This past weekend I was privileged to take part in the Choose Joy Event in Southern California. This was my first time attending the event, and I can say with confidence that it will not be my last.
Choose Joy is put on by Emmy Blakely and her amazing team. The conference is designed to provide encouragement to families who have experienced infertility and/or are looking to build their families through adoption.
The most amazing aspect of the conference was the sense of community. We all know that infertility can make us feel so alone and isolated. But it was incredibly powerful to walk into a room of over 100 people and know that everyone understood. Everyone got it. It was very moving for me, and incredibly powerful for my husband.
Yes, my husband attended and so did many other men. There were several sessions designed just for men, and that’s one thing that sold me on this event. Infertility and adoption don’t just affect women, and men need community just as much as we do.
In addition to the sense of community, the conference was just plain fun! Emmy and her team did an incredible job of decorating and providing amazing food! An In-and-Out truck provided dinner the first night (for all you non-Californians, In-and-Out is a very popular burger joint), and on the second night we had a variety of delicious options available from a caterer. YUM. There were always plenty of snacks and drinks available, and we even got cute little mugs filled with goodies to take home as favors.
I also really enjoyed meeting a few ladies I’d only met online before. I was so thrilled to get to spend some time with Lesli Westfall, founder of Dancing Upon Barren Land. We hung out during the shoe cutting party the first night, and I attended her amazing session, “Healing From the Hurt of Infertility.” This woman is an amazing encourager, and I witnessed her speak life and truth into the hearts of so many women this weekend. I also got to meet Jennifer, who reads this blog! I had so much fun sitting with her and her mom during dinner the second night.
Another cool part of this conference is that they actually do tangible things to help attendees in need. They gave away over $6,000 in cash to the winner of a raffle. We heard the incredible story of how last year’s winner used her money to adopt her son. They also gave away another large sum of money (I can’t remember how much) to a family who is raising money to bring their adopted son (who is in desperate need of specialized medical attention) home from Uganda. I won a cute necklace as a part of some the smaller prize giveaways, too.
I really want to encourage you to think about attending this incredible event next year. I found it to be very affordable and if you start now, you’ll have a whole year to save (my early-bird registration was only $102 and the hotel was affordable at $119/night, including a hot breakfast). It was such a breath of fresh air, and I can only imagine how encouraging and uplifting it would have been if I had known about this event two or three years ago at the start of our journey. I highly recommend you check out some of the great pics posted on Instagram (#choosejoy2015) and follow @choosejoyevent on Instragram or Facebook so you can be the first to know about the details for next year.
Connect with me on {Facebook} | {Pinterest} | {Twitter}| {Instagram}