day. Jessica Joslin thanks for keeping it real! Your reminders of ourselves and the importance of fighting for our JOY is a great lesson. Thanks for all the planning and thought you put in to sharing with us. So special…made my day. I was thinking we should do this talk on JOY at least a couple times a week, and then she gasps at the thought! LOL”
“Thank you, Jessica. What you said was very soul searching.”
“Such a great morning at the Women’s Conference at church! Jessica Joslin absolutely knocked it out of the park! So blessed to have this time with the women of Ninth and O!”
If you were unable to attend the Women’s Conference this year, perhaps some of the above comments will entice you to listen to the two audio sessions that will soon be posted. Check out NAOBC.org for info. It was such a treat that I want to listen to it again, and ingest parts that I may have missed the first time around. Praying for each of you a joyous life in Christ.you a joyous life in Christ.
-Karen Sizemore
Karen Oldham Sizemore was a PK for 21 years, was born again as a teen, was a multi-move military wife for 24 years, has lived the civilian life since 1994, and is now a senior citizen. (You can do the math.) She is the mother of 2 grown sons, has been a member of NAOBC for 12 years, and has loved directing children’s choirs for 40+ years. Karen is also a soon-to-be grandma for the first time!
