Dawsonville Georgia

Got back this morning from a conference Jeanne was the General Session Speaker at in Dawnsonville Georgia. Dawsonville is about an hour north of Atlanta on the infamous Gerogia 400. A couple of take aways...

1. Including me, there were six Cadre members there. Marty and I are alumni, Rolando is in his second year, and Julie, Joe and Christy are in the first year class. Julie, Joe and Christy are excited about the coming days in the Cadre. They will all be here October 22-23 for our first Advance. I'm not sure what you call it, but there is this amazing relational connection happening within the Cadre in a very short time and the momentum is only growing. I can't really explain it, just know I love it.

2. I had some amazing people working the product booth for Jeanne. One of the ladies was an aunt who was doing her very best to have an impact on her nephew and niece. She reminded me of my early days with Josh and Ashlyn. Another one was a mom and foster mom to six. One of the kids was there and his name was Taylor. Great kid, but I knew he really didn't feel like he fit in anywhere. When we were having coffee after the conference, Christy and I were chatting about "Taylor." She talked about how he comes here and there but isn't consistent. I encouraged her to give him a job to do and I think he'd show up every week. I don't know if that was experience talking or a Holy Spirit nudge but I hope she takes me up on it.

3. This is the theme of my life right now. But Jeanne said something in the car, unrelated to the conference, that stuck. Very simple, yet profound. "Judy, people really are hungry for even the smallest amount of authentic encourgement."