What will your Happy Girl Story be? This year, I am so honored to be able to have Lisa Young as the guest speaker, because she’s an integral part of my #HGStory. I went on a mission trip to Haiti with an organization called C3 Global that Lisa & her husband Ed founded. On this trip, I was with Lisa & a few other pastors’ wives from around the country. I just knew that I knew I was supposed to go on that trip. We really didn’t have the finances at the time to make it happen, but as always, when it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill. Since I had lived on the mission field in India for five years I honestly didn’t expect the trip to make that big of an impact on me, and I didn’t really know why God wanted me to go.
At one point in the trip, I found myself in an elevator with Lisa, and someone told her that the clipboards she and her mother had spent a ton of time decoupaging for each of us on the trip all stuck together in the luggage on the way from Dallas to Miami because of the heat. When she got the news, she literally gut laughed and said, “Aren’t ya glad life is too short to worry about clipboards?” I replied, “Yeah, aren’t ya glad we know that now?” As soon as those words left my mouth, I realized that I actually didn’t yet know that. I returned to my hotel room only to be greeted by the Holy Spirit who said loud and clear, “You lie. You fry!” Well, not exactly. But I got to thinking about that and knew that if that had happened to me, I definitely would not have belly laughed. In that very moment, I knew something was very wrong with my thought processes. You know how they say the way to tell a counterfeit is to put it up against the real deal? I, at that moment, realized that Lisa is a genuinely happy person, but I was not.
Throughout the rest of the trip, from early morning to late night, we had many opportunities to see the real and the raw, but Lisa’s composure never changed and neither did any of the other pastors’ wives. I was among greatness and honestly, a little out of my league. For a couple of years, I had been praying for divine appointments and that God would connect me with people that are farther down the road than me in areas that would challenge me to grow. This trip was the beginning of the answer to that prayer. After that trip, what began as a difficult conversation with God turned into me realizing through His grace, the true definition of happy is to enjoy the joy that He has provided us, and that realization manifested first into 52 blog titles; then chapters for my book, Happy Anyway; followed by Happy Anyway small groups; Happy Girl conferences; my second book, Love Anyway; and ideas for much more.
This is my story. Above, I shared Pam’s. Below, I share Ashley’s. When can I share yours? Won’t you join me?
This year’s conference is going to be the best yet, and I’m calling all Happy Girls and girls who have lost their happy alike! Please join us this weekend for a time TOGETHER to connect with each other and be changed forever in His presence!!! And please also join us in prayer this week that every need is met this weekend!!!
I believe in my heart of hearts that this conference this weekend is not just a bunch of silly girls who needed more to do but it is an appointment on Heaven’s calendar, and I’m asking you to put it on yours! Book a last minute deal flight, book your hotel, book your babysitter, and come join the happy sisterhood this weekend September 20-21 with special guest Lisa Young and hundreds of ladies who have decided to choose happy and love anyway, having the lives they were put on this planet to live!
Happy Monday and I hope to see you this Friday night when the doors open at 6 PM at Harvest Church in Mobile, Alabama! Follow us on social media to stay up on all the details leading up to and during the conference!!
Register TODAY for Happy Girl 19 here!