TIME OUT!!

             Anyone get to go to the Time Out For Women this weekend??  I did!  For the first time, I might add!  I had a mixture of excitement, and anticipation from the unexpected.  Would it be smaller?  Would there just be a bunch of talks?  Activities?  I had no idea!  All I knew was that a lot of friends of mine had raved about going to it in the past.  I have wanted to go previously, but having the strapped financial background I've been living in prevented it.  This year, I saw a post from a friend on Facebook, and mentioned how I wished I could go.  Someone else responded that there were scholarships for those who couldn't afford to go.  WHA???  Guess what?  I even found babysitters!  Hallelujah!  That almost never happens... 

             So I'm rushing out the door, grabbing my purse, backpack... water... helmet... yes, I am hoping that my brother won't mind that I'm taking his motorcycle since mine is still in pieces waiting to be painted.  It's a beautiful night, there's next to no traffic downtown, I'm gonna save on gas, and I'm on my way to ME time!  I'm going to go find out what TOFW is all about, ready to fill my spiritual bucket!

             Let me tell you, I was NOT disappointed!  I was blown away!  It was at the Richmond Convention Center, and there was so many women!!  Lit up on the big stage was a blue sky background, and the word 'Higher' in big white letters.  A gorgeous black grand promised heart changing music... and two big screens on both sides, one with closed captioning.  In the back Deseret Book had tables of books, music, t-shirts and tons of fun trinkets and memorabilia... I could feel my pocket itching from the moment I walked in.  Surrounding it were displays from different companies, such as Sweet Salt; a modest women's apparel store, Heritage Makers; treats you to a plethora of ways to personalize your home decor and other creative projects, and Thrive Life; all about making it possible to get your food storage put together, for anyone!  

             When I got my TOFW pamphlet, I got even more revved up, because I was going to get to hear Michael McLean and Mercy River, two of my favorite music artists!!  There were so many more that I hadn't heard before too... such as John Hilton III, who talked about seeing the bigger picture, Sandra Turley, oh my GOODNESS does that woman have a voice, and Kris Belcher, a woman who continues to inspire and uplift anyone going through a tragedy.  There were so many more... I could talk about it all day! 

              I know I sound like a starving kid walking into a banquet, but that's exactly what I felt like!   It was a banquet for the mind, spirit and ears!  (Not so much for my purse in the end... ha!)  We all cried so much.  We cried from laughing so hard it brought tears to our eyes, when our hearts broke hearing what incredible trials our speakers have struggled through and when all of it hit home as our lives, feelings and desires were validated.  And all of it we got to share sitting next to our dearest friends and sisters.  

               I'm going to bare my soul here, and share one of my two favorite moments.  It was when Michael McLean sang his song, "She Doesn't Know".  He talked about his wife, mother and grandmother with such love, marveling at how they just don't know how much they mean to him.  I love to hear him sing his songs, because I know that he wrote them, and he sings them with so much emotion because they came from his heart.   The words really hit me, and I knew for a moment that someone knew.

(lyrics from 'She Doesn't Know')
"It's a quarter to 7:00 on a Thursday night, 
And she's running late again.
And she got a ticket because she ran the light,
Racing to help a friend.
And she remembered a promise she made
A couple of weeks before.
She would bake the brownies for the PTA,
but she's run out of time, 
So she gets hers from the store.

It's a quarter to 7:00 on a Friday night
And she's running late again.
Trying to pick out that dress
that's going to look just right,
at the party she's throwing for him.
Living on rice cakes and Diet Coke,
She hasn't lost that much.
Her dress is too tight and her hair, a joke.
And you know what?
That party was a hit, it had her magic touch!

And she doesn't know...
She's an angel in disguise.
She doesn't know...
I see Heaven in her eyes!
She doesn't know she's alright,
I guess she's blinded by the light,
of all the good she does..
She just doesn't know.
.......
"She doesn't focus on all the good she does,
because all she sees is where she failed her part.
Can't she see that we think she's a saint,
because she's given all she can--
Straight from her heart!
And she doesn't know we see Heaven in her eyes..
She doesn't know she's alright,
I guess she got blinded by the light,
Of all the good she does.
But she can't see it because,
She hits a traffic jam on a carpool morn ..
And feels guilty what she's thinkin when she honks her horn!
She writes a sympathy note for her dear friend Grace,
and gets it lost somewhere in cyber space!
At the charity auction where she tries to help, 
She raises her hand so much,
She really bids against herself!
........
She doesn't know this songs for her,
She doesn't know that I am so sincere.
She doesn't know that she's the best, 
She doesn't know that she's past the test!
She doesn't know.... She doesn't know! 

             We're all wiping tears from our eyes, realizing why they had tissues for sale in the back, and all of us are scratching notes in our journals throughout the night as fast as we can, knowing that we can/have bought the DVD of the event.  All because we really felt, even if for a time, that we are all angels in disguise.  We want to take that back to our lives... and try to remember it as we go through our routines and service.  

Remember to take your own "Time Out"... <3