Colour Conference 2016 & My Personal Encounter with God

One of the craziest things about attending Hillsong Church while I'm living in Sydney is the opportunity to be part of a growing movement of people who are so genuine and so passionate about what they do in ministry. And that's not to say that there aren't movements like that back home in America, but it is this movement at Hillsong that is paving the way for so many other churches around the world to be empowered in the cause for Christ. 
One of the biggest movements coming out of Hillsong is empowering women in the church, something that has been discouraged in the past in the Christian community. 

source: hillsong.com

Anyway, so every year, Hillsong hosts a women's conference entitled Colour Conference. It is where women from all ages all over the world come together to be inspired and encouraged by some of the world's greatest speakers to just be a women in Christ. We are reminded of our beauty and value and it's just a great time and place to be to gather with thousands of other women literally from all walks of life. 
I first discovered conference back in 2013 when Hillsong Conference was in LA. I had attended with Darell & little did I know how it would be the first of many seeds planted in my heart and spirit about where I would be today. I'll never forget seeing the flyers for Colour in our seats and me turning to Darell and telling him that I wanted to go and that one day, I'll have the chance. 
Fast forward 2.5 years later and here I am, at Colour Conference IN SYDNEY with a very discounted ticket that I bought only the night before. 
It was really great to be at a conference that really is all about the godly woman. Women are so beautiful and valuable and sometimes in the church, that can be forgotten about. The aesthetics were so beautiful to look at. The speakers were hilarious but all so real in the words they preached. It was such a great atmosphere to be in. 
However, even though everything was AMAZING, my biggest and most powerful takeaway from the whole conference was from day 3. & I'll quote it directly from my journal entry the day after conference: 

"The most powerful takeaway from conference was from yesterday's late morning/early afternoon session with Brooke Fraser, Taya Smith, and a few of the other worship leaders/directors. 
I was so overwhelmed by God's love and goodness that at one point I was sobbing on my knees to the song 'Good Father.' I wasn't completely sure why I was crying at first but all I knew to do at that point was to give praises to our God & King. 
Brooke also gave a beautiful tidbit behind the word 'Abba' that really spoke to me.
She explained that a closer English translation of the word is 'Dada.' & when babies use it to call their dads, all they want is to be close to them, which is how we should be as well. She [then] described how God is with us as a dad..." 
With all of that being said, God had also spoken into my spirit Psalm 3:1-4, which talks about people doubting David but that he is protected by God. It was the perfect comfort to where I was in life at that point, that no matter what happens to me and no matter what people think of me, I am protected and cared for by a God greater than anything on this earth. 
I guess with all of this I am trying to encourage whoever is reading this wherever they're at in their personal journey with God. While I think it would be awesome if every woman gets the chance to attend Colour, I also think more than that I want to say that it is possible to have a crazy and overwhelming encounter with God. 
As someone who grew up in the church, I had always dreamed of having an experience with God so overwhelming that I am brought to my knees, and while I have definitely encountered God before, it was never anything like this. He had never spoken to my heart and soul as clearly as he did here. Just be open to it. 
--------------------------------------- Wow, two posts, two days in a row! I am quite proud of myself considering my blog post track record for the last year or so. But anyway, starting tomorrow I'll be starting a 30 day writing challenge to get myself re-aquainted and to reintroduce myself back into the blogging world, and hopefully after that I can get back to posting some really great content again. Welcome back to my world as I try to live & love it one day at a time. ;)

The Habit of that Sydney Livin'

WOW. It's been about a month & a half since I last wrote. SO MUCH has happened since then & I've had so much I've wanted to write about but just haven't. Let's just say that I'm really enjoying being here, and I've gotten into my own little routine every week. I now have a job, take public transit almost daily, and have made some friends outside of Darell's friends that I now call my own. 
The transition to living here was almost seamless for me, even the public transit, despite almost never taking it back home in California. & although I'm just as paranoid as ever for my safety, Australia is generally safer than LA, no doubt. 
I'm having a hard time writing this post because I'm unsure of whether or not to unload on the last month & a half now or putting it into separate posts, but I'm not sure when's the next time I'll be able to write (my schedule is about to get a ton more busy in the next few weeks). 
But let's see... 

In the last 6 weeks I have:

• Seen an opera at the Sydney Opera House
• Started attending a connect/small group at church (something I haven't been able to do in years)
• Worn colored contacts for the first time as a result from work
• Attended the 20th anniversary of Colour Conference for the very first time, and it changed my life. 

Other than that plus random/lazy days with Darell & our friends, I haven't done too many touristy or crazy adventures simply because I've been focusing on work, finding a job, saving money, etc. 

I'm going to be trying out a writing challenge for the month of April on random topics so hopefully it pushes me to just start writing again. I really miss it, and I really miss being in and apart of the blogging world. If I want to someday work remotely, I'm going to have to get used to working from home.