Hearts at Home Conference

I got back last night from the Hearts at Home conference. It was a really neat experience. There were something like 6700 mothers there for the weekend. Amazing! I was in 4 workshops and there were 2 keynote speakers...all in the course of ONE day! Talk about information overload! I am still processing and have been waiting to post until I kind of think things through, but oh well. From each speaker I got at least one good or interesting piece of information. It was just somewhat overwhelming to look around at all these women and see that so many of them have the same kinds of hopes and dreams for their children. We were all so different, yet every last one of us was there for the same reason....we are all striving to be the best mother we can possibly be for our children. I don't think a single mother their felt like she had all the answers (even though we all wish we did!!) They all worry about the same kinds of things I worry about everyday, they all pray similar prayers that I pray for my children everyday. They all want to be Godly women who point their children in the right direction and guide them carefully towards a sometimes out of reach goal. It was comforting and overwhelming to be surrounded by all these women. Sometimes you can feel like you are the ONLY ONE in a situation...but it's just not true. Some important things that jumped out at me....
"Your home needs to be a place where the wounded in your family can come to have their wounds healed"
"Your home should be a safe haven. A place they long to come home to, a place of laughter and safety, where they feel like they can ask questions even if you don't have the answers"
"As we laugh together, our hearts soften towards eachother".
(All from Julie Ann Barnhill).
I pray that this is the kind of home Paul and I build for Brigg and Nalani. I pray that they pull out some of the good from each of us and run with it. I pray that they LONG for this home and that they have the courage and that we give them wings to fly. As much as I dread the day I see them walk away from this house, I pray that they do it with excitement and strength and all the while knowing they always have a place to run back to when need be. I especially pray that we give them the example they need to lean on someone so much larger and greater than us. That's a lot of prayin', huh?!?!
There are several other lessons learned, but I am still thinking through many of them. Overall it was a great weekend. It's so nice to be able to look at someone and know that they are thinking exactly the same thing as you and no words even need to be spoken. Many unspoken moments this weekend. Thanks Jody, for sharing this experience with me!