On Wednesday, I will be leaving to attend the Greater Philly Christian Writer’s Conference. It will be the first multi-day conference I have ever attended. I’m so excited, I’ve been counting the days.

My excitement is about more than the fact that I LOVE to write and to connect with other writers. My excitement is about seeing what God has in store for me at this conference. You see, the reason I have never attended a multi-day writer’s conference is because they cost a good deal of money — for food, shelter and to cover the cost of the speakers/teachers. Some conferences do have partial scholarships you can apply for.

However, the money hasn’t been the only thing that’s kept me from attending one of these conferences. The other is my family. We still have one child at home who is too young to be alone all day and we’ve never wanted my husband to use his vacation days for me to go away because his vacation days should be for him or for family vacation.

Well, this year, God made it clear that He wants me to go to this conference when he provided the finances from someone who was a complete stranger (I have since met this person briefly). This generous donor likes to let God use them to bless others, and they see it as an investment in my future. I was in complete shock at first — I couldn’t find the words to express my gratitude. Eventually the shock wore off and I was able to find out the details of what attending such a conference entails and get the registration taken care of, and to say, “Thank you”, though that still seems inadequate to me.

Also, the way this conference is scheduled and the availability of our older sons, my husband only needed to take two vacation days from work. So, God has provided and removed any roadblocks for me to go to this conference.

In addition, I have since learned that this is the last year that this conference will be offered in its current venue. Next year, the organizer will hold smaller conferences with specific focuses.

So, I am going to this conference with an expectant heart (as I learned in The Story of With by Allen Arnold), and I can’t wait to see what God has for me, whether it be a small blessing or a big blessing. No matter what, I know I’ll come away with a lot more knowledge about certain aspects of writing than I have now, and I will also come away encouraged and inspired, and probably, with a few more friends.

I’ll report about it when I return.