You know what, we should really just call a spade a spade around here and say that when my life gets crazy, my blog gets quiet. I’m a writer (wow…feels weird to say that) but before that I’m a liver (and not the kind in your abdomen.) I want to LIVE and hopefully lately, I’ll get around to writing about all that life happening around me.
So….alot of life has been happening around me. Like this….
These are some of the crazy peeps I call my friends. Not a one of them lives in my town, but I tell you what….my heart is knit to theirs. These are some of the world changers that I had the chance to spend 4 days with at Allume in Harrisburg, PA last week.
In case you missed it, I had a load of stuff to do for Allume. I was in charge of hospitality for the conference of 400+ people, mostly women, who all love Jesus first, and mostly all blog as well.
Here’s a little sneak peek of something I did (with the help of my incredible friend, Darlene and my new and super-powered friend Carey.) The Allume stage.
This photo was taken by my sweet new friend, Mandy, from Biblical Homemaking. Oh my words…this girl, aside from having a heart of gold, has the most incredible hair I’ve EVER EVER EVER seen. I could have hair like that maybe…for like $700 worth of extensions….but then they’d fall out, and I’d be worse off. Nevermind.
The table decorations were pretty awesome too….but you know what…I don’t have a picture of those either. I’ll find one though….
Ya’ll….I didn’t have time to take a single picture beyond a bunch of silly ones in the Smilebooth. I had too much to do….too many little details to take care of, too many tiny fires to make sure never got fanned to flame, and then honestly….I just had too much real life connection that needed to happen. One day I’ll take more pictures in the midst of too much fun….one day! To make matters worse, my phone isn’t an iphone, so I don’t have instagram! I know….and really, if you want to know what a tekkie fossil I am….I still have a hotmail account too. Will you all still be my friends? 🙂
So let me tell you what happened at Allume that kinda knocked my socks off.
The first night I was set to give all of the announcements. The boring kind though. Stuff like….”please don’t take the table decor”, “if you need a special meal and didn’t sign up for one…sorry about that, but too bad”, “if your baby cries…it’d be awesome if they could do it outside of the room where there’s a speaker”, “some sessions are switching around a bit”….stuff like that. None of it exciting, but all of it important.
Well, a funny thing happened while I was at the farm (what is that quote from?) Somewhere in the announcements, I suddenly realized people were laughing at me. Literally laughing. My mind kinda jumped around to places like….is there broccoli in my teeth, is there toilet paper on my shoe?! And then I had this strange moment where I realized that people thought I was funny…apparently really pretty funny because they kept giggling. Let me just say that you don’t NOT notice when a room of like 450 people are laughing at you. I think I even exclaimed my surprise out loud at how funny I thought it was that they thought I was funny. More laughing….
I have absolutely no idea….no earthly idea what I did or said that was so funny, so I just kept on doing the announcements. When I came back to the table, Sarah Mae (my friend and one of the conference hosts) said that she thought that I was funny and that I just HAD to do the announcements the rest of the conference. So I did.
And ya’ll, it was so stinking fun! I had absolutely no idea that I’d enjoy speaking like that in public. And somewhere in there, I found my “element.”
My friend Tsh said last year at the conference during her keynote that, “when we’re in our element, we feel the Lord’s pleasure on us.” Another friend after the conference said how much he enjoyed watching me “do my thing” on the stage. Ya’ll….I had absolutely NO IDEA until this past weekend that I even had a “thing.” But there it was….
I never once felt stressed about the decorations, about the food, about any of the details that go into making an event beautiful, because I knew I could do that part. And the best thing about all of that was that people noticed. Not noticed in a “give me accolades” sort of way….but people noticed and felt loved. Good food and pretty spaces make women feel special, and my heart felt full that I was able to do that for this group of amazing women.
I spoke in a session on Saturday, and I nearly threw up before I did. I was SO nervous. I’ve never spoken before, and now suddenly I was funny to all of these people for the past 2 days. God had given me a real word to share though…one that was serious, and I was suddenly afraid that funny might not be able to do “for real.” So I prayed with my friend Laura (who was speaking at the same time,) and I cried because I was so nervous, and then I went in and led a session.
And I think it went pretty well.
It’s not up yet, but once the audio file is uploaded, I’ll post here to let you know, so that if you want, you can hear what I had to say.
God didn’t stop there though….because He’s just bigger than all that we dare to hope for. He’s given me the opportunity to pour into Allume even more next year and to be more involved in all that goes into this amazing thing. So this coming year, I have more work to do for this conference that has taken residence in a place in my heart…and I couldn’t be more excited!
So if you’re an Allume attendee, if you hope to be, or if you’re a reader here in this space, I’d sure love your prayers as I take on more responsibility to be a part of making this conference happen. It’s a space where writers come together and get filled up so that they can pour out. And I love every single thing about that.
Here I am, with Darren Rowse, aka ProBlogger on the final night. He’d shared a really amazing story that morning about a mudcake that turned out to be one of those profound moments in life (my friend Elizabeth Esther shares really eloquently about the story HERE.) We had a mudcake made for Darren and presenting it to him may have been one of the highlights for me of the conference….I do love a funny moment! Darren got to have his cake….and eat it in front of everyone too….forkless!
I’m rambling now. I woke up at 2:30 and won’t go back to bed until tonight. My mind is racing and my heart still feel so so full. God is so much fun, and as my friend Wendy says, sometimes he just shows up as “Jehovah Sneaky” and surprises us with something we’d never have thought of ourselves. I found my element friends….and now I sure do wonder how the Lord will use it!
You were one of my highlights of Allume 2012… just saying! Thanks for being obedient and letting God use you!
Logan,
You DID do a fantastic job. Even I noticed how lovely the decorations are and…I don’t notice that sort of thing normally (what can I say, I grew up with a bunch of boys). It felt so cozy and lovely. Thank you for all your hard work.
I can’t wait to get a hold of the session recordings. I wanted to go to yours since it’s so similar to my heart for the online space, but I was busy being really, really, really nervous about my session. But I’ve read some great “Logan” quotes in the recap posts.
Can’t wait to see what Allume holds for us next year. In the meantime, though, be sure to take a little break. 🙂
Hi Logan!
It’s me, “Montana”(table decorations box lifter), I thought you were hilarious and it was a natural funny, not a fake kind of any sort which is what was so endearing about you. You also should be from Montana cause you were a workhorse, and I’m grateful for all the time and work you put into the conference. If Allume needs more volunteer power, let me know cause I’d love to get more involved. 🙂
You were fantastic and very, very funny! I had no idea it wasn’t your “thing”. Very cool!
Logan, you did add so much fun, and so much grace to everything you touched, every conversation – even rushed ones, were full of intentionality, care, a big ole smile. Celebrating with you & praying for you as you step into this new thing. Woot!
That’s it!!! That’s it Logan!!!! God spoke to me last year at Relevant about my element because the speaker’s spoke often about tapping into the gift God has given us individually rather then trying to hone someone else’s gift because they are doing it so well.
Anyways, that’s when He reminded me of the administrative side of myself that I loved so much. Tsh said is so well (I got Holy Spirit goose bumps reading it in your post here), “when we’re in our element, we feel the Lord’s pleasure on us.”
That’s why I thrive so much in this work! I can relate to everything you said here, just with my gift, you know? 🙂 It’s an amazing place to find yourself and I’m so thankful for this conference because it has helped me further identify who *I* am, not who I *think* I should be because someone else is doing it well. Does that make sense? Woot! So excited to go deeper into this with you and connect deeper with you in this upcoming year!
Logan, you were totally in your element and it showed in the beauty you cultivated there. It was the most beautiful space and you were a highlight with your glowing personality. Serious beauty going on there in all kinds of ways. I was so glad to finally meet you, I wish we had had more time because I can already tell I really like you. But now I get to read here and follow along and I’m so very excited to see what God is going to do over this next year and I’m already looking forward to Allume 2013.
You were a very pleasant surprise at Allume! You have just a really great spirit about you. Yes, you’re funny, and you tell stories that touch people’s hearts at the same time and that’s an awesome, God-given talent. And, yes, I really *felt* that you wanted to love on the women at that conference! So, yay for you, Logan!
I loved listening to you in both the announcements AND your session.
AND reading you here is JUST as fun!
You are in your element, girl, and we are the blessed for it!
oh my lanta, girl! being in your presence one can’t help but smile. To think back to all this past year held for you and then to hear the joy in your writing voice–> happy tears.
God granted you with a super awesome, giving, lovely personality. Thankful to see you thriving in your element. Excited for your continued encouragement to be hospitable…in all circumstances. Your words inspired me to administer grace in an airport. You are an influencer! Embrace it!! Own it! Love you!!! okay that’s all. 😉 (pst…come to TX, Mandy is here & you can wear your boots!).
Logan you were awesome! It is such a joy working with you, and you are really stinking funny! Use what God gave you girl!
What? I thought public speaking was your thing..it was so natural! Thanks for all you did, it was lovely!! Excited to see what Jehova Sneaky has up his sleeve.
EVERY conference needs you in charge of their hospitality & to be their “MC”! you were fabulous and took care of EVERY single detail! next year you’ll have little minions following you around 🙂
So, here’s the deal. I want to be one of your right hands so I can just spend more time with you for one. Secondly, I adore watching people do their thang up close and personal. You, girl, you were doing your thang! All. Weekend. Long! I nned to here that session of yours too. God redirected my plans and sent me to Laura’s session after she sat next to me at breakfast. I hate we didn’t get any chatty time, but I’ll take proximity over nothing any day of the week. And funny?!? You’ve got funny all deep down inside. It was definitely worth the wait meeting you! I’ll never look at burlap the same. You can count on that.
I loved hearing you speak…both in giving announcements and in your session. When you are in your element, doing what He wants you to do, it is an incredible feeling. Praying for you as you assume a larger role.
Hugs!!
I have to tell you – I absolutely loved when you got up to talk. And your decorations were gorgeous! Definitely hit the hospitality mark spot on. 🙂
Ha! Ha! Like I said…you totally cracked me up! And the speaking thing? I totally know of which you speak! They let me do the sermon one Sunday and now I’m a addict and bugging the pastor to let me do it again…yeah…really crazy.
Thank you so much for all your hard work at Allume! I knew it was going to be fabulous, and I was super excited with it being my first time and all, but you guys really knocked MY socks off!
Blessings!
you were totally my hero at Allume! I can’t believe you haven’t done much public speaking–you have a gift. 🙂 you are hilarious and your boots were amazing. 🙂
I bet you didn’t have any 1 am “I supportacha” moments there! 🙂