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!***

Yesterday was one of the worst parenting days I’ve ever had. There was not one time during the day that one of my children was not completely out of control. I was livid by the time my husband came home. In fact, I crawled into the bed as he finished eating dinner and hid until he had put the kids to bed. (He could feel my weariness and I didn’t even have to ask!)

After the kids went to bed (screaming), my husband and I sat on the couch and talked—about parenting, God and for some reason about dishes. My husband declared that he was better at keeping the kitchen clean because he put the dishes away immediately instead of letting them pile up. (Which, in all honesty, is kinda true.) But after the day I had, this pointed look at my failure to keep the kitchen clean hurt my feelings deeply.

I couldn’t talk anymore. So, I got up, went to my room, got ready for bed and decided to read. I picked up Don’t Make Me Come Up There! by Kristen Welch. You might know Kristen from We are THAT Family. She’s a blogging genius, an advocate for Compassion International and has started The Mercy House, a maternity home in Kenya. And I am in awe of her. I got her book as a review (because I wanted to share the awesome news of her book!) and had read a few of the short chapters when it first came in the mail.

But this night? It was as if the book was written just for me. I started with Chapter 12 entitled, “When I Fail.” Oh, I had failed this day–as a parent, homemaker and even a wife. Kristen tells of how she blew it as a mom, how she was short-tempered and impatient.

And with each confession, I cried more. I felt the same way. A failure.

Then she relayed something her pastor taught her, “When I cut my hand chopping veggies in the kitchen, the blood in my body rushes out of the wound. That’s what it was created to do. Our blood was designed to wash out the impurities and clot to protect us. When I fail as a parent or wife or a person, His blood goes to my injured heart. It rushes to the place I hurt. Because that’s what it was created to do. He is there to wash away my regret and my sin when I fail.”

By this time I was sobbing.

I try so hard–SO HARD–to teach my  kids to love God. I try so hard to point them to Jesus. But sometimes I forget to do the same. Sometimes I lean on my own understanding. Sometimes I rely on my past experience. Sometimes I just think I know best and I fail to do the best thing I can do:

Lean into Jesus.

Bring him my parenting failures.

Allow His blood to cleanse my bad attitudes towards my kids.

Rely on His strength to be my joy.

I ended up reading the rest of the book that night–all 52 chapters. And the more I read, the more God’s Word and Kristen’s open and honest confessions, stories and comfort healed my wounded heart. I felt like I had a sweet friend saying, “Yup. I’ve done that too.” with every one of my mess-ups.

Oh, and my husband came into the room to apologize and held me as I sobbed into his arms. I forget I need him, too sometimes.

Do you need some encouragement today? You’re not alone. You might fail as a mom every day. (I know I do.) There are moms everywhere going through the same thing as you. And Jesus is here. He made your children. He made you. And He put the two of you together. He can teach you to work together, to love together and to lean on Him together.

I’m giving away one copy of Kristen’s book to one of you. I pray it will encourage you as it did me.

Enter to Win Don’t Make Me Come Up There! by Kristen Welch (do one or all, leave a separate comment for each):

• Leave a comment. Any comment will do but something that says, “I know how you feel, Amanda” would be nice, too.
• Tweet it! Win @weareTHATfamily’s new book at @impressyourkids today! http://bit.ly/gb3VpI
• Share on Facebook. It’s easy – just click the “Like” button at the bottom of this post!
• LIKE Impress Your Kids on facebook (see sidebar) or tell me that you already do.

Contest ends Friday April 1.

ps–all the author royalties from Kristen’s book go to Mercy House Kenya. So even if you don’t win…or even if you do–will you buy the book? You can read it and pass it along to another mom!

comments are closed. congrats to our winner!

***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!***

There are only 5 days until Christmas. Are you ready? Is your tree up? Decorated? Have you made Christmas cookies? Bought presents? Wrapped them? Made neighbor gifts? Done a homemade advent calendar? Delivered Christmas food to a needy family? Hand addressed your Christmas cards?

Or are you like me? Your gifts are strewn across the living room floor. Your kids are wearing their pajamas in the middle of the afternoon. Your sink is full of dirty dishes. You burnt the Christmas cookies. You still can’t figure out what to get your father-in-law. You have unaddressed Christmas cards on your counter. And you can’t even find your keys.

{read my full post at Motherhood…Your Way}

***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!***