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Notes from Allume

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Allume Smile Booth

I’ve been running A Virtuous Woman for over 13 years now and I’ve never attended any blog related conference, so Allume 2014 was my first experience.

Remember how I mentioned that I’m a true introvert? I went to Allume along with some 400+ other women and basically didn’t know anyone. So, I pretty much had to force myself to meet new people and strike up conversations! Which is good for me I’m sure.

I didn’t know what to expect as far as the conference went because I hadn’t attended previous years. I went hoping for a very spiritual conference and I did find an atmosphere of worship. The keynote speakers had powerful messages that touched hearts. The theme this year was Hospitality and I loved that!

I tend to be very conservative in my beliefs and a couple of the speakers or panelists said things that did not resonate with me as a Christian, but other than that, the conference was amazing and I’m glad I went.

I came home with a boat load of goodies: 

Allume 2014 Goodies

I can’t wait to go through the books and watch the Mom’s Night Out movie! Also, I was lucky to win a couple of prizes – the Angel ornaments from Ornaments 4 Orphans because my name was drawn from the hat and the Gratitude plate from Mary & Martha for being the blogger to have been blogging the longest.

I got to meet some really great ladies. First of all, I finally met Tiffany from Seeing Sunshine. She’s in one of my mastermind groups and we’d never met before – and she’s one of the first people I saw at Allume.

Also, I had three roommates – ladies I’d never met before and who so graciously allowed me to share their room! Kristin and Kendra from The Ruth Experience and Emily from Crisp Interiors. These ladies were amazing and I am so privileged to have been able to spend a few days getting to know them! You really need to check out their blogs! They were everything I had hoped to find in my roommates!

I spoke to Darlene Weir and asked her what she thought about my dining room wallpaper. I really needed advice about what to do and she offered some great ideas!

I was so nervous when I arrived, but I’m so glad I went. God does amazing things when we just step out in faith and that’s what this was like for me. Stepping out in faith and grasping His hand and seeing new possibilities. It’s was fun to be around women who understood blogging as a ministry – something most people in my daily life seem baffled by. It’s nice to be understood!

As a writer, I was able to glean ideas from agents and publishers and other authors and that was such a blessings.

I also had the opportunity to make maracas and rainbow rings for children in Iraq who have undergone heart surgery. Preemptive Love Coalition is an organization that brings in teams of doctors to Iraq to operate on children who were born with heart defects.

Preemptive Love Coalition

So, all in all, Allume was a tremendous blessing and I can’t wait to go again next year!

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12 Comments

  1. YAY Allume! I am loving reading everyone's posts after Allume. I LOVED some of the speakers, and didn't care for a couple and one even made me angry. But that's life. We don't click with everyone, right? I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I sure hope we both get to go back next year! And maybe a few more of our blogging buddies can join us!
    1. Me, too, Tiffany! I know what you mean about the speakers... I felt really uncomfortable with a few statements that were made, but we won't agree with everyone in this life! It was definitely worth going and I do hope to go again next year! :)
  2. Sounds like a great event! One I would love to be part of. I am only just learning that writing/blogging is indeed a ministry, a ministry to touch lives for Christ and I wrote on some tips for christian writers/bloggers on my blog. God help us all to stay faithful to the ministry He has called us to... Ps:i love your goodies! *drooling*
  3. Melissa! I am so glad you were brave enough to go! I have been reading you just about every day since at least 2007, and comment every once in a while. Just wanted you to know that I appreciate your faithfulness in encouraging other women! Enjoy those goodies!
  4. Melissa, So glad you joined us this year and were refreshed! And like I said on the first night, we won't all agree on all of the things, but the important thing is that we always love first! Grateful to have you as part of the Allume community!

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