Hearts at Home

 Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Hearts at Home conference in Rochester, MN for the very first time.  Talk about an awesome getaway for moms!  I went into it being a little nervous about leaving Lily for the first time (without Justin with me) and came away from it thinking, 'I can't wait to do this again'! 
On Friday night, comedian Chonda Pierce spoke and she had everyone rollin'!  Then on Saturday, the day was split up into a main session at the beginning & end of the day with workshops in between.  I learned a lot from the 4 workshops I went to and I'll try to briefly tell you a bit about my main takeaways.

Morning Main Session: Jennifer Rothschild
She became blind at the age of 15 and her story had me bawling!  I had goosebumps when she was telling the story of returning home from the doctor the day they diagnosed that she would soon be completely blind.  She sat down at her piano and for the first time played by ear.  And what song was it that God moved her fingers to play?......"It is Well With My Soul."  I couldn't stop the tears from flowing at this point.  She said that through the course of her life, she's learned to say, 'It may not be well with my circumstances but it is well with my soul.'  When we sang this song at the end of her session, I kept thinking about the fact that the next face she sees will be the face of Jesus.
Here are a few other things I took away from her:

• Allow your child to face their fears.  It will help them see the sufficiency of God's grace.
• God has given her "participant grace" and her loved ones "spectator grace".  It's just enough for her to bear the burden of blindness and enough for her loved ones to watch.  (I've often thought of this concept when someone I know goes through a tragedy - that God must give them a special kind of grace to walk through it....a grace that no one else can understand unless they've personally gone through it.  I'll now think of that as "participant grace"!).

Workshop #1 - Prayer: More Than Just Words
Speaker: Connie Johnson

• Praying together is one of the single most important things you can do in your marriage.       --This is something Justin and I have wanted to start doing anyway.  We decided that praying together for an extended period of time (more than just 2 minutes at the dinner table & at bedtime) would be doable for us if we designate one day a week.  Now I'm excited to begin doing this together!
• Asking your kids, "How can I pray for you?" helps them to share openly in a non-threatening way.  Healing time takes place when you pray with your kids.
• God may not answer the way we want but He will provide a season of blessing following our suffering. (1 Peter 5:10)
• Learn from David's example.  He prayed every single emotion to God through the Psalms and God always responded with love.
• "You can never learn Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have." - Corrie Ten Boom

Workshop #2 - Momology: Shaping Great Kids

• God designed ME specifically to mother my child(ren)!
• You become a resilient mom when you learn to give up control and develop the ability to adapt to whatever God gives you.
• We have to be intentional in building our relationship with our kids.  Our time with them is too short to be passive.  Be: Loving, Touchable, Available, Predictable, Responsive, Intuitive.

Workshop #3 - Getting Real in Your Marriage
Speaker: Yvette Maher

• Do you want to BE right or DO right? (Convicted by this one!)
• Obedience precedes emotion.   --I've learned through my experiences that most times I have to obey first and then the love feelings will come as a result.
• Pray: God, give my husband a new wife and let it be me!

Workshop #4 - The Scriptures Are Alive
Speaker: Wendy Pope

• It's ok to not understand everything you read in the Bible the first time.  If we did, we wouldn't keep going back to it.  God created this love letter to us to keep us in relationship with Him.
• God reveals to us what He wants us to know, when He wants us to know it.
• We cannot pass on something that we, ourselves, do not possess. (referring to passing on a love for Scripture to our kids).
• Live out the Scriptures.  How do we do this?....1) Spotlight them.  Ask God to give you a "spotlight verse" for the year.  2) Yield to the verses.  Don't simply read them to check off your list.  Instead, yield and do what they're saying.  Change doesn't happen overnight!  3) Pray verses back to God.  Praying out loud is very effective in fighting off the enemy.
• Don't be afraid to dig into the Word.  The more we dig, the more treasure we'll find.

Afternoon Main Session: Jill Savage

• Think of being a mom as a profession.  You will be more purposeful and intentional.
• Wife first, Mother second.
• Our value is not based upon how our kids look or behave.  It's who we are in Christ and that is the only thing that will never change.
• There is nothing I can do to make God love me more and nothing I can do to make Him love me less.  Ask yourself - is this how I love my husband and kids?
• When your child spills milk, they don't need a lecture; they need a rag.  Children need to know it's safe to make mistakes and safe to fail.

WHEW!  I'm almost as exhausted typing all of that as I was at the end of the conference (in the best way possible)!  Here's a picture of us girls who went together and had so much fun.

 Me, Marisa, Megan and Jenni

Wanna come with me next year? :)