Some things I learned this weekend

Each year Deseret Books sponsors Time Out For Women ( http://deseretbook.com/time-out ). It's a two day event where authors and performers from Deseret Book come and speak in a conference type setting. It's described as a "time out to catch your physical and spiritual breath" and I always come away feeling like I've had a mini vacation.
This year some of us decided to spend the night in Sacramento instead of driving back and forth. It was such a good idea. We stayed at the Sheraton which is a lovely hotel with a great staff and it's located just down the block from the convention center where Time Out was being held. The rooms are lovely and they have a great room service menu (I had the best sirloin burger ever for a late night dinner).
The two days were filled with alot of great speakers and I loved being able to spend the time with my friends. There were also two great musical acts. On Friday, violinist Jennie Oaks Baker performed. I have had the privilege of hearing her before. She is truly amazing and has such passion in her playing. I had to buy one of her cds. The other group was a trio called Mercy River. They have a great rapport with each other and share that with the audience. There music is kind of a pop/inspirational and they were fun to listen to.
The theme for the event was Hope. I wanted to share a few of the great quotes from the two days.
Ardeth Kapp:
We don't have to look back ... We can look forward.
The principle of hope drives us forward with optimism.
The trials and tests in life are not to discourage us but to refine us.
John Bytheway:
Wake up and say, "I think I'll be delightful today!"
Emily Watts (speaking about Motherhood):
It's been lovely, but I have to scream now!
The years fly by even though some of the days are so long!
We have to have faith that at the very moment we need God's help it will be there.
Don't abandon the hope that your children will progress and improve
Amanda Dixon:
Every day is perfect
Don't worry about the worst thing that can happen ... It might be the best thing for you, the most beautiful thing.
Whenever a parent yells at a child it is communicating one thing: Calm me (the parent) down.
Your best is good enough
Emily Freeman:
How to see a good day-
1. Change your perspective
2. List what you love (make a list of thirty things you love and look at that list each day)
3. Give your heart great experiences (when we give our heart great experiences, miracles happen)
4. Remember the great experiences, the special days of your life
5. Remember to turn to the Savior to be reminded of the hope that is in each of us
Jill Manning:
She spoke about the impact that Internet pornography is having on families and children. She talked about how we as women need to stand together to protect our children from it. She gave a great analogy of how elephant herds protect their young from lion attacks by standing shoulder to shoulder in a formidable circle around the young.

One more speaker was part of this amazing line-up. Her name was Mariam Kallom. She grew up in Sierra Leone (Africa) during a very violent and bloody time in the country's history. She shared the horrors of seeing many members of her family violated and killed. As awful as that was she never gave up hoping for a better life. Her story was inspiring as she told how she was helped through the efforts of the Humanitarian projects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was a great example of how that program helps change lives.

It was a fantastic weekend and we are already making plans to attend in October next year!