(Perhaps I’m
the last person in the world to write my Allume post?)
In October
2011 when I started Church Planting Confessions all the others bloggers in
blogosphere were going crazy over The Relevant Conference. I decided at that
moment that I would be attending in 2012. A year later and the conference is
now Allume. Additionally I suddenly remembered that A.) I’m an introvert and
B.) I hate conferences. You see for the last several years I’ve attended more
conferences than I can count many of which I've helped staff. The rare times I had
the chance to attend a session I was too drained or too underwhelmed to enjoy
it.
As the weeks
before Allume grew closer, these realities made me question even attending at
all. Should I get someone else to buy my ticket and get the money we need so
desperately? Would it be just another
trip amidst a busy fall travel schedule? Could I hack it among bigger, better,
more experienced bloggers? Would my pension for anxiety and natural
introversion leave me locked in a hotel room alone having wasted time, energy,
and resources?
I finally
bought my plane ticket the first week of October and I’m so glad I did. I knew
this conference was different the moment I picked up my crazy full bags of free
gifts. Every detail was done with excellence. Sarah Mae, Jessica Heights, and
the rest of the team truly thought of everything.
What was
most amazing about this conference was the keynote sessions. It wasn’t just the
caliber of the speakers that blew me away but what they shared. All of them
(successful bloggers and writers) took the stage as broken people. They all
shared stories of being imperfect, unqualified, or even losing it all.
My biggest
takeaway was from Darren who reminded me to spend 90% of my time doing what
will get the largest return (not the other way around). This really lifts the
burden of feeling the need to do everything well all the time.
I have to
tell you that meeting the fabulous Jacqui from Faith and Simplicity alone would
have made the entire trip worth it. Jacqui’s
story of tragedy and loss is so similar to mine. Her friendship alone was worth
the layover.
To all of
you who made Allume what it was, I sincerely thank you. Here’s to lives of
intention, writing blogs that are more than words, and investing our time in
things that reap eternal dividends.
If you’re a
blogger who wants to make an impact through your writing you simply must join
us at Allume 2013. I promise you won’t hate conferences any more…
Joy, it was such a blessing meeting you at the conference! God is so good to connect hearts from the east to the west. And to let you know, I haven't written my Allume post, yet! :) I have been processing and pondering, but hope to do so soon. I feel like we're long, lost friends! We'll definitely keep in touch! Blessings.
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