Pursuit Conference 2014 - Conference Highlight Film

Utterly exhausted from a crazy travel schedule, we showed up this past Monday to the peaceful grounds of the WinShape Retreat Center in Rome, Georgia. Little did we know, this would the week of a lifetime.

The annual Pursuit Conference was is all about relationships. Started by Karen Stott a few years ago, this conference encourages women from all over to pursue a deeper relationship with God and each other, all while fostering a beautiful and creative community along the way. Deep down we knew that God had big plans for this week, no matter how tired we were! Praying that God would multiply our sleep, after a miraculous night of sleep the conference was well under way and we got to work! As with a lot of things in life, we experienced this conference in very different ways.

Enjoy the film by clicking below and read about our individual experiences below it :)

Chelsey

As a wife I often forget how powerful my words are when speaking to Stephen. Words are powerful and sometimes I need to hold my tongue before I say them. Bob Goff was one of many amazing speakers at this conference and he said something that resonated with my soul so deeply. He said something to the extent of, "see who your husband is turning into, and speak that over him. Tell him he is courageous and he'll be courageous."

On a personal level this week was truly life changing, but I can still hear Bob saying those words on stage. I need to be more careful about my words, especially in how I encourage and interact Stephen. I had seen snippets of this video in the making throughout the week, but didn't see the final product until premiered on Wednesday night. I sat in my chair excited and knew this piece would be special, but what I didn't expect was to be sobbing my eyes out while watching it. I was so moved, this was one of the most proudest moments of my life. I cried my eyes out because I am so blessed to be married to Stephen. He brings so much joy, and talent to our business. I could not do it without him.

So on social media, in front of the whole world, I honor you Stephen Diaz for your servant's heart, the way you love me unconditionally everyday, the way you make me laugh, and they way you have shown me peace and pray for us daily. I am one lucky girl and so happy you captured the essence of this conference through your God-given gift!

Stephen

God loves me, this I know. I can't help but write that and hear that cheesy childhood Sunday school song ringing in my head. But the truth is, he really does, and he seems to also love to show me this in the best of ways.

This past weekend Chelsey and I shot two film&photo weddings, one in Northern California, the other in Southern, a little over 500 miles apart! Normally, we don't schedule back-to-back craziness like this, but the Sunday wedding was for a good friend so we made it happen. It's 4am Monday morning and our alarm goes off, we sluggishly head to LAX to fly across the country to Atlanta, Georgia. After a long day of traveling we arrive, we're in Georgia and naturally I want nothing more than Chick-fil-A! We don't have this magical food source in Chico, CA, and because Georgia is the founding place of this fine establishment, I'm always craving it when we're in that area! Rushing through the airport to get our rental car, we passed at least ten people happily consuming those delicious chicken sandwiches. Running late, we couldn't stop for food, we had to get to the conference before it began!

So we get to the conference, the seriously stunning grounds of the WinShape Retreat Center. I'm starving and to my delight, they're serving Chick-fil-A for dinner. Not only that, the entire retreat center is owned by Chick-fil-A and we literally had some type of Chick-fil-A infused food for every meal. I know that's a silly story but seriously, God really knows how to love me and he continued to show me this in awesome and personal ways throughout the week.

I could keep writing forever, but I'll summarize for sake of time. I felt sick on Monday night, and fell asleep praying for healing, rest, and puffy white clouds the next day (for the timelapses). God answered all those prayers and more. I felt great the next morning, even stayed up until 4am Tuesday night shooting the stars and finished the final film an hour early on Wednesday! It was truly miraculous and I could not have done it without the strength that was gifted to me.

Being at this conference with Chelsey was amazing and I'm so glad it worked out the way it did. Coming home we're feel completely relaxed and refreshed, with lots to process still, but a deeper connection with one another because of it! After the final film premiered, Chelsey came running to the back with tears in her eyes and as we hugged we both just sobbed like we did on our wedding day. It's crazy to look back and see God's hand and faithfulness throughout this whole project, and I know our films would be nothing without His never ending love flowing into us and our work.

Thank you to all the amazing speakers that gave us permission to film and use their words for this film. Thank you to the wonderful WinShape and Pursuit staff that made this event all come together! We are truly grateful that we got to adventure out to the East Coast to capture such an amazing story.

As a little bonus, here's our little TréCreative promo film that played during the conference slides, featuring photos by Troy&Aimee Grover, footage from Forestry Films and behind the scenes shots from our second shooters :)