Waves of Impact and Bethany Hamilton

Happy Monday!

Seven years ago today, I married the love of my life. It’s crazy to think that so much time has passed since we first said “I do”. Looking back on pictures last night, I had to laugh – even though I was 24 and Jason was 27 when we were married, we still looked like babies! I wouldn’t trade a minute of it – I’ve loved the adventures we’ve taken and the life we’ve shared together. Here’s to many many more!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

This past weekend, I attended a conference featuring pro-surfer Bethany Hamilton as guest speaker. If you aren’t familiar with Bethany or her story, maybe you’ve heard of Soul Surfer the movie? The story line of Soul Surfer follows Bethany Hamilton’s horrendous accident with a shark while she was out surfing in Hawaii. She overcame tremendous boundaries to professionally surf once again. If you haven’t seen the movie, you need to – it’s a good one! :0)

The idea behind the conference began when an 8 year old girl named Maci was diagnosed with Optical Glioma (a brain tumor). The Make-A-Wish Foundation stepped in during her recovery and granted Maci a wish – she got to meet the Jonas Brothers! The experience made such an impact on Maci, she decided that she wanted to give back and help fulfill other children’s wishes.  That’s where the idea behind Waves of Impact came in to play - proceeds from this weekend’s conference benefitted the Make-A-Wish foundation!

First, a local band led us in worship.

This guy is Luke Cooper – he was featured on The Voice several weeks ago. Even though he didn’t make it through to the next round, we still think he’s pretty amazing!! Great talent!

The band sang several songs, then it was time to hear from Bethany.

I absolutely loved hearing  Bethany speak! She is down to earth and as sweet as can be.

She even became so relaxed on stage, she took her flip flops off and walked around barefoot – loved it! :0)

Bethany hit several key points and I wanted to share them with you guys. She is definitely an encourager and spoke on many topics that affect today’s generation. Bethany is a Christian and has been her entire life. She spoke of God’s love and grace that helped see her through a difficult recovery after her accident. Her strength and courage to surf again after such a terrifying accident is amazing. Seriously, I don’t know that I could haven gotten back into the water! Anyway, here’s a few points from her time with us:

• In the making of Soul Surfer, she said they pursued four scripts, only to completely throw out three of them. She wanted the movie to reflect as closely to the real story as possible.
• In the movie Soul Surfer, there’s a part where Carrie Underwood (who plays Bethany’s youth leader) reads the verse, Jeremiah 29:11. The director wanted to take the scripture out to make the line more generic and Carrie told him no – way to go, Carrie!
• All of us have shark attacks in our lives. God is our portion and wants to be our strength. Often when we struggle, it’s because we are trying to live life on our own, without His help.
• You can’t do everything on your own – sometimes you have to let God be in control.
• We live in a relaxed culture – don’t let that dampen your relationship with Christ and the limit of how far you are willing to go. (This one really stuck with me cause she’s right!)
• Be an encouragement to those around you.
• God’s here to help us get through our times of trial.
• Bethany told us that her ultimate achievement and goal is to keep her eyes and life on Christ.
• She also shared a few verses – Psalm 73:26, Ephesians 2:8, and Jeremiah 29:11

After hearing Bethany speak, her husband Adam came up to share as well. He talked about his life and how they met/fell in love. It was super sweet!

If you ever have the chance to hear Bethany speak, I highly encourage you to do so! She’s incredibly genuine and has so much to share. I left the conference encouraged and uplifted, with a huge smile on my face! :0)

Have you seen Soul Surfer? What did you think of the  movie/story line?