Deep in the Heart of Texas

Good morning! I just wanted to pop in and tell you how great things are going here in Grapevine. And it. is. AWESOME.

MOPS Convention is an experience that I just cannot describe. I cannot stress enough how highly I recommend a trip to Convention for all MOPS leaders. It gives such a new perspective on what MOPS really is--what the values and goals are, the value placed on making better moms, women, and leaders in the name of Jesus Christ. It is truly incredible.

A few of the more memorable speakers I have heard so far... Patrick Lencioni is the founder and president of a consulting group that has worked with Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and major universities--and he found that, even though all of the executives said that family was a higher priority than their business, they spent more time working on improving their business. So he developed some principles to help make family life a little less chaotic. I REALLY got a lot out of this one, and plan to buy the DVD to share with my husband.

Mike Miller works with Family Time, an organization committed to helping families institute intentional spiritual training in the home through regular family time. This was another fantastic session. I went in expecting it to be a sales pitch for their product, but instead it was a VERY well-done talk about not outsourcing our children's spiritual development to the church. That doesn't negate the need for church or the benefit of programs like AWANA, but those things still need to be demonstrated and taught in the home in order to really make a lasting impact. And he also took off the pressure that "family night" needs to be a huge 3-hour ordeal--just 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted fun time with a purpose can make such a difference! Mike travels all over and often speaks to groups of dads... I wish he were coming somewhere near us so that I could send my husband!

And Dr. Tim Kimmel spoke about Grace-Based Parenting, which really hit me right where I am. He again talked about the need to be directly involved in our children's spiritual training, and... oh my goodness, I feel like I can't even give you a synopsis of what he said--you just need to check him out for yourselves. He definitely had a lot of ideas that I want to implement in our home.

And I am VERY excited for today, because I get to hear the man who wrote the second-best book (next to the Bible ;-) ) that I have ever read: Erwin McManus. (The book that I'm talking about is Chasing Daylight.) He is addressing us all during the general session, and then I will also be going to his workshop afterward. THIS is the talk I have been waiting for the whole weekend! YAY!

So as you can tell, things are going well. I am missing my family and will be ready to go home tomorrow, but I think it's good for me to have a chance to miss them a little bit! :-)

The only downside is that I am not sleeping well or feeling very well. I don't think that I am getting sick, I think it's a combination of stress from some other things that are going on and my crazy hormones. If you get a chance to pray for me, especially as I travel tomorrow, I would appreciate that.

For now, though, I am off to enjoy two talks by a great man, some wonderful worship and quality time with other moms, and then a relaxing time by the pool!

See you all soon...