DotMom13- Part 1

**First, thank you all so much for your kind comments, emails, texts and phone calls. My husband did lose his job this past Monday (brief commentary- it was unexpected but we are at peace with God’s direction.) Though we are still reeling from it all, we are trying to take a few days to re-group, rest (stress is so exhausting!!!) and PRAY.  We KNOW that God means this for GOOD and we are excited to see where He leads next. So, THANK YOU so much and we would covet your continued prayers.**

Last weekend, I was so thrilled to be able to attend the LifeWay sponsored DotMom conference in Chattanooga, TN. I’ve always wanted to go and was simply over the moon about being able to not only attend, but have 6 other moms from our small group go along. We had an absolute blast. It was a little like Summer camp for Mommies. We traveled together, ate our meals together, got ready together, stayed up late talking and laughing together, etc. It was an AMAZING two days of conference fun and of course, we added a little outlet shopping at the end for good measure.

Lauren Chandler & her band led worship and they did a fabulous job of helping us prepare our hearts for worship. She is a beautiful woman, inside and out and if you’ve never heard her sing, you can purchase her first album, The Narrow Place on iTunes for only $5.99. Look her up, you’ll appreciate her story.

The main keynote speakers were Angela Thomas, Vicki Courtney, Jen Hatmaker and John Croyle. Each speaker was absolutely amazing. I attended break out sessions with 3 of the 4 speakers, and I took a BUNCH of notes and wish I could share each little thing with you. I’ll have to settle for a few main quotes instead.

Vicki Courtney, who recently wrote the book, Ever After: life lessons learned from my castle of chaos, spoke about expectations and the infamous, “Fairytale Letdown.” She spoke words of wisdom about what to do when reality doesn’t match our expectations. She said that, “Happily Ever After is a decision YOU make TODAY in the here and now. A choice we make to look for God’s standard — not the world’s idea of the IDEAL.” She spoke a little about Pinterest and how she even has had to shut it down, already when she needed to.  Simple truths but so good to be reminded of.

Jen Hatmaker. WHOA. first of all, that girl can rock a high bun and look so hip!

See? Anyway, enough about her sense of style.

She. was. AWESOME. I was privileged to hear her twice, once in a smaller session. A few things she said: (so passionately!)

“Speak of God’s plans for their lives from the time they are in diapers.” (She spoke against raising fearful children, and instead raising kids who Love Jesus. Period. ) She opened my eyes a little bit more to the importance of DISCIPLING our children and how the focus needs to be on God’s leadership over their lives from the beginning.

During our last evening session, she shared a little bit more about “Parenting Diligently NOT Fearfully.” She wisely said that “In Motherhood, fear makes an already hard job even harder.” So. Very. True.  She also left us with this, “Live it. Or you have NO HOPE of leading it. (to your kids.)”

And then she shared the most beautiful video of the day they brought home their last two children. Grab the tissues, You’re going to need them.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMQuXTG2ndY&w=640&h=480]

 

More DotMom fun to come next week, stay tuned!!