Planes, Trains, and Deep Transformation
Chicago was fun.
The Truth Project is amazing.
I left packing until Friday morning because I work better under pressure. Either that or it's my Gift of Procrastination. I re-checked when we were to register and noted that it said between 4 and 7 pm.
To make a long story short, I called my sister to see if she could watch the kids earlier in the day so we could arrive with lots of cushion time. It's a good thing I did. After we dropped them off, we quickly ran back to our home to pick up our luggage and discovered the kids' luggage in the middle of the living room floor?!?
So we made one more trip to my parents' home, dropped the dog off at his sitter's home, and we were on the road. Just in the nick of time.
We arrived in Chicago at 4, checked in to the hotel, registered by 4:30, went for a bite to eat, and got back to the church by 6:30. We got a great seat up front. Chicago is beautiful right now! Not only do they have leaves... they have blossoms!
The next 24 hours were almost indescribable.
I feel like I would cheapen the whole experience if I tried to put it into words, but at the same time I want you to know how amazing this Project is.
If the saying is true that you only have one chance at a first impression, the Truth Project team at Focus On The Family has taken care of those first few moments. Everything is incredibly well done. Consistent. Well thought out. Smooth. "Winsome and Attractive".
Del Tackett is an extremely gifted Teacher. Honest. Straight-forward. Brilliant. Well-spoken. Real and Approachable. It is obvious that he is doing what he is doing because God has laid this on his heart.
We were told that our names had been given to staff at Focus on the Family and that whoever received our name had been praying for us and would continue to do so throughout the conference. I am sure this, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, is what contributed to the impact Del's teaching had on me.
Kind of like riding a Roller Coaster of Revelation.
There were also plenty of light-hearted moments throughout the weekend. If you go through the Truth Project DVDs you can see that Dr. Tackett is witty, but seeing him in person you get to experience it even more so. It almost made me wish I was in college again. I would absolutely love to take one of his classes.
Del wasn't the only one with a great sense of humor. Gary Alan Taylor was pretty entertaining too, as well as being an incredible resource.
We happened to be staying at the same hotel as the Focus On The Family Staff, and I noticed Gary at breakfast Saturday morning. I had my knitting with me (it was a 2.5 hour drive down to Chicago - prime knitting opportunity) and I asked Gary if it would be OK if I knit during the conference. Being a stay-at-home mom, I'm not really used to sitting completely still for an entire day, no matter how intellectually stimulating the content is! He was more than agreeable about it even before I promised I'd be quiet. Very kind.
After the conference I was thinking about asking Del to pose for a photo with my knitting. Sock knitters do it all the time. It's a sock-knit-blogger-thing.
I chickened out.
But I was brave enough to ask Gary.
He kindly obliged, and then he said "what do I do with them?" and put the socks on his head.
Isn't that the very definition of "Winsome & Attractive"?
Seriously though, I am very thankful for the sacrifice of time that these men make to do these training seminars. I will continue to pray for them and their families as they forge ahead in this ministry.
Go to the web-site. See if there is a seminar near you. You will not be disappointed. The Truths presented will transform your life.
