Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Thankful...In a Tired Kinda Way!

Well, Tim and I attended the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati last weekend and we had the best time. My dear friend, Amanda Bennett, is the one who worked it for us to go and spending time with her and her husband was a highlight of the weekend for us. We talked, laughed and compared text messages on how our boys were faring at home in their baseball games!

It is a huge convention and so it was a weekend full of lots of walking and lots of conversations. I love to walk (as long as my shoes are comfy) and I am pretty good at conversing, but by the end of the weekend my feet were sore and my words were dried up and I found myself with only a few mumbles left for the ride home! Good thing Tim and I are at the point where we can ride for many miles with little said and the silence is comforting.

I met many amazing women who are all committed to educating their children at home and it was so fun to make new friends!! Our dear friends, the Bunches, made the trip, too, and time with them was special. Sad that we had to both leave Atlanta and travel to CIncy to have time together. (All that Atlanta traffic, you know! ;O) )

I got to speak twice while I was there and I really had a blast. I would look around the room before I started and think, "These are my people!" What a comforting thought ~ we were just a bunch of homeschooling Mamas and Daddies trying to encourage each other in our journey. The best part was, I didn't even get nervous once...really!! I know there were oodles of people praying for me and I am sure that helped make the difference. Finally becoming more comfortable in my own skin probably helps, too!

I spoke about my passion and entitled it ~ She Senses the Worth of Her Work. It seemed to resonate with lots of those who heard it and the feedback was so encouraging. This time of year we are surely worn down and need to be reminded of the intrinsic worth and value in what we do all day so we don't curl up in a corner in the fetal position!

Tim spoke 4 times and had an amazing response. He and our friend, Michael Bunch, shared together and ended up with a little band of brothers for whom their message resonated deeply. They heard over and over how refreshing it was to hear guys talk about their struggles unashamedly!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! It has taken me til today to gather my thoughts and process all that took place enough to blog about it. We must have done okay because they asked us about the possibility of doing 4 more of these conferences next year. Not sure how feasible that is with the kids, but we shall see!

So if you prayed for us while we were there...thank you!!! Your prayers were answered in a powerful way!!

9 comments:

  1. Thankfulit went well! I'm thinking you should some insights from your talk on your blog! I believe I know one Mom who'd love to read them! So good to hear of God's faithfulness once again!!

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  2. Yay! I'm so glad it went well!! I was thinking about you guys! I kept meaning to ask Rach how it went, but then I would forget :( I wish they had recorded it or something so we could listen to what you guys said!!

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  3. Libby, they did tape it so I'll see if I can get you one. I do have a tape of the tea I spoke at before Christmas if you'd like to see that! :O)

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  4. Barb and Tim were AWESOME presenters at the MidWest Convention! Thanks, Barb (and Tim) for sharing from your heart, for teaching us, for stretching me.

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  5. PS: The company that taped the presentations at the convention will sell tapes online at some point (or they did last year, I assume they will again):

    http://www.rhino-technologies.com/

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  6. Thank you, Penny, for the encouragement and the link!! Blessings to you!! :O)

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  7. That'd be great--I'd love to hear both talks!! I've heard Mr. Tim speak, but I haven't had the privilege of getting to hear you speak!

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  8. Hearing your talk was one of the highlights of my convention. Thank you. And right now your quote about finding great worth in the mundane is speaking to me even more than it did then. I do hope you join us again next year.

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  9. Aw, thanks, Stacie!!! That means a lot!!! :O)

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