I just got back from Sally Clarkson's Mom Heart Conference in Dallas, Texas. To say that the Lord wanted me to be there is an understatement. His hand was in every step of the way leading me to this conference. The enemy tried everything he could to throw me off course and I'm so thankful that I persevered and found myself sitting at that conference this weekend. It was life changing! I'm praying and asking God that the knowledge and encouragement that I gained would change the course of the way I parent and serve my family.

As a mom it's very easy to slip into the comfortable routine of parenting and going about life. It takes A LOT of work to leave your family for a weekend. It takes a lot of planning and it takes a lot from you emotionally to gear yourself up to leave. I went back and forth on if I should go or not many times. The Lord kept nudging me forward and then Satan would throw another obstacle in the way. I had to trust that the Lord would provide a way and every time he did.

This past week was a hard one. Possibly the hardest week of parenting for me. I can't describe it in detail because that would be one heckofa post. It was just a washing hands in the toilet, poop smeared on the wall, crying, fit throwing, snotty face kind of week.



It became VERY evident to me that I needed encouragement and possibly even a plan of action on this whole parenting thing.
"The wise woman builds her house" Proverbs 14:1
She has a plan: The word of God
She understands and knows God (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
She delights in God's word and ways (Psalm 1:1-3)
She has a focus: The heart of her children
She raises them in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)

These things don't happen on accident or without intention. I need to be thinking of my children as my garden. Right now in the formative years I need to cultivate soft soil because hardened soil will not take seed. I need to plant with intention in every space of their lives. Whatever I do not plant with intention any seed that blows that way will take root there. I have to be planting the best. I have to nourish and care for it. If I don't who will?
Last Spring we created a garden space. We didn't do much research because we thought it would be relatively easy to plant something, watch it grow and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We somewhat tilled the soil, we planted, we watered when we thought it might need it and we waited for the produce to come. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited and finally realized that the garden was not going to produce and it was a fail. I guess we thought that because it was still alive that we were doing a good enough job.At that point it was too late to start over. We would have to wait for the next planting season and actually plan, educate and invest. Is the same not true for our children's lives? I don't want to watch my kids merely survive this thing called life. I want them to have deep roots grounded in their faith with Jesus Christ. I want them to thrive. I want them to produce great fruit abundantely.I don't want to hope for the best for my children's lives. I don't want to hope for the best for my own.
"You can not give what you are not putting in. If your not walking side by side with Jesus you can not be that in your child's life." -Sally Clarkson
Of course I know that but am I really doing that? No, to be honest I have not been. The good news is that that can change. Not on my own but with the power of Christ in my life. "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk with him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and establishing in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude." Colossians 2:6-7

I'm so excited to share my heart with you. I want to tell you more about the conference and some things that have transpired as a result. I didn't learn a magic formula to make parenting awesome every day and easy peasy but I did leave with so much encouragement and hope. Please check back later this week for an exciting opportunity!