I had the
best weekend going to this event, and I highly recommend it for all Moms’:
younger, older, newer, more experienced- if you’re a Mom you’ve got to make it to this event. It was a
packed weekend and FILLED me in a way that I truly needed. It was such a great
time!
We (Pam, Ramona {Pam’s Mom}, and I) left out Friday morning after
dropping Easton & Sawyer off at school, and getting our free coffee at
McDonald’s. J
The event
started Friday at 1 with worship, and then after a small break from 2:30-2:45,
the breakout started. I really liked how they showed the weekend’s
schedule. You could highlight the classes you wanted to attend, and then pick
the best day/time to work around the other events. There were a total of 8 of
us that went that weekend, but everyone split up when it came time to breakout,
depending on what you wanted to sit in on. There were SO MANY to choose from
that it was hard to decide, I wished they would have taught one more day!
At 2:45 I
attended “Divine Weapons to Demolish Strongholds for Moms” by Leighann McCoy.
I
could really spend a lot of space writing about how wonderful each speaker was,
and sharing my notes, but I’ll pick my favorites to share to save space and time.
There was a
break from 4-4:15, and then the next breakout began. Angela Cottrell (Travis
Cottrell’s wife) taught “Help! How can I be a Godly Wife and Mother?” Dinner
was from 5:30-7:30 (on your own), and then Worship began again at 7:30pm,
followed by a Late Night Bash at 9pm. The 8 of us all met at Cracker Barrel for
dinner and as soon as my belly was full, my body was like, “yeah, you’re done
now, we’re shutting you down.” I did NOT want to miss worship that night, but knew
if I made it through that I’d be falling asleep standing up for the late night
bash. It’s probably the one time I wished I wasn’t pregnant. Our hotel was
about 15 minutes away from the venue, and I didn’t want to make our group leave
if I tired early, so I just had them drop me off at the hotel after dinner and
thought I’d wait for them to get back. Ha! I crashed. Like, so hard that Pam
said they came back and put their hand on my back to make sure I was breathing-
and I slept through it! I have to try and make myself sound a little better by
mentioning TN time is an hour behind us…but I did totally fall asleep early, ha
ha.
Worship
began at 9:30 Saturday morning and lasted through 11. Steve and Debbie Wilson were
a couple that were platform speakers to lead us into our first class. They
taught the marriage seminars and honestly, I hadn’t planned on attending one
that weekend as I wanted to focus more on being a Mom. Y’all. That couple brought it. I think the whole auditorium was
moved to tears as they focused (lovingly) on some of the pitfalls we get can
fall into as wives. Temper, Irritability, Selfishness. I was more than
convicted, that was one of those moments where you know God was there, and you
can’t describe that feeling to people that weren’t in the room. God worked, and
it was amazing. They went well over the end time of 11am.
“Expectations- sabotage a lot
of good.
1.
We don’t talk about them- unspoken
expectations will always lead to discouragement.
2.
Unmet expectations will always lead
to disappointment. Don’t spend years dwelling on what your husband is not. If
your husband can’t win, eventually, he will quit trying. What about your
children? Do they get a win too? Are you constantly raising the bar on your
family, to the point that you can’t be pleased?
3.
Unrealistic expectations will lead to
defeat. Are you standing in the way of what a spiritual leader looks like for
your husband?
Irritability
Have a temper, Mom’s? Somewhere as a
little girl, you learned that fit-throwing worked for you. It got you what you
want. Your brain says, “this works.” Temper people- it’s time to grow up. You’re
just being selfish now and want to control the environment. You don’t want to
take responsibility for your own actions. If you profess to be a Jesus person,
He’s tired of your behavior too. It’s enough.
You yelled at _______ (insert child’s
name) again. Can your child please his Mama?
Our irritability is pushing our
children away from God. Don’t ever underestimate the power of your words.
Sarcasm is acid to a child. You can’t show anyone else God’s love if you don’t
know it for yourself. Until you grasp this, you can’t be filled to the measure
of God.”
They led an
altar “stand” at the end, and I don’t know a woman who was left sitting,
dry-eyed. It was just amazing. Somehow everyone collected themselves and got
ready for the first break-out session. You know how you just know God’s there? That morning set me up
for what I needed to receive the rest of the seminars.
From
11:15-12:30 was the first breakout of the day, but like I said it was way later
than 11:15. I chose “Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys” by David Thomas.
He broke down development into 3 age groups: 0-4, 5-8, 9-12, and followed the
outline, “He is….” and “He needs….” for each age.
Again, SUPER good, I would
have spent the whole afternoon in that class, learning more about my little
men. It made me appreciate them more, made me more excited to go home and try
these new techniques. I was feeling so full and refreshed, and again, it’s
something I would want other Mom’s to feel too. Being a Mommy is tiring.
Lunch was
from 12:30-1:30 (Panera!), and the next breakout session began at 1:30. This
time I chose “Corrective & Preventative Discipline” by Karen
Alexander-Doyle. She’s a grandmother now and as soon as you heard her soft
voice begin, you just wanted to be in her family. You wanted that kind of
guidance around to help you raise your children. The kind of woman who seemed
like patience was this never-ending thing she could provide, someone you could
really enjoy talking to and learning from. I filled up pages from her, but
these are my favorite highlights:
“Punishment- focuses on the past. The
purpose is to get even with your child. The emotion usually felt is anger.
Discipline- focuses on the future. “I
want you to become a man of God.” The purpose is growth. The emotion usually
felt is love.
Preventative and corrective discipline
go hand in hand. Preventative starts with your walk, Mom. God picked YOU for
the children you have. You can do this. Don’t be defeated; it’s not too late to
begin again. God is merciful.”
I couldn’t
imagine the weekend getting much better, and we had a small break from 2:45-3,
and then Worship began again. The Cartee’s led worship all weekend, and I’ve
always said every day should begin with worship in an arena. They did a great
job of leading worship with songs we knew, and sharing new ones they wrote with
us.
Angie Smith, an author and hilarious woman, concluded the event for the
weekend. She cracked us up with her stories and then brought on more waterworks
as she talked about control. How we, as women, sometimes struggle with control
in our household. She gave a humorous example of how her husband took her twin
girls to Build-a-Bear for an afternoon, and on the outside she was like, “Bye!
Have a great time!”, and on the inside she was thinking, “Don’t be out past
their naps, or get anything Hello Kitty.” Can we not all relate? I could! She
started with the example of Moses’s mother, how she literally had to let her
hands off that basket, and give that control over to God. She asked, “How often
do we grip our children with one hand, but then tell them ‘trust God, He’s got
this’? Why would our children need a Savior when they’ve got Mom doing it for
them?” Ouch, ouch, ouch. Then- I think this will be what I write down
everywhere to remind myself- she said, “Our job as mothers is not to build up
our children’s faith, it’s to build up our own, and know they are watching. We
get to love Him enough that they want to love Him too. Show them a faith that
leaves them no other option but to know that He’s real.”
I don’t
really know if I could have cried more in one weekend?! Good tears too- not all
guilty ones, just being filled with the Word.
I really
wished that I had been able to sit in on every class, and was THRILLED when
they were selling the audio CD of every seminar held that weekend- thank you!!!
Now I can go back and listen to the ones I missed, yay!
It was such
a fun girl’s weekend. I’m so thankful to all the husbands that were willing to
stay home with the kids, and for my Dad who was willing to pick up Easton from
school, and Cory from his school, just so this could happen. Thank you honey
for keeping our boys busy, taking them to football games & a festival. Thanks
to Pam for letting me invite myself and to her family for welcoming me in their
group for the weekend!
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