Time Out for Women...

How I enjoy Time Out for Women. It comes every other year to Cincinnati. Well, it is really in Covington, Kentucky which is right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. People know Cincinnati. It is like saying the Cincinnati Airport. It is really in Kentucky. But, people know Cincinnati. The alternate year it is held in Indianapolis. I don't go to that one. 

This is the first year since before the pandemic that there was an 'in-person' Time Out for Women (TOFW). I was able to enjoy the on-line version during the pandemic. Happy to be back in person. 

This year's theme was Glorious Light. It was the 20th anniversary of TOFW. 

I drove up Friday, September 23rd, so that I arrived about 6pm. The doors would open for seating at 6:10pm. There would be a line to get in. Parking had gone from $10 a day to $20 a day. Ugh!! I arrived safely and on time. I went into the lobby of the Convention Center and picked up my arm band and my new tote bag. This is a biggy for every TOFW. They have a different style tote bag each year that you get with your registration. There is a logo imprinted with the theme for that year. The ladies all treasure their tote bag. The doors opened at 6:10 and I was fortunate enough to get a seat on the second row of the right side of the seating. There are big screens on either side of the stage so no one misses the view no matter where you sit. 

At 7pm the program began with the emcee welcoming everyone. She gives the things we need to know for the evening. How to register for the drawing of door prizes. How to participate in the Menti surveys. Who the vendors are. Etc., etc., etc.

She shared these pictures (and some others) of homes in Poland. It seems their homes would get dark spots on them in the kitchen area where the soot would stay. To cover that, the families would paint beautiful things on the walls to cover the dark spots. This eventually spread to the rest of the inside and the outside of the homes. The object lesson was to visually see that light covers the dark spaces. 

A couple of quotes she shared that I really liked were:

• Wherever you are, be there.
• As the world speaks less of Jesus Christ, let us speak more of Him. ~~ Neil Anderson

Then, all the presenters came to the stage and they each answered questions so we could get to know them a bit. Left to right: Melinda Brown, Jody Moore, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Reyna Aburto, Mary Ellen Edmunds and the emcee. I really should have captured her name! Ugh!

Friday evening was from 7pm to 9pm. The last hour we were entertained by Nathan Pacheco. His bio had this to say: "Nathan Pacheco is an award-winning classically trained tenor who expresses his love of languages by writing lyrics in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Nathan has a passion for uplifting people through his music." He is married with three children. His very first number was a song sung by Andrea Bocelli. I love hearing Andrea Bocelli sing and Nathan sounded exactly like him. My attention was caught. Nathan started by telling us that his favorite place to perform is in a room full of women. He was sincere, not flattering us. We would be very well entertained by him. He put on the screen the chorus to two of the songs he performed and the audience stood and sang the chorus with him. There was clapping to the music. There were hands in the air and swaying. The room was full of fun and energy. 

My favorite quotes from Nathan's speaking were these:

• If you are having struggles—sing about it.
• Come as you are but don’t expect to stay as you are. ~~ Jeffrey R. Holland
• Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Nathan Pacheco looks a lot like Tim Daly to me. He wants to get the part of P. T. Barnum in the Greatest Showman on Broadway some day. 

I would drive home Friday night and return Saturday morning.

Saturday, September 24th, I was on the road at 7:30am to arrive about 9am at the Convention Center. Doors opened at 9:10am and, amazingly, I got the same seat I had on Friday. Yeah me!! Our emcee welcomed us and gave out more door prizes and started the Menti surveys again. She introduced the Lightkeeper's Manifesto by showing a picture of women who kept the lighthouses running while their husbands were in World War II. We would fill this out throughout the day. There are four blanks to fill in. We would have a Menti question for each one of the blanks to help us get ideas. There was a video clip to go with each question that supported that idea. It helped to connect that entire days presentations.

The first presenter for this day was Laurel Christensen Day. Laurel is the president of Deseret Book which is the sponsor and developer of TOFW. I have heard Laurel before and she is a great speaker. Her talk was entitled "The Truth about Light". She had done some study of light and how it works to prepare her for her presentation. She gave three truths about light. First, the Light of Christ is like a wave, it can bend around corners so that you can receive light. She likened this to Faith. Second, the Light of Christ carries energy. This she likened to Hope. Third, the Light of Christ can impact all matter. She said the Light of Love answers all weighty matters in the world. She gave an example and encouraged us to ask someone "What do you need me to pray for you right now?" Powerful!! Laurel shared an experience when her father was dying of cancer. He was in great pain. He looked at her and said, "This is so hard." It reminded me of my mother having Alzheimer's. She had visited us in Sadieville and Papa was putting her in his car to take her back to the nursing home. She really didn't know or speak of anything at this stage of Alzheimer's. Yet, as she got in that car and I stood at the window for a final hug, my mother looked up at me and as clearly as she ever spoke, said, "This is so hard." I hugged my mother and looked in her eyes and said, "Mom, you can do hard things." Then she was back into her Alzheimer's. It was one of the most tender moments for me helping my mother through that awful illness. Laurel set a great beginning to this day by focusing on the Light of Christ as it relates to Faith, Hope and Love.

The musical group for this day was the Bonner Family. Debra and Harry Bonner had eight children, four boys and four girls. Harry actually was born and raised in Cincinnati, so this was coming home for him. All these children participate with this family group. For our TOFW, Debra, Harry, two of their sons and one granddaughter would perform throughout the day. They were great.

We had a twenty-minute break. Then Mary Ellen Edmunds spoke. This wonderful lady is a favorite of mine. I first heard her speak after we moved to Kentucky. I took my mother with me and we listened to her speak at a Bi-Stake Women's Conference. I was smitten with her great since of humor and sincere heart. Later, Claude and I took a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Mary Ellen was on that tour and three nights she spoke to our tour group. It was wonderful. Mary Ellen or MEE is also known for her colorful socks. So, I looked forward to hearing her again. The title of her talk was "Light the Way Home--Shine On! Shine On!" These are a few of my favorite quotes from her words:

• Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.
• When I light someone else’s light with my light, it does not diminish my light any.
• We don’t shine so others can see us. We shine so others can see Him.
• The increasing darkness that accompanies tribulation makes the light of Christ shine brighter. ~~ Russell M. Nelson
• Mary Ellen sang an Indonesian Lullaby. She served a mission there. The words tell us of the love of a mother for her child. She doesn’t keep track of it. She just gives without hope of return.

Then the Bonner Family performed again.

The next speaker was Reyna Aburto. Reyna has served on the Primary General Board and as a counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. She is originally from Nicaragua. The titled of her talk was "Why Are We Weeping and Whom Are We Seeking?" I was most taken with seeing her in slacks. We always see the general auxiliary presidencies in dresses. She used light switches, clouds and light in her presentation. 

We were given a 75-minute lunch break. I quickly bought a sandwich and soda at the catered lunch in the Convention Center. Then I quickly walked through the vendors and only purchased a t-shirt. Then back to my seat to read more in my book. 

After lunch, our next speaker was Barbara Morgan Gardner. Her talk was entitled "Living in the Light of Christ". Barbara is an associate professor of religion at BYU. She served as the chaplain at Harvard and MIT. She shared a sweet story of marrying her husband. He asked her when they were dating what nationality she would want to marry other than himself. She wondered why he would ask such a question. Barbara suggested he answer that question for her first. He said he would marry a Brazilian. She replied she would marry a Samoan. After years of trying everything possible to have a baby or adopt or IVF, they had no luck at all. Then a woman contacted her and said she had been following her story and she felt that they were the couple to parent her two grandchildren. It turns out these two little girls were half Brazilian and half Samoan. Barbara and her husband were able to adopt these two little sisters and now they are a very happy family of four. Cool story. 

Barbara shared her study of Joan of Arc. She shared the pattern that Joan of Arc followed when she was 14 years of age and had a vision of what she was to do with her life. Her pattern was ponder, fast, pray, be committed to act and be worthy (pure). Barbara compared this to the same pattern of 14-year old Joseph Smith. As she was going to be burned at the stake, Joan of Arc said, "I am not afraid. I was born to do this." My favorite quote by Barbara was "We do not have enough light until we are like the Savior (more light). Gain more light and share it."

We then all watched a video about the third question to fill in our third blank on our Lightkeeper’s Manifesto. The quote I saved from this was "We need an ongoing, daily infusion of light."

The Bonner family treated us to their rendition of "Come, Come Ye Saints". This is a beloved LDS Hymn. Beautifully done by the Bonner family.

Jody Moore spoke next. The title of her talk was "Aligning with Grace by Thinking on Purpose". Jody has her own coaching practice and her husband left his job as a healthcare administrator to work with her. Jody began by speaking of the Savior's Atonement and how it has a dual function. The Atonement 'saving power' which is repentance and resurrection to salvation. It also has a 'strengthening power' which is grace. Jody related that to thinking on purpose. She gave three phases of thinking on purpose.

3 Phases of Thinking on Purpose

1. Awareness Phase: Thoughts create our feelings
2. Release Phase: Feelings are healthy. Positive & Negative. Our Heavenly parents gave us feelings to navigate the world. Our default brain wants us to be right.
3. Redirect Phase: You are allowed any thought you want. “Worry is not preventative. Fear only lives in the future.” Our trials today are mental and emotional trials.

The final speaker was Melinda W. Brown. Melinda is back in college working on some type of divinity degree. Her talk was titled "Heaven Begins Here". Here are some of my favorite quotes from Melinda's talk:

• Opposition in all things isn’t a punishment, it is a teaching tool. 
• The covenant path is a public trail.
• We all have burdens to bear and burdens to share. ~~ Linda K. Burton
• Covenants are both treasure and tool.
• Friendship is eternal, heavenly and divine.
• Learn to see with heavenly vision.
• Looking isn’t always the same as seeing. 
• We are not asked to love perfectly. We are asked to love authentically.
• She sees striving as a beautiful equation: Struggling + Trying + Surviving = Striving
• Everyone has light to share. We need theirs. They need ours.

The Bonner Family would perform one more time. 

All the presenters came back on stage for a Q&A session. The audience had been given an opportunity to provide questions. There were all types of questions from serious doctrinal type questions to asking Mary Ellen Edmunds where she gets her socks! 

This was a very 'cup filling' time for me. I enjoyed each presenter and took something away from each of them. The music is always great. I am grateful I am in a position to take this time to 'fill my cup'.