Influenced... from a distance

If you're completely bummed you missed Influence Conference this weekend

you're not alone

courtesy of

I have been beyond inspired and motivated 

by the women behind the Influence Conference. 

Together, 

Hayley Morgan, Jessi Connolly and Casey Wiegand 

organized a weekend of worship, education, praise and production.  

courtesy of

The tweets that rolled through my feed minute after minute left me with this feeling that I really don’t want to admit..



Jealousy

The pics of bloggers hugging it out after finally putting a face to a Twitter handle; the quotes from speakers and influential men and women.. the #ootd posts.. the “find me in the lobby!” shoutouts..   

It all made me wish more than anything I was there... like I missed THE boat.

But God has an amazing way of using occasions and times to really show Himself.   I hadn't missed a boat, but instead, realized that He helped me to board a different one.  

Had I been able to go this weekend, there is no doubt I’d have been in His presence, surrounded by incredible women, learning a multitude of things to grow my faith and brand and then share with the world.  

But as I sat here, reading tweets and catching Instagram posts, I remembered I’m still in His presence,  

and he was still working on me

Each quote that hit my heart was because of Him.  

Every link to a new person to follow was because of Him.  
Every photo, idea, urge..

Each interaction had an influence on me.. HIS influence.

To digress for just a moment..

I took a social media break earlier this fall.  Within one week of absolutely no online time, and then a following week of “service-only” online time, my Klout score dropped by 9.  In Klout terms, that’s pretty devastating;  Klout is the measure of your Social Media Influence.  It’s your online popularity!  Klout takes every tweet, facebook post, retweet, comment, like and sums you up with a number.  

In taking that break in Jesus’ name, my influence plummeted.. 

Or did it?

In that time I prayed more, I studied more, I commented on others’ posts instead of creating new ones.  According to my Klout score, I was losing Influence.  

According to God’s score, however, I was gaining.

How this relates to the Influence Conference is that it caused me to examine exactly why I wanted to go, and what I would do, given a weekend with the bloggers I adore.  Considering my current heart’s state; I’d have been too distraught over some of the most ridiculous things to even feel Him and experience all that the Influence Conference was intended for.  

My wardrobe for starters..

My basic blogger template is an eyesore..

My lack of experience would be very apparent..

My overall fear of standing next to these women and them seeing the “L” on my forehead 

All things that would keep me from absorbing a single second of happiness

It’s because I’m fixated on Klout-style influence 

and not God-style Influence.

The Influence Conference motivated me to grow my blog and learn, but for the good of God's Kingdom, not my own financial gain or popularity!  

I don’t know if Jessi, Hayley and Casey really knew how far out they were going to reach by creating the Influence Conference, but even in my absence, I was blessed by it.. blessed by their vision.  One example is from Casey's talk.  I have heard the saying "your mess can be your ministry" for years from the most special Christian women I know.  It's the only hope I have, and when Casey said this at Influence, Twitter exploded with RTs.  
I just kept receiving that reminder for hours....
talk about a nudge from the Lord to stay focused on my growth!!

These women have reached a point of being a great influence.. and they have moved me to really embrace the fact that, though I’m not to mine yet, I will be, and thanks be to God, I’ll have the power to be just as useful with the lessons I’ll learn.

What I have taken away most 

from the hours of following 

the Influence hashtag is simply this:

If I remain obedient... with prayer and petition I will have the strength and power to dissect my mess, make it my ministry, and then (only then) pour out to others.  I was created to Glorify Him, not impress the world.  I was built to do great things.. and His time, power and Love extend far beyond the limits of our minds and society.  

This is not the last of all Christian conferences, and so, as I grow in faith and experience there will be a weekend that works out perfect for me; if it's His will.  

Still... I’ve got my sleeves rolled up and ready to pounce on a ticket for Influence Conference 2013!!  *giggle*

I’m just anxious to finally see the women 

who have pushed me to go after my God-given dream.  

I want to meet my west-coast twitter-bestie Aimee Steckowski 
and finally hug one of the women I’m so, so thankful to know.  
I want to catch Alissa Circle doing a live #wiww shoot 
and adore one of her clutches.  
I’d hope to just walk by Casey and draft off her amazing faith for a second... 
hope to see Jessi’s humungous contagious smile in real life, 
and reeeally hope to catch an up close peek of one of Hayley’s “No Brainer” ensembles.  

They are amazing warrior princesses, 
on fire for a generation of women who are in love with life and the Lord, 
and willing to pour their hearts out to make it a possibility.  

They Influence.. even from a distance.

So until then, I look forward to growing more relationships with the women I follow and learn from.  I’m looking forward to losing insecurities and gaining courage and fierce faith.  Most of all, I look forward to hearing all of the praises that will follow the Influence Conference...

Spending a whole weekend with those amazing women must have left the Good Lord with a ton of tricks to pull from His sleeve :)