A TréCreative highlight film of the Pursuit Conference 2014 in Rome, Georgia:

Pursuit Conference 2014 – Conference Highlight Film from Stephen Diaz on Vimeo.

This post about my experience at the Pursuit 31 Conference back in September is way over due.  I’ve made client work a priority over personal work this season, but still managed to squeeze time in for it, thankfully. Below are some highlights & photos from my experience. I honestly did not take many photos and tried to enjoy/soak up my time without being concerned about photographing every detail.

Overall, I’m so grateful for my time at the conference and for meeting the women that I did. However, the trip started off a bit rocky. I went to bed way too late the night before (maybe 1 am?), because I was up packing and trying to prep stuff for my husband to take care of our almost 2 year old son for a few days. I set my alarm for 4 am to leave at 5 am for the airport to catch an early flight to Georgia. The weeks leading up to the trip I had a weird feeling something was going to happen or I was going to be forced to cancel it for some odd reason. Anyway, I woke up at 6 am to my husband asking me if I was supposed to be at the airport. I FLEW out of bed in what can only be described as masked panic. Thank goodness I’m type A and had laid out my outfit and everything I needed for the next morning.  Instead of grabbing a ride from Uber, my husband graciously put our toddler in the car, I threw on my clothes and we headed to the airport. I arrived at curbside checkin just as they were boarding my flight.  Long story short, I batted my eyes and was as polite/persuasive as I could possibly be to get me on (standby) two connecting flights out to Atlanta so I could still catch the ride I’d originally coordinated with 4 other girls – one was driving through from Florida and offered to pick 3 of us up at the ATL airport. The other ladies were SO sweet and waited a tad bit longer for me to arrive in all my disheveledness.  Yay – I made it in time!! Buttttt…. my bag did NOT. RAAAGGEEE…  I already was exhausted and stressed out with having to rearrange my entire travel plans that effected other people.   We still had a good 1.5 hour drive to our final destination so we grabbed lunch nearby in hopes of swinging back by the airport to grab my bags and make our way to the conference. Well, that was not the case, but we did get to run into Target to grab “essentials” since all I had was: a toothbrush, makeup bag, a tiny brush that no joke probably came in a Barbie toy set, an apple, and 1 spare pair of undies (always travel with these – case in point!)  It was my debut on real-life Super Market Sweep! I literally ran through Target grabbing random toiletries and clothing items I deemed necessary (yoga pants, sleep shorts, shampoo/conditioner, face wash, cute dress, sweater). I ended up returning some of the un-used items, but man those yoga pants were a great grab (you bet I kept ’em!)

We were greeted with a small canvas bag of goodies whenever we arrived/registered. It included a sweet t-shirt (yes. something to wear on day 2!!) and some other paper goodies that I am still using (notepads, beautiful prints, cards, etc…)

My luggage arrived 1.5 days after I was there…. so I had my stuff for a whole 1.5 more days before leaving. Boohoo. Yea, it was uncomfortable and frustrating, but I tried to make it a point not to let it ruin my time at the BEAUTIFUL and amazingly peaceful retreat.  This isn’t your typical “conference”. It’s more of a retreat. It’s held at the pristine (18 and older only) Winshape Retreat outside of Atlanta, Georgia. It used to be a diary farm but was converted into what it is now (good choice!) They have marriage retreats here and I’d surely return for that! I chose potluck for my roommate and it was a great decision! Our accommodations were delightful! We had very comfy king size beds with large rooms and bathrooms. There were a couple built-in large armoires so we could comfortably unpack (well, Amanda could – hah!)  Our room had big windows that opened to view a nearby nature preserve and super tall ceilings.  It was a joy having Amanda as my roommate. She is so humble and funny and also carries a gun for her profession, so that makes her cool. 😉  She also shared her YL essential oils with me since my stuff didn’t arrive for a couple days and I was having major allergies and close to a migrane on day 2.

The food was great, and I really appreciated the amount of free time we had each day. It allowed me to have moments of quietness and one day I rode bikes around the property/nearby college campus with Adri. The weather was absolutely perfect – warm enough and sunny during the day and chilly at night. The speakers we learned from were so humble, honest, talented, and motivating. What I appreciated most about the entire conference was how “real” everyone was. We were encouraged to be honest and stop hiding. To stop comparing, to stop trying to over do it, but continue to challenge ourselves. My favorite speaker was Bob Goff. I finished reading his (life changing) book, Love Does, just before the conference and was so sad I didn’t have a copy for him to sign.  He was hilarious, encouraging, and made me (almost) cry a few times. His life is unbelievable – in every sense.

It was a blessing to have a few short days (sans toddler) in the hills of Georgia amongst other creative Christian women who were hungry for rest and eager to soak up information from other women.  Our time was spent enjoying meals together (one was even lakeside under the evening sky at one of the longest tables I’ve ever seen!), listening to very talented speakers, singing in worship, participating/listening to other creatives teaching small classes, free time (laying out on blankets chatting/reading), riding bikes around the property, resting in our beautiful huge rooms,  perusing the “market” of goodies, meeting in small groups at night to discuss that night’s speaker, etc…  It was a good mix of women young and old, single and married, moms and yet to be / some pregnant. These women were from all over the country and were photographers, entrepreneurs, calligraphers, graphic designers, aspiring artists, etc…

The 2015 conference sold out within 1 day ( it was posted a few days after our return home so I didn’t have a lot of time to think/plan ahead) so, I hope to return in maybe 2016?    This year I was a little reserved and  mostly hungry for rest/rejuvenation. Maybe next time I attend I will participate more and make more connections. I won’t be chasing/trying to track down my darn luggage for the first two days!

If you have an opportunity to attend Pursuit 31, I highly encourage you to do so! 

The images below are shot by the wonderful Desirea Still // http://desireastill.com/