Our roadtrip to Birmingham for the dotMom event started with a birthday celebration for my Ace. We opened airplane gifts, ate at a famous meat-and-three and visited the Southern Museum of Flight.
I really didn’t even know what a Flying Ace was before we got to the museum. I mean, I know Snoopy fights the Red Baron from his red doghouse, but that’s about it. (Maybe I should have thought that through before I planned a party around the theme?)
Well, we got the whole story at the museum and the best part is that the Flying Ace exhibit was all about a local Flying Ace named…wait for it…Asa! How cool is that?! OK, I thought it was cooler than he did. But maybe one day he’ll like it.
He did have fun exploring all the planes, though. Asa thought the whole trip to Birmingham was just for him and his birthday. (Hopefully, he’ll never read this and learn differently!)
We finally made it to the hotel after our high-flying adventures and sidebar: don’t you just love a good hotel? Clean sheets, clean bathroom and well, it’s clean. Anywhoo, I got the most fun swag bag you ever saw (provided by FreeSet, which is an AWESOME ministry) filled to the brim with so many fabulous Lifeway and B&H resources. The amount of books I have to read now is off the charts!
Also.
They made a blogger’s brochure with all our pretty faces in it. How fun is that? I felt super famous. (Which as you know, is super important.) This was a sign of things to come as Lifeway continued to treat us with so much class and special attention. One morning we sat around a breakfast table with some Lifeway folks and they asked us to
share our heart about our blogs. Y’all. It wasn’t an elevator pitch moment. It wasn’t a tell-me-about-your-traffic-and-subscribers. They just wanted to know us and what we felt like God called us to.
I love hearing people talk about their passion. I loved hearing these fab bloggers explain their detailed little God-calling niche. I remember when I first started reading blogs I thought, “God is using these women to bring His Word to the world!”. As if God invented the internet for His purposes. (Hmmm. I guess that’s just what He does, huh?)
Anyway, the point is that God is using words to travel through the mysteriousness of the internet to change hearts and lives. He’s using these women to minister in this space. I’m honored to be a part of it!
The rest of the weekend was spent just attending the dotMom event. And what was so cool is that God gave the whole event a theme. It wasn’t something planned–it was just how God dropped His Words in the speaker’s hearts. All of it connected. And the word? Relax. Rest. CHILL OUT.
God has given us the hardest–HARDEST–job ever. Motherhood is tough, y’all. And it’s such a struggle to be perfect, to do it all and more. But do you know what God wants? He wants us. He wants our kids. He wants us to love Him and love them. He wants us to stop TRYING so hard. We aren’t what will make our kids turn out right–HE is the one who loves them more than we do. He created them. He has a purpose for them. And we are just a part of that story. Take a deep breath, mamas. He’s got our backs. He has engraved our children’s names on the palm of His hands. You are not alone in raising them. You are partnering with Him. Rest in Him.
*happy sigh*
Besides listening to these superwomen, I got to hang out with some super-bloggers all week. Some of them were long-time friends and others were new-and-now-dear-to-me friends!
I spent lots of time palling around with the sweet Jen (aka QuatroMama), the sparkling Stacey, the happy and just-like-me Erin, the smart and funny Kelli, the gorgeous and always-connecting-us-together Jessica, the lovely Nish and the passionate Brooke. Plus, I got to hang out with one of my best and longest blogging friends, Brandi! Not to mention, some great times spent with Teri Lynne, Mitzi, Ruth, Saul (or King Saul of Dayspring as I like to call him) and the Lifeway gals.
You should really go read all the bloggers’ posts about dotMom (I tried to link to them above). It’s so cool how everyone walked into the event thinking it would be one thing, or go one way when in fact, God did something else. We had a really fantastic time hanging out together and just enjoying each other as friends.
I’m going to share more of dotMom with you in a few weeks because several of the keynote sessions really spoke to me and I want to share some of it with you. I’m also going to be introducing you (on Facebook) to some of the vendors and other speakers we met. I was just sincerely blessed by all of them!
And now, one last picture of our trip to Birmingham. The Vulcan. Yes, the Greek god of the forge. He’s a landmark in Birmingham. We had to visit some Birmingham-ness so Lydia would know what her place-of-birth is like and for some good homeschooling-on-the-road!
Super big thanks to Lifeway and dotMom for inviting me and hosting us! Keep dotMom on your radar, they are coming to Dallas and Chattanooga next!
***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***
