My husband Jonathan is a hero. He has been my hero for quite some time even before we were married. Each one of our children sees their Daddy as a hero. One of my desires is to be a wife that continually communicates that I am Jonathan’s biggest fan. This is an area I know I need help in so that is why I choose to Help your husband be a Hero by Tim Shoemaker.

Are you ready to hear some more great insight? The first workshop I attended on Saturday was called How to make a great marriage – The simple things that make a big difference. It was led by Shaunti Feldhahn. I have always appreciated Shaunti’s insight and research so I was very excited to see her live. The three main points I gleaned from this workshop were: Believe the best of your spouse's intentions-even when you are hurt, Do the 5 little day to day things each day to tell your man "I care" and Boss your feelings around.

I hope you have been enjoying reading my Hearts at Home posts. It has been so fun to reflect on all that I have learned. Friday’s schedule ended with a Main Session which I will share about in this post. The theme of this year’s conference was Moms Unite. In the main session, Jill Savage addressed this topic. Before going to the conference, I felt pretty good about my friendships. After listening to Jill, I was challenged and encouraged to grow more. The three main points I gleaned from the main session were: We need friends who carry us to the feet of Jesus when we can't get there ourselves, Be intentional about being a "There you are" person and Be specific when offering help to friends.

The last workshop I attended on Friday was called 27 Hangers and it was led by Shari Braendel. As far as I’m concerned, Shari could have talked for several more hours. She was passionate and encouraging. Shari knows her stuff and is America’s #1 Christian Personal Style Coach. The top 3 things I learned from her workshop were: be intentional with my clothing purchases, how to clean out my closet, and how to shop for what looks good on me.

It’s been so fun sharing with you all that I learned while I was at the Hearts at Home conference. I hope you have enjoyed reading my posts. The third workshop I attended on Friday was called There could never be a more beautiful you! led by Katie Dilse. I LOVED this workshop! It was so encouraging and I walked away with a lighter step. The three main points that I gleaned were: Be who you were created to be- God made you this way, Give away your gift, and On our knees is when we are most beautiful.

The second workshop that I attended at the Hearts at Home conference was called “Sticks! A plan for hope and reduced stress.” It was led by Nadia Swearingen-Friesen. I appreciated Nadia’s transparency and encouragement. The three main points that I gleaned from this workshop were: Know your dreams for your family and have a plan to implement, Our job is not to raise only good children but kind, compassionate and faithful adults, and Teaching kids the importance of playing with their siblings.

Have you ever wanted to go to a place to receive training in mothering? To help you sharpen your skills? To be surrounded by Moms just like you? I attended a conference that met each of these needs. It is called Hearts at Home and was held on April 21-22 in Peoria, IL. This is my third year attending this conference. Every time I go, I walk away refreshed, challenged and encouraged. In the next several blog posts, I will share the three key points I learned from each workshop or main session. My desire and prayer are that you will able be refreshed, encouraged and challenged in your parenting journey after reading these blogs.

God spoke to Joshua before the victory of Jericho even happened. And Joshua took God at His word. Why? Because Joshua trusted God Even Before. It seemed impossible to everyone else but not Joshua. What is something you are facing right now that seems impossible? Is it a sickness or a broken relationship? Do you have an injury that is just not healing? Or maybe it is a mindset or a pattern that is so ingrained in you that you can’t possibly see how you can change. You may feel like the walls are so thick and high that you can’t imagine them coming down.

One of my favorite hobbies is Scrapbooking. I love being able to look at all my pictures and remember all the special memories and ways God has worked in our lives. Several weekends ago, I spent most of a weekend organizing my pictures from 2015. So many memories came flooding back. One, in particular, stood out to me. It was my trip in June to Ohio to see my adopted Dad and Mom, Don and Nancy.

I am sorry. Is this something you say to a friend when they share about something they are going through? Do you listen for their benefit? Or does your focus shift to yourself and what you are going through? Listening and truly caring. I know this is an area that I need to work on. It’s tough though. But the more I share about things happening in my life, the more I am learning what people need. The past year has been a year of many trials for me. I have had various responses to all that I am going through. Sometimes I have just wanted to yell at a person because of how they respond. Other times, I have wanted to hug the person because they get it.