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good morning friends. i’m on my 2nd cup of coffee since 5:30 a.m. and since there’s only enough creamer for one more cup i figured this might be my morning peek and what better thing to do than give ya’ll my favorite thoughts, memories & take aways from the Allume Conference. in their own words~
i bought my ticket months ago & managed to roll in to greenville, southcarolina with no other plan than to fully engage while i was there. i knew we’d be blessed by ann voscamp & a host of truly gifted speakers…what i didn’t know was just how much they would touch & inspire me. i knew i’d see my girlfriends, some of whom i’d never spent time with in the flesh, and wouldn’t you know, it was just like we’d been friends & neighbors for years. both nights i only got about 4-5 hours of sleep because edie would like you to believe she turns in early, but blondie can hang with the best of ’em until the wee hours of the night ;). so fully engaged meant for me that i stayed of facebook and twitter, only posted 3 pics on instagram ( which is a shocker in & of itself being the over-sharer that i’ve become so comfortable being). fully engaged meant that i haven’t read a blog or even checked emails in four days ( i apologize) and fully engaged even meant i didn’t even walk outside the hotel for fresh air for over 24 hours. so yes, i basically attended a conference about connecting, especially in social media and i only connected in real-life, real-time, while i was there. but that was so awesome!
i thought about coming here & giving you a few takeaways & then coming back later and posting the fullstory, but let’s get started & see where we end up.
so….10 things i’d love to share with you about my trip to allume:
1. ann voscamp is a total fashion icon. she wears old gringo boots. have mercy.
2. her voice…she enunciates her s’s & her t’s with the same beauty and power as her written word. she’s animated and her presence truly draws you in, even from across the room. she smiles & nods her head and claps while she’s on a panel and…did i mention she is drop dead gorgeous?
3. edie is in real life exactly what you’d expect her to be…and more. she’s full on frontal hugger and giggles and smells wonderful. she brings cookies for her roomies & might even “out boot” me. her resiliency through the many fires she’s walked through, both literally and figuratively, gives any of us the hope that we too could do the same. i told her before she spoke friday morning that she is truly the homecoming queen of the entire gig….cheers to you my precious friend!
4. the lord loves to weave friendships together & bless us in ways that truly blow our minds. and he continues to give me friends who are total knockouts…and apparently blond & fabulous.
5. speaking of fabulous. ya’ll. i have no words other than wow. emily. um yes. she is indeed as glamorous and effortlessly elegant as you’d imagine. she & her total hunky hubby were able to take the lofty, usually overwhelming tips on growing your blog & make them easy to understand. if edie girl was the homecoming queen, emily is the essence of hollywood royalty with warmth and humility. she’s kind & generous with her many many gifts.
6. my favorite definition of the weekend: the gift of hospitality is that of inviting someone into your story.
7. jesus has signed your name on the palm of his hand. that is success. not whether or not you’ve signed a book deal or have hit 300,000 readers.
8. “our god is infinite. do not be seduced by the myth of scarcity-that there are only so many worthy callings-.” ( ann voscamp)
9.” when you get ahold of who god is & what he wants to do in & through you, you will be blessed beyond measure. accept what He has given us & give it back to Him. make Him known”. ( my genuine, real life, down to earth, knee slapping funny, stylish knockout texan friend, melanie shankle the big mama of caroline)
10. noonday & champagne make a great marriage
11. smilebooths are the best and despite bringing 5 ensembles i manged to have all my pictures taken while wearing the same one.
12. it could easily be january before i completely re-do the failure that is my unclear blog layout. can you say “above the fold” fail?
13. i love myquillen. she has a sweet gentle spirit and is humble and precious. she seems unaware of her coolness & stardum of being known worldwide in the circle of famous one-name stars…. better known as the nester.
14. obey the dream you were given ( joy thigpen)
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and on that note, i’d truly love to hear from YOU~~~~
are you daring to obey your own dream? if so, would you share with me?
there is so much power in speaking your dream out loud, even if out loud is in the form of a blog comment. i read each & everyone and would love to pray a blessing & encouragement over you
Lori H - Paige, what a great trip it looks like! I wish, at 51, I could voice my dream. I hate to say that I am not sure what it is. Sometimes I get a little glimpse of what my purpose/dream might be, but it is like when you wake up from a dream and you can remember little bits of it but you could’t put it into words. Does that ever happen to you? I have no doubt that God has plans for me, and that He is working all the time in my life to make them happen. I just hope I will be able to discern the direction and not miss it!
Susan - Love this…love you…loved the amazing time we had at Allume! Have mercy…I am actually on your blog! What a way to begin my Monday :). To answer your question…not all of the time! It’s something I need to become more intentional about with the Lord. Praying that your day is filled with His peace as we continue to reflect all that God put on our hearts this weekend.
xoxo
Amy Avery - Oh I am just thrilled beyond words about y’all’s trip to Allume! What an awesome experience to be with so many women who are allowing God’s glory to shine through their gifts and talents and their stories. You know what my dream is, Paige? It’s that all the women who are out there and the men folk too will really truly know that God LOVES them like no one else can. That people will know how beautiful they are just the way they are. That they will know that God made them in his image and did not make one single mistake. He used all the colors of the rainbow, not just one to create and paint this big old world and he truly wants to shine through each and ever single last color. My dream is to encourage and support others in knowing that their gifts and talents matter and that God will use them to shine his light and bring his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. If I do nothing else in my life time but to allow God to shine through my own gifts and talents to uplift and support someone else, well I will feel truly like I have lived the life God meant me to. My heart SINGS when I see all of you beautiful and talented women loving and encouraging and doing what God made you to be. It’s awesome and I am so happy and excited for all of you! You truly are the living hands and feet and face of Christ!
Sara - I’m so glad you had a wonderful time and that you connected face to face with those you love! So many of the women you mentioned (yourself included) reach so, so many women with your words. I am thankful for your hearts and wisdom. I’ve struggled for years with living my dream. Because it would involve me making a drastic change in my employment. Kind of like you did. The jump would be scary financially and cause life as we know it to be turned upside down. But, oh, I’m tired and don’t know how thin I can be stretched. My heart definitely isn’t into what is paying the bills and it drags me down, y’know? Maybe this will be the year…Thanks for “listening”!
LLH Designs - What a power packed weekend! My goodness! NO shortage of star power…including YOU! I can only imagine all the amazing things women are thinking about having met you, sweet thing! You are EXACTLY what they hoped they’d find. The same you as you are here on the blog. I had no idea what Allume was, and I’m not a big conference goer, but you almost make me want to go. xoxo!
Kellie - I have two things I guess you would say I am working on. One is that I feel like God is trying to pull me closer and I struggle with that because I sometimes feel unworthy of His love…crazy I know. So, that is goal #1…to FOCUS on that and listen to what He is telling me. The second is to be a photographer…I have all of the equipment, I have taken classes and read books, but I am so worried I’m not good enough! I recently put some photos I took of my daughter on FB and nearly had a heart attack. And even though I got such a wonderful response I still am struggling with making the jump! I’m quite certain the first thing will help me with the second one though. 😉
C - My dreams are: 1. pay off my credit cards. Inspiration by the Nester hit me and I’m going to be debt free this time next year if not sooner! I’m praying that my shopping habits will cease and I will be satisfied with less clutter. You inspired me with your clean out! 2. Be a better parent. I have two teenage sons who are great. I need to acknowledge that instead of pointing out the negatives all the time. I will send them sweet affirmations in the mail ( to our own mailbox, but getting mail is fun!) and I will kiss my husband MULTIPLE times a day. 3. I am living my dream of being a high school English teacher. It’s truly a dreamy job even after 14 years, I refuse to have a bad day.
Have a great week and thank you for your inspiration.
Logan - I love all of this Paige! Thank you so much for sharing, for engaging, and for being a part of what God is doing! I love too that you engaged in the flesh the whole time too….i’m a huge fan of that method and do the same thing! hugs to you and heaps of blessings, Logan
Heidi @ Decor & More - Loved reading this and peeking into this event! I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface of my dream and creativity and I’m so encouraged by women gifted through art and faith. Thank you for sharing, Paige!
Xo Heidi
ellie - ahhh. it’s crazy fun to see y’all playing in my backyard 🙂 we love our greenville, sc! how funny that you asked that question! I just started leading a small group of 9th graders and one of the questions last night was “if you could do anything with your life and money didn’t matter, what would it be?” It was AWESOME hearing these sweet girls share their dreams! and immediately when i read the question i knew my dream is all about leading high school girls and missions and photography – taking photos that move people to ACT; to adopt, to give, to serve, to love, to be inspired to go where they are called and do what needs to be done! whew. (copying and pasting this to my journal 🙂 I’ll be 50 on Thursday – (yikes!) and I finally have a vision of what I want to do when I grow up! thanks paige for always being such an encouragement – you shine! xoxo ellie
Shon - Wow, what fun you all had!! I might need to make this a destination next year?? I am so inspired by your blog, life and family. We have a few things in common, namely our girls. I have an 8th and 6th grade girl with a 2nd grade boy as well. We live a fun and busy life Out loud for the Lord!!
Well, your question was what is my dream? At times I feel I am living it and then there are times when I feel like I need more, to dream bigger!!?? I am perplexed at my waffling and indecision. I pray and ask the Lord to settle my mind and to allow me to walk where He guides me. There are times when I feel as though this life, this fully blessed life has no room in it to ponder on dreams?? I would love to be more creative, adept at sewing, etc. I have even started to do a little here and there, but the season at hand is a busy one as you know, with growing teen/tween girls, etc. I am encouraged that my day will come, even though as type it might not read as though I am.
Thanks for providing a safe place to share!
Mimi - Looks like you had an amazing time! Maybe next year for me : )
One of my dreams became a reality this fall. I started an online Bible study site. Just completed the first study and I’m doing guest posts and inspiration until the next study in January. I would love for you to guest post — if you’re willing : )
Shannon Phillips - WOW… God has spoken to me lately, clearly.. He simply made me aware that “I need to be obey my own dream”, because He gave it to me…Stop waiting for someone else to acknowledge your dream and begin to act on it. He will acknowledge the obedience if I dare to obey my own dream. I have had words stuck in my brain for years..Daring me to let them out on paper, on a podium, at a poetry reading or anywhere that I can. What am I waiting for?? The message for me (in this post you just shared) is very clear… Thank you Paige!
Lemonade Makin' Mama - I honestly LOVED all of this.
I tend to feel like a loser when I read posts about blog conferences since I can never go, and it often feels like a big gathering of beautiful bloggers laughing and posing for beautiful photos, but you shared this in such a way that I didn’t feel that way. That sounded stupid but I’ll leave the comment because I don’t know how else to say it. Basically, you share things in such a way that both the reader and the person you’re talking about feel blessed and good. Love that and it’s a gift.
As for my dream. yeah… still working on that~! I always wanted to sell my artwork- even back in high school. It occurred to me the other day that I’m doing that! I don’t know where it’s going to take me but I’m always hoping that it takes off in a certain direction or another. God knows. 🙂
edie - You are such a precious blessing in my life and I am full of gratitude for the wonderful fellowship. You are beautiful, Paige, and you have a way of loving the people in your life that is so special. And then there’s the boots?!?!?! You have got it going on, sister. Thank you, love you, and miss you already!
xoxo,
edie
Elizabeth Henson - Please tell me where you got that beautiful sweater you wore at the allume.
Thanks Elizabeth
AJ - Beautiful post
I dream of creating beautiful bed linen … to help people create a gorgeous sanctuary that they can sink into a the end of a day
Hopefully to be made locally and not outsourced to poorly paid workers in foreign countries
I’m hoping that I can make this dream come true