2011 Time to Blossom Young Women's Conference is Ready to be Revealed!

Click on the image two times and it gets huge.



There will be two conferences held the last two weeks of June in Mesa Arizona for girls 11-16.
The postcards are being sent out and the new website is complete. If you haven't seen it go to
http://timetoblossom.com I love the new look of the site.
Here's a picture of it.

2010 Time to Blossom Young Women's Conference Highlight Video

Debbie Forrest and I came up with the idea to do a Young Women's Conference last June (2009). I have spent everyday since working 40 or 50 hours a week on it. It has been the hugest thing I have ever attempted in my life!!! Lots of work but so rewarding:) Debbie compared it to planning 5 wedding receptions at once. I think that is an understatement!

We had 250 girls and 21 counselors June 14-18 staying at the Mesa Hilton. We had lots of speakers with spiritual and inspiring messages, plus service and fun.

I am working on an hour highlight video right now and viewing all the footage of our event. I really believe we did change lives. The girls left with so much confidence and that was so beautiful to see. They actually blossomed:)

Whew....what a year!

Article in LDS Living Magazine

New Young Women’s Conference Teaches Confidence and Values

Jena Peterson - LDS Living Back to Headlines
MESA, Ariz. — Debbie Forrest woke up at 2 a.m. last Saturday morning to go through 60 e-mails from mothers around the West.
“They just had a few last minute questions about the conference,” Debbie said, with her ever-present smile. She spent the rest of the morning polishing preparations to train 21 college-age women to be counselors for a group of 250 young women who arrived yesterday at the Hilton in Mesa, Arizona.

Debbie and co-founder Carla Jorgensen have been planning this conference, Time to Blossom, for over a year, having hatched the idea while on their way to a stake girls camp. The conference is taking place this week, and runs through Saturday, June 19.

“There is such a need to strengthen these young women before they get to high school,” Debbie said. “This age group is so important. They are our future leaders and have the potential to be powerful influences for good beginning right now.”

The conference was organized to reach young women who weren’t yet old enough for EFY, but who could still benefit from interactions with other women of faith and virtue.

“The counselors of these conferences are really the ones who make the experience amazing for the girls,” said Forrest. “We prayed for months and months that we would be able to find women who would be wonderful role models for these young girls.” Most of the counselors are returned missionaries or came highly recommended from their leaders.

Rachel Christensen, an 11th grade English teacher at Red Mountain High School in Mesa, found out about the conference from her bishop’s wife. “I am really excited to get a chance to work with the girls and see what a difference this makes in their growing testimonies,” Rachel said. “As a high school teacher, I see the lack of self-confidence and recognition of their divine worth. The consequences can be devastating and I know this can be a blessing for these girls. I’m planning on taking some principles – things like ‘looking for the good’ – back to the classroom.”

The planning was just as thoughtful and extensive, from coordinating a hotel that would accommodate each need, to a schedule that would entertain and uplift 250 girls with various personalities.

“We knew we needed some engaging and inspiring speakers, and activities that would give the girls the opportunity to build up their confidence,” said Debbie. “We want these girls to walk out of here knowing they are absolutely beautiful, unique daughters of God, and to have the strength to make decisions that reflect that knowledge.”

The conference will run for one week this summer and will continue in years to come, with Arizona serving as the program’s home base. Washington, California and Massachusetts have already requested the program for summer 2010.

On the Web: http://timetoblossom.com

http://ldsliving.com/article/220335/http://ldsliving.com/article/220335/

Reinventing Myself

When I turned 40 my life was mostly made up of other people’s agendas. My time was spent working with my husband at businesses he started and enjoyed but were far from anything I was passionate about and my children filled the remainder of my time. I looked deep within myself and discovered the real me had disappeared. I was pieces of my friends, family and husband. I didn’t have my own hobbies and I certainly didn’t spend time doing things I liked to do. One day my husband said “What DO you like to do”? I had a hard time answering the question. I hadn’t followed my heart and allowed myself to do fun things of my choosing for so long I truly couldn’t think of what I liked to do.

I decided my life was passing me by and I’d better start living the life and mission I had come to the earth to fulfill. I started going to the library every week. I walked down the rows to see what interested me. It was always fun to see the topics I would come home with. I checked out lots of audio books. I put one in my car, kitchen and one in my bathroom to listen to while getting ready. That year alone I read or listened to 175 nonfiction books. I became a voracious student. I was finding out what I liked, what I got excited about, and even what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

It hit me that my passion was to be a life coach and help others find their passion and become their best selves and I immediately signed up to become a certified coach.

This was the beginning of my new path in life. I was on a high with the possibilities of life. When I heard myself saying things like someday I am going to do this or that, I immediately got on the phone to sign up. I had always wanted to take ballroom dance lessons with my husband. Instead of waiting for him to want to go, I decided to sign up alone. Then I joined Toastmasters, a speaking club and registered for Spanish and computer classes, all things that were on my someday list.

Each one of these was extremely scary to do, especially alone, but the confidence and exhilaration I felt after was like winning a race.

As my excitement and growth was taking off I was compelled to pursue my dreams. I wanted to help other women find the fire and excitement for life that I had found, so I began facilitating women’s retreats and seminars. I no longer listened to that voice in my head that said things like, “What will people think?” or “Who do you think you are?”. It didn’t matter anymore what others thought about me. I was following my heart. I will admit there were many days I would turn on my “power” play list to listen to songs like I’ve Gotta Be Me and It’s My Life. These and other songs gave me the courage to fight through the negativity of others and my own inner critic.

Now I hope to be able to pass along these and the other things that I have learned at my next event, which will be an LDS Young Women’s Conference that my partner Debbie Forrest and I are putting on this summer. It will be a program to empower teenage girls with the confidence and courage to be able to stand by their principles and values as they go through their difficult high school years.

I believe we are here for a reason. Trying new things may be scary but we need to follow our hearts, dare to dream and do the things that are burning within us – fearless of all consequences.

The Potential of Children

“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as ‘rootless and stemless.’ We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and under-developed; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. . . at each stage, at each moment, it is perfectly alright as it is.” – Timothy Galloway