Saturday, August 7, 2010

She Speaks 2010 Conference

Last weekend I had the privilege and honor of attending the She Speaks 2010 Conference. This conference is for writers/aspiring writers, speakers/aspiring speakers and women in leadership and those who desire to be in leadership.

The conference is sponsored and hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries and this was the tenth anniversary. Ten years ago, with no money spent on advertising there were 99 women in attendance. This year, with no money spent on advertising there were 608 women, from 43 of the 48 continental United States and Canada. This alone is a testimony to the excellence of every aspect of the conference.

Three women from Newnan attended: me, my dear friend Connie and a new dear friend, Clare. Each of us took a different track: I took the speakers’ track, Connie took the writers’ track and Clare took the women in leadership track.

I was very impressed with all of the speaker workshops I took, as well as the speakers’ evaluations I participated in. This was a small group of no more than ten ladies who were assigned to present a three minute talk on Friday night and a five minute talk on Saturday afternoon. As many classes I’ve taught over the years, I was very nervous and really didn’t do a good job. Never in my life have a taught a class or gave a presentation when I’ve leaned on the podium, allowing it to hold me up. Granted, in classes I teach at my church, I tend to be more relaxed because I know my audience and they know me. But still, lean on the podium??? And I carried my reading glasses to the podium thinking I would need them to read. Instead, I used them to point, or tap into my other hand. Most irritating to those in the listening audience.

Saturday night’s presentation was much improved and I felt like I did a better job. The evaluation sheets agreed with me—well, for the most part.

I participated in several breakout sessions – all of which were excellent. Pursuing Excellence as a Speaker, by Lysa TerKeurst, Preparing for the Battlefield Through Prayer, by Luann Prater, and What Every Speaker Needs to Know, by Marybeth Whalen, were three top-notch breakouts. These women knew what they were talking about!!

The keynote addresses were phenomenal! On Friday evening we heard Lysa TerKeurst speak on Becoming More, Saturday morning we had a surprise visit from Beth Moore via DVD, Saturday night the delightful Angela Thomas, author of Do You Think I’m Beautiful?, spoke on what it takes to be the best you can be at whatever God has called you to be. And on Sunday morning, Karen Ehman, one of the Proverbs 31 team members, knocked it out of the ballpark with her message on True Love based on Rev. 2:1-17.

The facility where the conference was held and where we stayed was fantastic. The staff members of the Embassy Suites saw that our every need was met. The chef outdid himself with our meals.

Can you tell I enjoyed it??

Next blog: The Really Important Stuff: The Spiritual Aspects of the Conference. You truly don’t want to miss this!!



MARANATHA!



© 2010 Edwina E. Cowgill

2 comments:

Grace Chaser ... said...

Yep - that's it in a nutshell, Edwina! It WAS fantastic, and God showed up in a BIG way! I love you and am so glad to have shared this experience with you!

quietspirit said...

Edwina:
I'm glad you were able to attend such an inspiring conference.