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Joe & Jane Bierman
Point of Light Laser Engraving
SPONSORS
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Carlinville, Hillsboro, and Litchfield
Joe & Jane Bierman
Nelson Audiology
Broom Orchard
Sarco Hydraulics
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Country Financial - Chuck Brown
Heinz Furniture & Flooring
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SPONSORS
gold sponsors
Joe & Jane Bierman
Tom & Sandra Stoecker
Point of Light Laser Engraving
Nelson Audiology
Broom Orchard
Sarco Hydraulics
silver sponsors
The Journal News
Kismet Coffee
Country Financial - Chuck Brown
Ariston Cafe
Holiday Inn Express & Suites
Heinz Furniture & Flooring
Litchfield National Bank
Tonya Snyder Flannery - Broker Century21 Reid Baugher Realty
bronze sponsors
OUR BREAKOUT SESSION LEADERS
Click on the arrows for more details about each session.
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Sonya Jones was a finalist on NBC's Reality TV Show The Biggest Loser, and is the author of the best-selling book, 44 Lessons From a Loser: Navigating Life Through Laughter, Prayer, and the Occasional Throat Punch. With a winning mix of hilarity and inspiration, Jones will challenge you to be the BEST possible version of yourself!
A physical education teacher who should have been modeling health and fitness, Sonya Jones felt like a hypocrite as she neared 300 pounds in 2014. Six months later, she stepped onto the scales (and into the hearts of millions of Americans) to drop a whopping 144 pounds (50.88% of her total body weight) on national television as the only female finalist on Season 16 of NBC's reality TV show, The Biggest Loser.
Prior to her Biggest Loser journey, Jones was a former semi-professional athlete (two-time Collegiate All-American in fastpitch softball) who earned a degree in Physical Education from Greenville University (in Greenville, Illinois--where she was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018). After earning graduate degrees in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield, she spent nearly two decades in education before opening her own weight loss clinics called Losin' It with Sonya Jones located in Springfield and Litchfield, IL. Through this clinic Sonya has helped her clients lose thousands of pounds cumulatively. Sonya is also an Assistant Professor of Education at Greenville University in Greenville, IL.
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Are there things that are holding you back from being all the God has called you be? Your past? Your pain? Your habits? Whatever it might be, join Sonya Jones on a journey to throw off the things that keep us from being all that God has called us to be and embracing who HE says we are!
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Martha has been a guest speaker for women's retreats and homeschool conferences for several decades. She has walked with the Lord long enough to speak from experience: God is good even when life is hard. Martha and her husband Allen have seven adult children. When Martha is not enjoying time with her children and 22 grandchildren, she teaches art and piano.
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If “the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)” and “a cheerful heart is good medicine (Proverbs 17:22)” should we purposefully bring more laughter into our homes? We will examine how to make sure humor is an important part of your family identity, as we learn to value our funny family stories. Don't think “someday this will be funny.” Go ahead and laugh today.
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Ranked in order but not exclusive to these four things alone, I am thankful to be a believer, wife, mom/grandma, and teacher! My husband, Trevor, and I have four children - my step-daughter Cora, as well as Isaac, Leah, and Noah. We now have three grandchildren as well! My favorite things are dates with my husband, chats with our kids, sitting at the dinner table with the entire crew, reading, relaxing outdoors, campfires, gardening, the occasional get-away, and teaching!
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I went through a life-altering accident the summer after I graduated high school that led to multiple surgeries, depression, and barely graduating from college with my first degree. I navigated those waters in all the wrong ways even though I had been raised and knew the importance of praying every day and going to church every Sunday. Years later, a family crisis was the incident when I finally learned that trials are fought best with God's Word. On one memorable afternoon, I picked up His Good Book and didn't stop carrying it around until I had finished it roughly 18 months later. The Word carried me through that Season. I have been relying on its Wisdom ever since. In fact, when cancer came four years later, I knew this time I had the strength and resource needed for the fight. My methods aren't news-worthy. They're simple. And that's the point. I have such a desire to help anyone else who thinks they can't do it, find out how they too CAN get the Bible into their life.
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I became a believer at an early age after attending Vacation Bible School. I am a wife and mom to two boys and a step-daughter. I currently work as a Project Manager for the State of Illinois. I love to extend hospitality to family and friends. I enjoy baking, cycling, and crafting. I have a tendency to organize things and find peace and encouragement from being with other women. I am very excited to be a part of the Finding Your Identity in Christ Conference.
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All believers are gifted by the Holy Spirit. Learn your purpose for serving others by determining or acknowledging how you are gifted. Find your belonging by knowing how to use your spiritual gift in your daily life, your church, and your community. This session is for the women who want to fulfill their role in the Kingdom. If you are not certain how you are gifted, you will have an opportunity to find out.
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Sarah is a wife of 20 years, a mother to 22 children, and a missionary to Africa.
She and her husband, Tyler, have served as the directors of Hope Orphan Home—an orphanage in Sierra Leone, West Africa—since 2015. They have three teenage sons who are beginning to leave the nest and they are also raising 19 children who live at Hope Orphan Home.
Though Sarah has a difficult past, God has used her experiences in remarkable ways to deepen her relationship with Him and to connect with the people of Sierra Leone, many of whom have experienced trauma themselves. She firmly believes that nothing is wasted—unless we consent to it.
Tyler and Sarah’s most recent project is a church plant that has grown from 10 members in a Muslim-majority community to over 100 believers who are now making disciples in their families, breaking the chain of Islamic heritage, and beginning a new legacy of following Christ.
Sarah’s guilty pleasures include hot showers (a rare treat), sitting by the Atlantic Ocean, and eating any meal she didn’t have to cook.
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As we find our Identity in Christ, we can lose sight of the truth that while Christ suffered, we too will suffer.
However, we find great Joy in all the Promises He made to us. We do not need to let our circumstances define us or lose hope of all the eternal promises God has made to us.
We can find contentment and peace that is beyond the trials we find ourselves in. Through scripture and the eternal Hope we have in Christ, we can find new ways to turn our pain into testimony and endure hardships with a perspective of How God is using it for His Glory and our Sanctification.
Having contentment beyond circumstances is how Christ lived in this world, and we can, too.
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Tina Olroyd is a wife, mom, grandma, and friend. She has been married to her husband for 36 years, has 4 children and soon to be 5 grandchildren. She has served the Lord in many roles throughout her life. Tina has worked in the insurance industry for nearly 30 years as a local agent. She is certified in Holy Yoga and owns her own yoga practice, “Just Holding a Space, LLC” and teaches a regular yoga class called “Meet Him at the Mat” through her church. She loves the Lord and her family, enjoys walking and being outside on her farm, and is passionate about creating sacred spaces for women to connect with God.
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In this session, we’ll engage in gentle movement, meditate on God’s Word, and practice journaling to deepen our connection with Christ in every part of our being.
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Holds a Bachelor's Degree in Visual Arts and a Master’s Degree focusing on “Women and Creative Arts” and what they have contributed throughout history.
I'm a California native who at the age of 36, relocated to Illinois with her husband and 3 teenagers.
There we settled into a 6 bedroom, worn out, 100 year old farmhouse somewhere in the middle of the corn and beans. By choice!
Sometime in middle age I returned to college to prepare for the empty nest. Didn’t work. It was still a difficult transition changing from a bustling home full of interesting, and quite often challenging kids to a quiet home of two.
Throughout my life God has brought me full circle back to my love of creating art. From Cake Decorating, Certification in Floral Design, Drawing, Portraiture, Crafting, Crocheting, Teaching Children’s art classes, Poetry and painting in oil, acrylics and watercolor. Plus a 2-year Chalk Talk ministry where I shared about God's love with over 2,000 people utilizing Pastel drawing. And many other creative avenues which captured my attention. Even while working at the Alzheimer's Association I helped create a grant funded program called "Art for Alzheimer's ".
God just keeps leading me back to art. My God given enthusiasm has not been about the end product, but instead about the joyful experience of creating and my love for a God who will never forget me.
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This session is fun, relaxing and a hands-on chance to expand your opportunities to use creativity to encourage, support and show love to others with your own hand painted cards. You may discover a hidden talent!
It is designed for the beginner, the leary and the self-proclaimed untalented. It is also for the hobbyist, the crafter and the jump-in-there art loving person who wants to explore a new medium.
There is no bad art in this session. Join in and watch the paint explode in a beautiful way by painting an abstract image (no one but you knows what it is) to a recognizable flower. May God use our talents for his Glory. No sitting, watching and listening here. Join in on the pleasure of creating!
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Farm wife, mama of 3, lover of Jesus, photography, sparkles, and coffee. Married to my high school sweetheart, raising kids (and farm cats… and a cow) just down the road from where I grew up. I’m all about simple farm life, natural living, foster care, adoption, and cheering on other mamas.
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In a world that moves fast, it’s easy to miss the beauty right in front of us. This session will teach you simple, practical tips for using your phone to capture meaningful, authentic moments — the kind that tell your family’s story for years to come. Whether it’s everyday joys or once-in-a-lifetime milestones, you’ll learn how to see the goodness of God in the ordinary and preserve it through photos. You’ll walk away with confidence, a fresh perspective, and simple tools to turn your phone into a memory-making tool.
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Meghan Bilyeu has spent the past two decades a professional Fitness trainer, but her hard work doesn’t stop at the gym! Whether at the gym, the grocery store, on the street, or the other side of the world, Meghan is excited to share the love of Jesus Christ and what He has done for her. Meghan, and her husband Cory, are the parents to 5 boys. She and her family have been called to mission work in Israel. She has traveled there a total of 5 times, and for the past 3 years worked to bridge gaps between the Christian and Jews by working to help Jewish farmers harvest vineyards, plant trees, as well as help with restoration of ancient ruins in the Holy Land.
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What do we do when the weight placed on us becomes too much? Do we crack, do we crumble, or do we lean into God and become stronger through our adversities? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Let us dig deeper into the idea that, just maybe, the trials and heartbreaks that we often experience in this life can be part of His plan for us to become beautifully broken vessels for His purpose. God has an identity for each one of us…bumps, bruises, and cracks included! Allow Him to use ALL of you!!
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