Sass Class Compassion Tour: A Night I Won’t Soon Forget

Have you ever had one of those “mountain-top” experiences?  Or an experience where you feel the Holy Spirit move inside you.  Suddenly something clicks and pieces of the puzzlement of life seem to fall into place just so.  It is like a fog has suddenly lifted and at long last, you breathe a sigh of relief because you are finally seeing what you’ve been staring at all along.

Yea, I totally had one of those, “Holy moly, this is it!” moments last Friday night at the Sass Class Compassion Tour at the glorious Strand Theatre in Moundsville, WV.

As I mentioned in my post last week, I was beyond excited for the opportunity to finally meet, in person, the author who has inspired my way of living, as a strong and independent single woman, over the last seven months, The Single Woman (aka Mandy Hale).  But other than being excited to see her and hear about her new book (which I was graciously sent an Advanced Reader’s copy a month before it came out), I had no idea what to expect or what the night would hold.

My dear friend, Kayla and I dressed up and went to our favorite restaurant for dinner and then headed down to Moundsville to the event.  Just like any other WV girls, we walked around the nearby Walmart for a few minutes because we arrived about 30 minutes before the doors were to open.

We got to the historical Strand Theatre and were warmly greeted by the pastoral staff and other members of The Experience church , including nice looking young men in bowties, too cute!  We picked the 3rd row for our seats and settled in for an evening that neither of us expected.  The above picture is our before picture…I sure wish we would have thought to take an after picture because I’m pretty sure we were both glowing!

The only other detail I knew about the night was that the Christian artist, Jaime Jamgochian, known for her campaign Modest is Hottest was also to be in attendance.  I was excited to hear more from her as I’ve been following her on Twitter for some time, but didn’t know much about her background or how she fit in with Mandy.

We were first greeted with an obviously nervous Mandy and calm and collected Jaime as they presented their 5 tips on Class and Sass.  They were both so cute!  And then we got to hear Jaime sing and WOW! the girl’s gotta voice!  She shared her testimony, that was both heartbreaking and inspiring.  She shared some of her new songs with us and got us all singing along like we’d been singing them all of our lives.

And then Mandy, who openly confessed to hate public speaking, came out to share with us.  You could tell she was nervous and was just trying not to faint or fall of the chair she was perched on, but her words were so powerful.

I looked around at one point and the audience looked like bobble heads, as they nodded along to what she had to say.  We all connect with “the single woman” and the desire to be loved.  And we all connect with a sense of loneliness when love is all wrong or doesn’t even bother showing up.

And about ten minutes into her message, the anxiety seemed to melt off Mandy and the passion she had for her empowering message shone through her.

She shocked us with candid expressions of frustration in her past and calmed our own anxieties with such a sincere message of hope.  She also shocked me (and totally solidified my decision) by saying that we’re all imperfect vessels (the title I had already chosen for my blog’s rebranding) that can only be filled and our desires satisfied by Christ, that I accidentally elbowed Kayla in the ribs.  Sorry, K!

After a brief Q&A from both Mandy and Jaime, they closed in a prayer and another of Jaime’s new songs.  It was at this time, after their powerful messages of hope and love were still bouncing around our hearts, that Mandy lifted up a prayer for those who have a secret desire to be fulfilled, a purpose that is waiting to be revealed and a sense of wanting more, to make it known to God that they’re ready for the next step.

Though we were seated in a darkened room, with our eyes closed, you could feel the Holy Spirit weaving it’s way, lighting the path for so many.  I didn’t raise my hand as was asked if we held one of these desires, but God knows that I’m ready.

And as Jaime sang, Just the Way You Are, I wept tears of the fear and anxiety that I’ve been holding in surrounding this next step with my ministry here at Breething and the upcoming changes.  I wept tears of the desires that I have to be a beacon for God, to shine His light and hope into the hearts of women who struggle with their own imperfections, that this world does too good of a job highlighting.  I wept because I don’t know how to make that happen, except for writing one blog post at a time.

After the show, Kayla and I ran back buy copies of Mandy’s new book, I’ve Never Been to Vegas, but My Luggage Has, and I bought a copy of Jaime’s new EP.

As we stood in line waiting our turn to meet these inspiring women, I suddenly became really nervous to meet Mandy.  But as soon as I came within feet from her, she looked to me and said, “Well hey!  I know you!” and gave me a hug.  And suddenly a sense that I was greeting a long time friend washed over me. She signed my book and introduced me to Jaime as a long time friend and supporter.  Aww! Jaime signed my CD and was so gracious as she listened to how much her last song meant to me.

And the icing on the cake for me, was hearing Kayla proudly say to Mandy,
“There’s a boy I’ve been meaning to break up with and now I can.  Thank you!”

The Sass Class Compassion tour has unfortunately left the Eastern US already, but if you’re anywhere out west and if you have an opportunity to spend a FREE evening with these girls, go do it!  Check out their site for tour details and make it happen!  I promise you the only regret you’ll have is if you don’t go!