It was such an incredible joy, recently, to share with the lovely ladies of Jefferson City, Tennessee, and the surrounding area at the Growing Godly Women conference hosted by Mill Springs Baptist Church.
Always take your tracts when you travel! 
Bear with me! (Knoxville airport)
After picking me up at the airport, my gracious hostesses for the weekend, Libby and Karen, whisked me off for a relaxing foot detox treatment – a first for me, but so refreshing after hours on a plane.
How it started… 
How it’s going …er…ended.
(I promise that’s not dirt – I have very clean feet! I’m told the ionization machine, salt, and water, are supposed to draw your body’s toxins out through your feet. Who knew I was such a toxic person? :0) Also this had nothing to do with mysticism or New Age practices.)
Next, was dinner at Cheddars – another first since we don’t have one in Baton Rouge. (But once I found out they had Monte Cristo sandwiches, I was sold!)
After dinner, it was back to my lovely guest suite at Karen’s house, where I was greeted with an extensive beverage bar and a bountiful spread of goodies.
Friday morning, Libby was so kind to take me to see a couple of the local points of interest. Our first stop was post-Civil War home, Glenmore Mansion. What a treat! I love historic homes and antique furniture.
I love an antique square grand piano, and this is the first of Glenmore’s two lovelies! 
Each room has a coal burning fireplace with a unique design. 
Most of the rooms have intricately detailed wallpaper on the ceiling with medallions in the middle. 
I need this sideboard in my life. :0) 
This wallpaper in the dining room is something else. 
Looking up from the ground floor, through the spiral staircase, all the way to the ceiling of the third floor. 
Hetty was a daughter of one of the families who lived at Glenmore. 
One of the interesting features of this house is that some of the bedrooms have closets, like this one. Most homes of that period did not have closets and used armoires or chifferobes instead. 
Square grand piano #2 in the music room. 
I love this music stand. Very handy for storing all your sheet music! 
A beautiful conversation chair. Unlike most others, this one is a rocker. 
Pump organ. 
This is a great piece. I’ve seen lots of these swivel piano/organ stools, but never one with a back. 
Baby dress with adorable moccasins. 
Hand-woven blanket. Can you guess what year it was made? 
Now can you guess what year it was made? 
Toys in the children’s bedroom: dominoes in the blue box, marbles in the glass jar, toy horses and carriage on the bottom shelf. 
The children’s bedroom also has a closet. 
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, lol. :0)
Next, we headed over to Carson-Newman, a historically Southern Baptist University in the heart of Jefferson City. The campus library had a fascinating exhibit of a fine art replica of the St. John’s Bible (a hand calligraphed and illustrated copy of the Bible) along with a display of archaeological artifacts from the Holy Land.
Sadly, while the artwork is captivating, unbiblical elements are included in some of the illustrations, as it was designed to “appeal to all faiths”.
After lunch at a campus favorite, Mossy’s Café, it was time to get freshened up and rested up for the first night of the conference.
All conference audio will be linked here when available.
Libby welcomes the ladies 
Thank you so much to Joseph for leading our music!
Friday night’s first session was God’s Word, Our Foundation, discussing the necessity, authority and sufficiency of God’s Word. As Christian women, it is so important to see how vital God’s Word is to our lives.
After a hearty chicken dinner, we gathered again for our second session of the evening, Discernment 101: Learn to Discern. We talked about what discernment is, and how to use it – identifying false teachers and false doctrine – to the glory of God.
Saturday morning we got the ball rolling with Rock Your Role at Home and at Church, learning the beauty of God’s design for women and how we can robustly and biblically fill out the roles He has given us.
Next up was was Hooked on a Feeling: Living by God’s Word Instead of Our Emotions. Scripture is our authority as Christians, and we shouldn’t let our feelings lead us around by the nose.
This was so fun! A few months ago on the blog, I re-posted Jesus Loves Me: The “Contending for the Faith” Version. Libby saw it and thought it would fit right in with my Discernment 101 session, so she incorporated it into the ladies’ singing time. This is the first time (and maybe the last! :0) it has been sung in public.
And our final session was a fun and interesting Q&A. These ladies asked some super questions!
After all that hard work, it was lunch, fellowship, and picture time!
Lovely centerpieces! 
Life is like a box of chocolates – and so was dessert! 
One of the conference attendees brought me this phenomenal loaf of blackberry cobbler bread from a local farmers’ market, and I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best fruit bread I’ve ever eaten in my life. Ever.
Karen, Me, Libby 
So great to meet Miyoshi, a longtime supporter and follower of my ministry.
I hated to say goodbye, but I was able to get a Saturday flight out so I could be back with my own church family Sunday morning, and I strive to do that as often as I possibly can. Thanks so much to Libby and Karen for treating me like a queen and taking care of all of my needs. Thanks also to all the men and women of MSBC who worked so hard to host a fantastic conference, and made me feel so welcome. If you’re ever in the area and need a good church to visit, make plans to spend the Lord’s Day with these wonderful brothers and sisters.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information, or to find an upcoming event near you!
Photo Credits
Many thanks to Libby and other conference attendees who took or shared many of the photos above. You may assume that if I’m in the picture or if it’s a good quality photo that I didn’t take it. The remaining photos were shot by me.
