I woke early Friday morning to catch a 7:30 flight that would take me from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City to Dallas, all for the glory-ness of Hope Spoken. It had been a l o n g time since I traveled to a blog conference. Long like almost 18 months, but I was equal parts excited and nervous. My sister-in-law flew in the night before and Bauer & Maxwell kept her busy on Friday (although rumor has it Bauer slept all day). I imagine the two of them just soaked each other in :) I love so much that she is here right now with us a couple more days.
So much great happened over the weekend in Dallas. Great speakers. Great food. Great friends hugged. Great mental rest. Great-full.
Ashley of The Vanilla Tulip + Casey Wiegand + Ruth of Grace Laced
It’s almost hard to type this out, but then I re-read my notes and decide it to be true: my most memorable moment from the conference is when Shauna Niequist spoke on “more love/less busy”. And yes, I was taking notes because it was just that good. And one more thing, can I be honest with you? What Shauna said on Saturday totally had me in tears… for most of her time on stage. What she shared was so inspiring:
– Dr. Henry Cloud said it first, “No” is a complete sentence
– Doing more and more and more will not bring you more
– Will saying “yes” allow me to live a less frantic life?
– Exodus 18:17-18
– Psalms 16:5-6
– Mark 8:36
– Luke 10:38-42
– Don’t be afraid to: become irresponsible, stop hustling, be the person God created you to be, stop being frantic
Joy Prouty + Dee of Red Letter Words
But a close runner up, my second most memorable moment from Hope Spoken, is being able to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. There is just something so fulfilling about spending time with women that desire to know God more. When she speaks encouraging words about Him, they stick around for quite some time.
Many asked me how I was handling being away from Maxwell — this was my first overnight trip without him.
So to be honest, it was such an easy weekend for me. I knew Maxwell was loving his time with his aunt Tiffany. I knew he was going to go hiking on Saturday. I knew his Sunday afternoon was going to include church and the flea market (and turns out, also a trip to the cupcake shop).
But perhaps the real reason I had such a great weekend is because everyone in our family wanted me to be gone. Their support blessed me. They knew this time away would be so good for my heart, not just my mama heart but my Maggie heart, too.
And Hope Spoken it was.
It sounds like a fabulous, uplifting time of friends and fun!
It was so great to meet you this weekend! I really wish we could have grabbed coffee and chatted for a good long while but conferences can be SO overwhelming and I didn’t want to occupy any of your spirit because I figured you had a lot to take in as it was. Hopefully we can soon! xo
@Skye, I wish we would have chatted longer… we certainly have a lot of years & moments that connect us :)
Sounds like an incredibly blessed time, just what you needed, and God met you there!
@Pat, yes — yes yes! :)
I am so glad to have finally met you. Maybe next year we can chat some more. :) xoxo
@Anna French, can we please???? :)
Oh how fun! I remember meeting you at a blogging conference lots of years ago–what a highlight! Hope we have the chance to meet again. :)
@Shelly Wildman, As long as it includes twin seats on an airplane ;D
Thank you so much for sharing the session with Shauna – it was truly a word from the Spirit of the Lord for me this morning. I asked my husband yesterday what one thing was that I needed to work on in my life – he said not staying too busy, which I do daily. We talked it out, and I loved hearing it and starting to apply it mentally and this helped so much.
Blessings!
Oh, Maggie, I’m so glad you were able to go!
This is a really beautiful post. I’m so glad you had a chance to get away and recharge… it’s the best when, as you say, your family wants you to be gone. When they give you the mental ‘permission’ you need to step away and not think about them at all. Because as mothers (let alone creatives and business owners!) that is what we need to truly relax. :)
@Sarah Milligan, Thank you Sarah!
It was so good to see you and just catch up with you! You are a special lady.
WHY OH WHY can you not live in Texas?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!? :)
Talk to zacky poo about that ;)
Sounds amazing, precious memories for sure and so good to take time out to be you amidst the roles we carry as mother, daughter, lover, friend, nurturer, chef, home planner, life coach and all the other roles in between. Nice to have found your lovely blog.