girls club weekend, raleigh, nc.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a conference that the Clarkson family put on.

You’ve probably heard of Sally Clarkson from reading my blog. I enjoy her books and especially her podcast, At Home with Sally. Her daughter, Sarah, wrote Book Girl, which was one of my favorites from last year.

All of the Clarksons except one were in Raleigh for this conference, which was about the book Sally just published with her daughters, Sarah and Joy, called Girls Club: Cultivating Lasting Friendship in a Lonely World.

Several friends from Columbia also went to the conference, but I drove up alone and roomed with my friend, Alison, who lives in Durham. Once upon a time, we lived in India together, but our family moved back to the States in 2012, and hers moved back at the end of last year.

It always feels like moving mountains to get out of town for any trip, much less one I take alone, without David and the kids, but I did it! I got on the road at 10:30 Friday morning.

This is a tangent, but I feel compelled to mention that right after I blogged about enjoying Wal-Mart grocery pick-up, they started doing grocery delivery! It is affordable and wonderful. So I even had the week’s groceries delivered and put away before I left town.

Do you want to know what I did with three and a half luxurious hours alone in the car?

I listened to David Copperfield on Audible. That’s right. No podcasts. No sermons. No music or even silence, just Richard Armitage’s wonderful British accent reading one of my favorite novels to me. It was heavenly, and I arrived at the Marriott in Raleigh feeling like a new person. And ready to see my friends!

The hotel was beautiful, and I thought I’d show you a picture of the lobby.

Any hotel lobby with a fireplace and color-coordinated books is a winner to me.

 

Here’s my room, which was a generous step up from all those Holiday Inn Expresses we slept in on our road trip.

Alison didn’t arrive until about 5:30, so after I checked-in and went through the conference registration, I spent a couple of lovely hours soaking in the sun on the hotel patio and chatting with friends.

 

It was so nice to stay in the same hotel where the conference was held, especially on Saturday when it got bitterly cold out.

The ballroom was set up with round tables that seated 12. Ladies volunteered to be “table hosts” beforehand, which means they decorated their table, brought chocolate for our chocolate reception Friday night, and led small-group discussions. Our tables were front and center, and my friend Annie did a wonderful job decorating, as she always does.

 

Dear Alison! I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years, and it was so good to catch up and spend time together.

We drove across the street to grab dinner in the food court before the conference started at 6:30.

 

This is Annie (right) and her friend, Trish, who is now my friend too!

 

Don’t you like how cozily the stage is set up?

My favorite thing about the conference talks were seeing the Clarkson family interact with one another. Sally’s husband, Clay, led us in worship before the sessions, and her son, Joel, played piano. Then the three women spoke and it was so fun to see their relationship and personalities.

They are real and honest and fun.

 

We decided that there were probably 400-500 ladies at the conference. During the very first session, Sally asked everyone to stand up and share which States were represented. There were thirty, and a group from Canada as well. The Clarksons put on two of these conferences this winter, one in Texas and one in North Carolina, so there was quite a spread. I knew three girls at our table, and the rest were from Colorado, which was fun.

I had quite the surprise of running into a friend from sixth grade in Orlando, Kristen. She recognized me (I’m sure the name tag helped), and I so enjoyed catching up with her and her mom, Sue. We were both homeschooled in sixth grade and have some funny, awkward middle-school memories together. Who would’ve guessed we’d both grow up to be homeschool moms ourselves!

 

The really fun thing about going to a conference on friendship, is the opportunity to put into immediate practice what we heard. I was so thankful for a group of ladies to process everything we learned, and challenge one another to take it home to our family, church, and everyday life.

 

The conference ended Saturday at 4:30. I said good-bye to Alison, then took a nap before going out to dinner with another friend from Raleigh, Kacey, who didn’t attend the conference, but drove to the hotel to pick me up. We had a wonderful evening eating at the delicious Capital Club 16 and catching up.

That night my friend Beth came to sleep over in my room and keep me company. Long, unhurried conversation without kids around is a luxury.

I slept in Sunday morning, then went to the lobby for coffee and to spend a few more hours with friends before packing up and hitting the road at 11:00. I enjoyed chatting with the Clarkson ladies briefly too before they headed to the airport, and I’m so glad Annie insisted that we get a photo with them!

 

It was truly a fun and life-giving weekend.

I haven’t done anything like this in a long, long time, between kids and my anxiety struggles, and so I spent the entire time thanking the Lord over and over for the gift of time away from my life at home, soaking up teaching, laughter, deep conversations, and rest.

He’s given me so many wonderful, godly friendships, both at the conference, and back home in Columbia. My heart is grateful and happy to have ladies in my life who love me just the way that I am and also challenge me to become more like Jesus.