Time Out for Women 2010: Friday night

This was my first year attending Deseret Book's Time Out for Women. We were lucky enough for them to have it in Plano, just 20 min. away from me, for the first time ever. It was about 15 hours of talks and music directed to women to help lift us up, become better, and give us a new perspective on being a good woman/Christian/Latter-day saint/mother.  I am a firm believer in taking notes when at all possible. I pay closer attention and take away more that way. I took lots of notes on random note paper, so I will copy them here for my (and your) archival pleasure. Because I am such an avid note taker, I am going to break this up into segments so it's easier to read.

Friday Night
The theme for the weekend was, "Hope All Things"

Chieko Okasaki was supposed to speak to us, but unfortunately she was ill.
We were able to hear from President Gordon B. Hinkley's daughter Virginia Hinkley Pearce instead:


What does it mean to live successfully?

• her definition of success: I trusted God completely and accepted and used Christ's atonement.
• success is not contingent upon what callings or leadership positions you hold in church
• Life is NOT a competition. Don't base your success on a comparison to others.
• Sometimes mere survival is success.

Growth comes when we constantly seek to be just slightly better than our current best. We grow and mature line upon line.

Ask yourself,  "What will help me grow just a little bit? What will stretch me just enough beyond my capacity to learn to trust and rely upon God?"

Our main goal and challenge in life should be to become more like Christ.

1. Mosiah 5:2 "...the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, [has] wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."
2. We need to begin to see things and people as Heavenly Father and Jesus see.

Get out of the business of comparing! You will always find someone fatter than you, thinner than you, richer than you, poorer than you. It is the fast track to misery.  Other people have their mission in life, and I have mine.  There is only one YOU. Look at others and learn, but don't compare. It's expressing a lack of faith.

God works in me to do His will, if I am willing to give my life to Him.

Peace, Joy and hope are available to those who knowhow to measure success properly.

You can't measure your success by the results of others' agency and choices, but by your commitment to promoting growth.  If you feel the spirit and respond to it, you can feel successful, regardless of the outcome.

Michael Mclean had a lot of musical performances and presentations.  Here are are a few things I took from him:
We should be on a mission to be happy. The whole world is our training center. Don't be held hostage by your circumstances, children, self, or others. Now is the moment. Don't miss life as you live it.

Life's battles aren't always answered or won the way we want. Realize how spectacular you are.  You don't know what's in store for you.

Just feeling that you're heard is sometimes the answer. "Did you hear me? I can feel you near me."

Mark Mayberry
If you have never seen Reflections of Christ, please click here. The photography depicting Christ's life and ministry is absolutely amazing.

He actually spoke of his experience shooting his latest project, Another Testament Reflection of Christ - click here to see it.

His presentation was mostly visual, but the few snippets I took from him were:
What a blessing it will be to have Him embrace us in His robes of righteousness. We need Him now, not just in eternal worlds.

What can I do on a daily basis to imagine myself at the foot of Christ, encircled by His love?