Shannon’s SCW Blog

I just returned from speaking at the Freshwind 2009 Conference in Alberta, Canada, and it’s safe to say I’ll be on an adrenaline rush for a while! What an amazing experience!

Imagine 500+ women of all ages, from all walks of life, gathered together with a common purpose: To get “Up Close” with God and with Others (the theme of the weekend). Some of the highlights were:

• Watching the international dance team “Epo” perform moves I didn’t know the human body was capable of!
• Being led in worship by Melanie Melo. If you haven’t heard of her yet, you will someday. She introduced us to a song called “More Than Ashes” by Merchant Band (available on iTunes), with a chorus that goes: “There’s gonna be a wedding – it’s the reason that I’m living – to marry the Lamb!” SO powerful!
• Watching as women reached out and ministered to one another in such tender ways during Saturday night’s altar call. I kept thinking, “Surely God is delighted… Surely Satan is NOT!”
• Discovering that the entire book table had completely sold out after the second speaking session! Praise God I didn’t have to lug any back to the U.S., and that every “seed” I took into Canada has been “planted!”
• Listening in amazement during the open-microphone Q&A time, where women unashamedly verbalized the kinds of questions about female sexuality that neither their mothers nor their churches had ever addressed. Hallelujah that “church ladies” and “good girls” are finally able to talk openly about God’s gift of S-E-X!
• Watching Canadians Carolyn Carleton & Deanna Sudom (two of my online B.L.A.S.T. participants) boldly seize the opportunity to share brief testimonies about how God is leading them to work toward becoming more effective writers & speakers. They both made this mama proud!
• Fellowshipping with the phenomenal leaders of P.A.O.C. (Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada) — FreshWind’s sponsoring organization. I’m so honored to have been invited, and look so forward to partnering in ministry with them again!

Quite honestly, I always feel like I receive so much more than I give when I speak. Women flock around expressing their gratitude for writing books and delivering messages that have touched them deeply, but they don’t realize that I’m just as deeply touched by the fact that they are willing to read those books, or sit and listen to me tell my stories about how God has rocked my world! It wouldn’t be very much fun telling those stories over and over to empty chairs.

So now I get to unpack my suitcase, do laundry, and prepare to head out again this weekend. Please pray for my daughter and I as we fly to Sydney, Australia for the EveryWoman 2009 Conference at Christian City Church of Oxford Falls!

Blessed and oh, so grateful that this is how I get to spend my time on earth!
Shannon