Weekend Vibes! Art in Motion

I knew that the last weekend in July was going to be crazy busy. Birmingham had so many events going on including the annual Schaeffer City Fest (featuring The Roots, Common, and Birmingham’s own–Taylor Hicks), Secret Stages, Jill Scott concert and two events that I would be attending: Motion Student Conference 2015 and the Bloganista Mini-Con hosted by See Jane Write Birmingham. I had to make sure I stayed on schedule with my workouts/marathon training runs to prepare for the weekend ahead. I decided to hit the trail for a peaceful, 5 mile run Thursday morning before my training.

I had the opportunity to serve/volunteer at Motion 2015. It was such a great experience! “MOTION Student Conference is a catalyst weekend for students to be empowered by Jesus to put their faith into MOTION.” The conference welcomed over 10,000 students from all over the nation as they packed out the BJCC – Legacy Arena for the 3-day event!

Guest speakers included: Robert Madu, Christine Caine, Rich Wilkerson Jr., DawnChere Wilkerson, Josh Kimes, Chris Hodges (Founding and Senior Pastor of Church of the Highlands–conference host), and Mark (Jill) Pettus (Youth Pastor of Church of the Highlands). Worship included: Hillsong United, Lecrae, Passion Band, and Highlands Worship. After viewing the schedule, I knew there would be lots of walking, standing…and excitement! It was so amazing to see a generation of students ready to go out into the world to make a difference! I loved being in the midst of all of the awesomeness that was taking place! 

Rich Wilkerson Jr. was the opening session for Day 1. After his session, the after-party kicked off with musical genius, Lecrae! I love Lecrae’s authenticity as he shares about his journey through Faith! He has truly redefined our pop culture. If you don’t know who he is…Google him! During the after party, Lecrae grabbed the camera/selfie stick from one of the students in the crowd and started filming. The crowd loved it! Fun times.

Day 2 sessions were all day long. Standing for long periods of time can put a lot of strain on your body, especially standing on hard surfaces like concrete. Luckily, we had a team that relieved us around lunchtime. It was so beautiful outside, so my teammate Courtney and I decided to head out to soak up some sunshine! I also ran into one of my sweet friends and fellow Disney Princess, Princess Leigh, (right) who is also part of the Dream Team. Gotta love the photobomb from one of the students in the background! Hilarious! Serving on the Dream Team is truly one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. An added bonus–working with the most amazing people/team on the planet!

Christine Caine was part of the evening session on Day 2. Christine is the founder of the A21 Campaign (an anti-human trafficking organization). I love how passionate she is about people and justice. I feel that she is a voice for this generation. For the after-party Hillsong United, one of my favorite bands, performed! I sang and danced my heart out! AH-MAZING!

Hillsong United

 This is Living by Hillsong (United/Young & Free)

I could not believe my eyes when I looked at my FitStats for both days! 27,000 steps! Holy Fitbit, Batman! I almost walked a half marathon on Thursday! Well, I did run a 5-miler that morning that helped add to my stats. Friday was my rest day, but I still almost reached 10 miles while at the conference. I felt pretty good about my stats even though my body totally felt it. Owie! I don’t like to make excuses when it comes to getting in my activity–especially during marathon training season. I must keep moving! On Saturday, I attended my first blogging conference ever! I’ll share all about it soon. All in all, it was an amazing weekend and I would do it all over again!

How did you end July? Did you reach your July goal(s)?