Dare 2 Share Chicago March 19th and 20th

On March 19th I got to go on a Youth Group trip to the Dare 2 Share conference in Chicago, Illinois. I was excited to go, but had no idea of how much the weekend would change me, or I should say, how much God would change me!

My daughters Allison and Clara went too along with their best friends Reanna and Sheyanne and and about 15 other kids from our Youth Group.

We left early Friday morning and it was about 7 hours I think to get to Chicago. It was a beautiful day Friday, all day! The sun was shining. The sky was blue and it was so warm! We got to our hotel and the kids had time to swim in the pool for a while. After that, we went to the Sears Arena for the start of the conference.

The conference was great! We got to worship with the band Starfield and they really have some awesome songs! We got to hear from Greg Stier and Zane Black who taught us more about sharing our faith with others. (Dare 2 Share) :) There was another guy there called Propaganda. I don't know what you would call him, a rapper? poet? But he did this thing that I just thought was really cool. I guess it was like a poem, but not read in the usual way. I was really impressed!

The last night there, we all went out for pizza at Uno's. There were probably about 50 of us (we went with another church from our town) so we couldn't all sit together. They just divided us up as they could and we were spread out all over the restaurant. Clara was at a table with some other kids and no adults. I was so proud when I later found out that she and her friends had shared the gospel with their waiter. They were already using what they learned to share their faith!

The conference ended around 9 or 10pm on Saturday night and then we headed home. The ride home was awesome! A couple of the boys and I decided to write a Propaganda style poem/rap for Pastor Ryan. I wrote 1 or 2 lines about Pastor Ryan, but then God started giving me some really great words for HIM. I started writing and couldn't stop! It was so exciting! I felt like God was really doing something to me and I was pouring out my worship on this little notepad. I was in charge of giving Pastor Ryan money to pay the tolls when we came to them. At one point he said we were coming up to a toll booth and I said "I can't pay the toll, I'm writing here!" :) Eventually I stopped writing for the rest of the ride back to church. The rest of the ride was just as cool though. I got to talk to Pastor Ryan about how he was saved as a little child and I got to share with him some of my life story. We sang worship songs on the way home, and I just felt such peace and happiness come over me!

We got back to our church around 2 or 3 am so we spent the night there instead of going home. The kids went to sleep right away and I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning to write some more! As soon as I got up, I went into one of the classrooms and wrote some more! I went home that day and wrote even a little more. I didn't want to do anything else except be with God.

He did something to me that weekend! Since I've been home, so much has changed for the better!

My whole life I have loved food! Our family loves food. Whenever we have an event coming up or a trip all we think about is "What are we going to eat?" I have always been an emotional eater too. I would eat if I was happy, if I was sad, if I was depressed. Well, since I have been home from Dare 2 Share, I haven't been hungry! I haven't had any cravings! I haven't been consumed with what I'm going to it or when I'm going to eat. I don't even care if I eat! This is definitely from God. Only He could fill that emptiness and that hunger. I feel like I only hunger for Him now. I crave Him and my time with Him. He fulfills my longings!

Another thing that has changed is my love for Tim, my sweet husband! I have always loved Tim greatly, but at the same time, I know I can be negative towards him and sometimes put him down even if subtly. Since I have been home from Dare 2 Share I haven't felt those negative feelings toward Tim! I feel more in love with him than ever before! I just want to be sweet to him and treat him the way God wants me to treat him.

I have been more faithful in praying and reading my Bible since I've been home. I've also been trying to share my faith more with others. I feel strongly about being obedient to God and I just want to please Him!

Anyway, I wrote this poem/rap thing and it's really cool. I'm going to be reading it in my Church on April 18th. After that, maybe I will post it on my blog to share it with everyone.