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.

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.

Embrace this time. One sunny morning this was what I heard from the Holy Spirit at a moment where I needed to make a choice. Read on to hear the whole story. The sun is shining and the weather is just perfect. Finally, the kids can get outside to play. Analiah and Caleb raced to the backyard and started playing. I headed for a patio chair with a book in hand. I put my feet up and settled in to read. The next thing I heard was “Mommy, can you push me on the swing?”

Do you enjoy driving on snowy roads? Or does just reading that question add stress to your life? I am not a fan of driving on snowy roads. My hands ache from holding the steering wheel so tightly. Over the years my fear has lessened. I am always thankful when the winter is done though. I much prefer clear roads.

How do you respond when someone gives you a gift that was unexpected? Do you respond with a simple thank you? Or are you like me who responds with “Thank you, but you didn’t have to.” God is teaching me the importance of receiving. He has endless resources and longs to bless and encourage when we need it the most. I believe that sometimes we get too caught up in our busy lives that we miss how God is looking out for us. God showed up in a powerful way not too long ago. He just wanted to remind me that He loves me.

“Really? Another red light?! I just want to get there already!” The other day I was on my way to BioLife to give plasma. Right after I was done there, I was headed to a Scrapbook crop. There were many albums to work on, so I wanted to get moving with my day. I thought through what project I would work on and felt the excitement building. Needless to say, I was very annoyed when I had to stop for another red light. In that moment, God whispered to my heart “Slow down and enjoy the ride. Savor the quiet.”

The other day, my daughter Micaela was climbing down the side of her bunk bed making all sorts of noise. Next, she bounded onto her sister’s bed. Wouldn’t it have been much easier to just climb down the ladder? Apparently, it was a lot more fun that way. Honestly, this incident reminded me of myself and how I sometimes approach life. I often want the easy way out. I would much rather go through a hard time quickly than deal with the pain and heartache.  My heart breaks over broken relationships, loss of loved ones or injuries that take a while to heal. I want to get out of a hard time as quickly as I can, like my daughter Micaela wanted to get out of that bunk bed. But, God in His infinite wisdom uses these hard times to make me more like Jesus.