In Chicago
This blog post comes to you from a coffee shop at a church in the Chicago suburbs. I'm here for a conference - today was a women's leadership event, and the next two days are a general leadership event (which will be viewed by tens of thousands of people world-wide).
I had a nice time today at the Willow Creek Association's Gifted to Lead Conference. This morning, I sat around a table with 2 women from South Africa, a woman from the Chicago area who coordinates international events, two women from Arizona, and a woman from Los Angeles. I ate lunch with a woman from Denmark, then settled in after lunch with a table of other 30-something women (oh, how I wish this conference had been a few months ago so I could have still sat with the 20's!) who were from all over the country. It was nice to sit with these women, from different backgrounds as well as different places, and be inspired together about leadership. It was a nice mix -- not too girly (in fact, not very girly at all - thank you for that!) with times to listen, times for quiet reflection, and times to talk and laugh with others. I found the courage to be vulnerable about a few things, but mostly listened and tried to absorb it all. Like any good event, this one will be fueling my brain for months to come.
Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to more of the same -- but on a larger scale. Rather than sitting around tables, we'll be in a large auditorium here (live -- the feed of the event is them simulcast to locations around the country, and tape-delayed to various international sites). But, I know it'll be a simliar mix of people from diverse backgrounds coming together with a common interest -- how the local church is the hope of the world and it's future rests in the hands of leaders. I'm looking forward to a great time at this event, the Leadership Summit.
Tonight, I'm looking forward to picking Matt up from the train (he's been to the Cubs game downtown), and going for dinner together. Maybe we'll get some cheesy italian beef (or something fancier - I'm not picky). Tomorrow & Friday after the seminars conclude, we're considering taking the train into downtown to eat dinner (Frontera Grill, please have space for us!!!) and maybe going to the Chicago Institute of Art.
I had a nice time today at the Willow Creek Association's Gifted to Lead Conference. This morning, I sat around a table with 2 women from South Africa, a woman from the Chicago area who coordinates international events, two women from Arizona, and a woman from Los Angeles. I ate lunch with a woman from Denmark, then settled in after lunch with a table of other 30-something women (oh, how I wish this conference had been a few months ago so I could have still sat with the 20's!) who were from all over the country. It was nice to sit with these women, from different backgrounds as well as different places, and be inspired together about leadership. It was a nice mix -- not too girly (in fact, not very girly at all - thank you for that!) with times to listen, times for quiet reflection, and times to talk and laugh with others. I found the courage to be vulnerable about a few things, but mostly listened and tried to absorb it all. Like any good event, this one will be fueling my brain for months to come.
Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to more of the same -- but on a larger scale. Rather than sitting around tables, we'll be in a large auditorium here (live -- the feed of the event is them simulcast to locations around the country, and tape-delayed to various international sites). But, I know it'll be a simliar mix of people from diverse backgrounds coming together with a common interest -- how the local church is the hope of the world and it's future rests in the hands of leaders. I'm looking forward to a great time at this event, the Leadership Summit.
Tonight, I'm looking forward to picking Matt up from the train (he's been to the Cubs game downtown), and going for dinner together. Maybe we'll get some cheesy italian beef (or something fancier - I'm not picky). Tomorrow & Friday after the seminars conclude, we're considering taking the train into downtown to eat dinner (Frontera Grill, please have space for us!!!) and maybe going to the Chicago Institute of Art.
posted by Becky Laswell at
5:37 PM
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