It’s almost noon and I’m still in my jammies.
If you were one of the 13,000-plus people gathered in Atlanta, Georgia over the last two days at the Catalyst Conference then you may be experiencing what I like to call The Catalyst Hangover.
It’s the feeling you get after drinking in several days of some of the most innovative thinkers, speakers and teachers from around the country (and world), staying up way to late to connect with amazing people, wrestle with ideas, and share your life. If you’re feeling slightly dehydrated, tired, and like your brain is about to pop with all you learned, then it could be The Catalyst Hangover.
Here’s some quick ways to recover (and don’t worry, none require drinking any crazy tomato juice concoctions):
1. Rest. Carve out some lazy time to sit on a couch and reflect. Allow your body and mind to process all you’ve experienced.
2. Remember the specifics. When someone asks you about your time at Catalyst, you may be tempted to answer, “Fantastic”, “Amazing”, or “Great”. Don’t stop there. Think about something specific you really enjoyed–a particular speaker, message, a world-record setting belly flop, the antics of some crazy guy named Lanny…whatever it may be that made your soul smile–and let the person know. Remembering the specifics helps you frame your experience for others and yourself.
3. Reflect and pray. Make time to prayerfully reflect on what God was really saying to you through the event. Throughout the Catalyst Conference, you heard many voices, but at the end of the day only One Voice really mattered. What was God saying to you? What was God to you through the various sessions? When you’re not thinking about Catalyst at all, this is the whisper, the echo, the nudge that keeps coming back. Look back through your notes. What did you underline? Star? Highlight? Make time to prayerfully consider what God was saying to you and what it will look like to respond in obedience.
4. Register for next year. Sorry to have to mention this, but dude, they sold out. If you want a spot next year, grab it quick while rates are low and tickets are still available.
5. Eat Chick-fil-A. Yep. A yummy lunch of God’s chicken with people who know you and love you and who are for you can help remind you of who God has called you to be as His kid, a servant, a leader.
And as far as No. 6, well, I’d love to hear your cure for The Catalyst Hangover!
Chic-Fil-A cures anything, doesn’t it?
Great post . . . Now all you need is to help me figure out how to deal with jealousy hangover from NOT being able to attend.
My cure for the Catalyst hangover is to:
1) hug my wife and kids
2) grab a good cup of coffee
3) break out my notes to share specific thoughts with my team members on what stood out to me. At least, that’s what I’m trying tonight. We’ll see how it goes.
I totally agree. Chic-Fi-A is a auto cure. 🙂 Hoping you can be there next year!
Love it! Would love to know what your top 3 specific thoughts you share will be! (Boy, is it hard to narrow it down!)
First thing was I took some time to write down my thoughts initially BEFORE hitting home. Once home happens, kids, hubby and family take over pretty quick–and I lose the time to really reflect right after the event.
1. At Hotel, after event if possible, journal about the highlights of the event.
2. Run quick into the arms of my kids and husband!
3. Read over my notes and prayerfully seek God on what He was saying to me. Repeat, as often as you want. 🙂
Oh so good!
During a break on Friday, I used a yellow highlighter to go back through the things that jump out in my notes. I’ve found this a way to fully hear what God wants me to “get”.
I hit the Chic-Fil-A cure on the way home last night.
I’ve also been watching the hashtag #CAT09 on Twitter to hear other people’s thoughts.
Then, I recounted some of the highlights to my husband as we sat over lunch at our favorite local restaurant, taking time away from “life” — I confess, it sounds like an extremely ADD conversation, but it’s a great way to process.
I wish I could have been there to glean all that wisdom and knowledge!!
For me, a Catalyst novice this year, I have spent the morning traveling to get home, but as soon as I saw my kids running down the airport concourse to meet me I could hear Reggie Joiner’s pre-lab session on the importance of the family ringing in my ears and I dropped to my knees and allowed my kids to run me over.
For me, coming from Ireland we have a saying that the cure to a hangover (an alcoholic one that is) is the hair of the dog – in other words, the first thing you do the next day is have another drink and that cures the hangover. To equate this to Catalyst, my ‘hair of the dog’ today was to spend time reading Reggie McNeal’s book on Missional Renaissance. Tomorrow I will share a littel glimpse of what God has been speaking to me with my church family and then next week I will join with other staff members and distill down what God has said to us as a church and to us as individuals – then we will follow Dave Ramsey’s formula.
How to cure a hangover – put it all into practice.
I spent the day in my pajamas:
1. Praying
2. Reading Scripture
3. Journaling
4. Reading an awesome book, “Scouting the Divine” by Margaret Feinberg
How I spent my first day with the Catalyst Hangover
1. played with my daughter and wife all day, laughing, enjoying great food and conversations
2. Made a reading list with the books I got – first up THE POOR WILL BE GLAD and then OUTLIERS.
3. Getting ready to share tomorrow with my church about what God did this week in my life
4. This week will be a lot of journaling, prayer and scripture immersion.
Loved your thoughts on decompressing.
How I handled the hangover:
3) Crammed 6 grown men into a minivan-and continued fellowship for another 7 hours. We each shared our favorite moment/speaker. Much like reading scripture, God spoke to us each individually. We heard the same people and words, but interpreted them in a unique way as God intended us to hear them.
2) Shared my favorite moments with my wife this morning. From the silly ways we saw God in each others faces in the minivan, to how He poured His grace over me during communion and worship.
1) Searched and saw how my many friends–and some of the speakers–made it through today.
1. rub salve on new tattoo.
2. thank everyone who helped you make it work
3. keep up the twittering to http://www.lannyonleno.com
4. just sleep.
5. come see margaret and lanny in cincinnati at the end of october for that other conference.
6. Blog about it!
Shed some tears. A woman’s way of releasing the sweet emotions experienced at Catalyst.
Tender and soulful…out pouring of what God poured into my heart. 2nd step, spend some time sharing in my case blogging about what I learned.
6. Ask other people to register.
6. Get your ticket for next year – so you know your next ‘fix’ is only 12 months away!
6. Retreat into my office/mancave at the beginning of the new week and enjoy not having 13,000 others in my space. Great time, but a little rough for us introverts!
I spent Saturday preparing for Sunday, knowing that every worship experience can’t be expected to live up to that one (Wow is all I can say), and reminding myself that less polished speakers and less awesome singers can still guide me closer to my God. I was nervous that returning to my small, rural church would be depressing–even though I was totally convinced by Rob Bell and others that God wants me here and wants me to be fully myself here.
Worship wasn’t slick on Sunday, but it was offered to a grace-giving God Who doesn’t expect more from us than we’re capable of giving. So I made it through. And I’m positive Catalyst did more to enrich the experience than to dull it.
I think one of the best things would be to get out your notes taken at the event and journal about the things you learned, pick out the top things taught by each speaker and simply take it all in. Hope we all can find time to do this… we must make time. And of course read Margaret’s new book, Scouting the Divine. It is amazing. I have started it and I am loving it.
Recover? I’ve yet to recover. Sadly, that’s mostly b/c my internet is down at home…and has been since last week…so I can’t share the highlights with my best-est friends. For those here tho, I keep telling them this story about a lady and a shepherdess and some sheep. There were many great moments, but when you talked about Lydia(?) (sorry, can’t remember…I’m not at home, but my book is) and her ability to recognize the individual voices of her sheep–with her back turned to them–I was undone. Undone.
I finished Scouting the Divine and am flying through The Sacred Echo. (And yes, when I read it again, I was like–is that on the back cover? I’ve already read that. I know about echoes.)
Perhaps tomorrow I will sit down and review all of my notes to see if I can find a thread of God woven through. Either He is silent, or I am stubbornly deaf to His voice. Yet I am thanking Him that He knows mine personally–even when His back is turned and I remain securely in His grip.
Interesting. I like it!
alo789: alo 789 dang nh?p – dang nh?p alo789
canadian pharmacy online: Inter Pharm Online – canada pharmacy
northern pharmacy canada canadian drugstore online no prescription canadian pharmacy ed medications
canada rx pharmacy world: Online pharmacy USA – canadian mail order pharmacy
https://mexicanpharminter.shop/# buying from online mexican pharmacy
best canadian online pharmacy: InterPharmOnline.com – canadian pharmacy meds reviews
best canadian online pharmacy: most trusted canadian pharmacies online – buying drugs from canada
my canadian pharmacy rx InterPharmOnline.com canadian pharmacy no rx needed
https://mexicanpharminter.com/# mexican pharmacy online
canadian drugs pharmacy: Cheapest online pharmacy – pharmacy canadian superstore
escrow pharmacy canada: legitimate canadian pharmacies online – canada rx pharmacy world
http://indiamedfast.com/# IndiaMedFast.com
canadian pharmacy 24h com safe: Pharmacies in Canada that ship to the US – canadian pharmacy tampa
lowest prescription prices online india order medicines online india IndiaMedFast.com
Mexican Pharm Inter: mexican pharmacy online – mexican drug stores online
https://indiamedfast.com/# cheapest online pharmacy india
online pharmacy india: india pharmacy without prescription – online medicine shopping in india
https://indiamedfast.shop/# india pharmacy without prescription
Mexican Pharm Inter mexican pharmacy online order mexican pharmacy online order
certified canadian pharmacy: Inter Pharm Online – buy prescription drugs from canada cheap
IndiaMedFast: india online pharmacy store – lowest prescription prices online india
https://interpharmonline.com/# northwest canadian pharmacy
legitimate canadian pharmacy: most reliable canadian online pharmacies – buy canadian drugs
India Med Fast: buying prescription drugs from india – online medicine shopping in india
http://interpharmonline.com/# onlinecanadianpharmacy 24
Generic 100mg Easy: Generic100mgEasy – Generic100mgEasy
cialis without a doctor prescription TadalafilEasyBuy.com TadalafilEasyBuy.com
http://tadalafileasybuy.com/# TadalafilEasyBuy.com
KamagraKopen.pro: Kamagra Kopen – kamagra pillen kopen
sildenafil online: Generic 100mg Easy – buy generic 100mg viagra online
https://kamagrakopen.pro/# KamagraKopen.pro
Generic 100mg Easy: cheap viagra – Generic100mgEasy
TadalafilEasyBuy.com Generic Tadalafil 20mg price Tadalafil Easy Buy
Generic 100mg Easy: buy generic 100mg viagra online – cheapest viagra
http://tadalafileasybuy.com/# cialis without a doctor prescription
Tadalafil Easy Buy: cialis without a doctor prescription – Tadalafil Easy Buy
kamagra 100mg kopen: Kamagra – KamagraKopen.pro
Officiele Kamagra van Nederland KamagraKopen.pro kamagra jelly kopen
https://tadalafileasybuy.shop/# cialis without a doctor prescription
Kamagra Kopen Online: kamagra jelly kopen – kamagra kopen nederland
cialis without a doctor prescription: Tadalafil Easy Buy – Cialis 20mg price
https://kamagrakopen.pro/# kamagra pillen kopen
п»їcialis generic: cialis without a doctor prescription – Tadalafil Easy Buy
buy cialis pill Tadalafil Easy Buy Tadalafil Easy Buy
https://kamagrakopen.pro/# KamagraKopen.pro
buy generic 100mg viagra online: Generic100mgEasy – sildenafil over the counter
cialis without a doctor prescription: Tadalafil Easy Buy – Buy Cialis online
Kamagra Kopen Online: KamagraKopen.pro – KamagraKopen.pro
kamagra pillen kopen kamagra gel kopen kamagra 100mg kopen
Tadalafil price: cialis without a doctor prescription – cialis for sale
Generic 100mg Easy: Generic Viagra for sale – buy generic 100mg viagra online
https://tadalafileasybuy.shop/# Tadalafil Easy Buy