Girl on a Journey: Me Month: Day 22

What a fantastic weekend!!! It was full of powerful, hilarious, Godly women and exactly what I needed!!! I spent the weekend in Kansas City with 3 amazing women and a ton of great speakers. Beth Moore, Lysa Terkhurst, Jen Hatmaker, Kathy Lipp, Elisa Morgan… and those were only the speakers in the main sessions!


Couldn't have asked for a better group of women to go with!!! Kari ann, Jessica, Dana... three of the most beautiful women-inside and out!!!

It was a phenomenal weekend full of learning and spiritual rejuvenation… exactly what I needed. There were so many topics I listened to speakers speak on (3 full days of workshops!!!) that there is no way I could possible list all the fantastic things I learned. I went to classes with names like Good Girls can Have Great Sex, More Mama Less Drama, She Did What She Could, No Ordinary Marriage, and Connection over Comparison. A wide variety of topics with loads of fantastic information. But since it is “Me” month, I will let you in on a few things I took away from the class that I felt addressed the ME issues in my life: Connection over Comparison.

My best friend Dana came in from Colorado!!! So glad to experience the weekend with her!

I am going to be super honest right now… when I walked into the class and saw the speaker my initial reaction (in my head… I wouldn’t dare say it aloud) was this: “Great. Some cute, little size two blonde (that looks remarkably like Kate Hudson) is going to tell us how to have great self confidence. What could she possibly know about struggling with that? Look at her. And she is probably a famous author of some great book… and funny too… awesome.” So that, my friends, is the awful, ugly, bitter truth of a look at the inside of Cassie’s brain. Turns out… this was exactly the class I needed. :)

The Speaker was Shauna Niequist, author of Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet. Turns out… she was awesome! She had loads of good practical information that was kind of a slap in the face during this class… but here are the three things she said that are just sticking with me days after the class was over.

First fabulous wake up call- You know you have an issue with YOURSELF when you say about other people: “it must be nice”. For example: when you see a friend (or not a friend) that is well rested and you think to yourself, “it must be nice” to get some sleep. Or if you talk to someone who is exercising, or eating right, or not so busy… whatever it is … when you use the phrase (whether aloud or in your head) “it must be nice” about someone else- take lessons. STOP!!! Stop being jealous or envious and learn from that person! Let that feeling of jealousy be a teacher. Figure out who it is that sets off the “it must be nice” alarm in your head and take lessons. That may mean you are giving up something, or slowing down, or not being involved in everything… but you have to make choices. So if you want life to be “nice” then figure out who you are dissing with the “it must be nice” phrase… and take lessons!

Second thing… stop assuming. Stop assuming that because that mom you see in the grocery story that is skinny, has cute jeans, and her children are adorable and well dressed with perfect hair… she has no problems. (Whoops! Did I do that when I walked in the door to the Kate Hudson look-a-like speaker? Yikes! Insert slap in the face here.) We (and by we, I mean me) need to stop assuming that because someone appears to have it together on the outside, they aren’t struggling. EVERYONE has a struggle. Whether big or small, everyone is dealing with something. Let’s not continue to assume that because someone is not (or appears not to be) struggling with the same thing you do (self image, children’s horrible behavior, infertility, health issues, financial problems, no friends… insert your struggle here) that they don’t have a struggle. Everyone struggles with something.

Third thing (and really there is so much more… but these just stand out) was this: If you are good, then I can’t be. This is a lie!!! How many times do we do this in our heads? If you are trying to loose weight and struggling, but someone else is having it fall of rapidly… we compare. If you are trying to get pregnant and someone else does… we compare. If you see a group of girlfriends hanging out and are struggling to make connections… we compare. God never said, “I have 46 people to hand out the “you get a baby” card to. Sorry… you were number 47 in line.” No!!! Just because someone else has something, or gets something that you want or are striving for DOES NOT mean that diminishes your chance of getting it too. I do this all of the time! I think, someone else already wrote a book, or sold their crafts, or ran fast, or lost weight, or whatever it is that I am struggling with in the moment…. So automatically that means I shouldn’t/can’t do it. That is a myth. The truth is ABUNDANCE!!! There are an abundance of blessings for everyone. God decides who gets what and when, but just because someone else has or is something you want… it does not mean that you won’t be/get that.

The conference was amazing and there is some much more I would like to share… but this post is already way too long (kudos to you if you are still reading). BUT… I can’t leave this post without letting you know…. I GOT TO MEET JEN HATMAKER!!!! Yes my friends, that is right! The lady that wrote the book Seven that inspired this crazy fasting experience, the woman that has forever changed my life… I met her! It was like a 1.5 minute encounter, but I met her none the less. She signed my book, I told her she changed by life, I got a little teary eyed, and then we mutually agreed that food month was the hardest month! :) It was glorious and I am so glad I got to experience it!