No More Perfect Moms

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Hearts at Home conference in Rochester, MN.  About 2300 woman gathered to praise Jesus and be encouraged as moms.  I traveled down with my friend, Amy, and we both enjoyed the time to recharge our mom batteries.  On Friday night Anita Renfroe did her comedy act.  Oh my goodness, I about peed my pants.  80% of her material was about boobs and sex (within the context of marriage) and it really was clean.  It wasn't what I was expecting at a Christian conference but so stinking funny!

I LOVED the conference theme which was No More Perfect Moms and each speaker was so transparent about their lives and struggles as mothers.   Jill Savage, who started Hearts at Home and recently wrote the book No More Perfect Moms, was the first keynote speaker.  The highlight of her talk was that it is so easy (especially with social media) to think that other moms are perfect.  We can get drawn into the comparison game and it can lead to discontentment and add to our struggles as moms.  She showed this beautiful picture of her family, 5 grown children and grandchildren, and said that if she posted it on Facebook it could appear perfect.  Then she proceeded to break it down and share heart-breaking stories of struggles her family has faced over the years.  Despite many years of successful ministry, her life was far from perfect.  

Of course, the conference was full of display tables with a bagillion great books, oh I wish I had more time to read! I bought a couple devotionals and this book on teens.  I haven't started it yet but plan to very soon.  My oldest is 13 and I have a very soon to be (like in 6 days) 12 year old.  My youngest is 7 and I've got the 7 year old thing figured out but this teen thing is new and a little scary!

A highlight of the weekend was meeting Candace Cameron Bure who I watched on TV many years ago as she played D.J. Tanner on Full House.  I've been following Candace on social media these past few years and her testimony and love for Jesus is SO AWESOME!  I stood in line to say hi!  Whenever I meet people that I have seen on TV (it's happened about 1/2 dozen times in my life) I find myself wanting to pinch them, you know, to see if they are real.  Don't worry, I didn't do this to Candace but the thought crossed my mind :-)  The picture below I took while standing in line. 

After saying "Hi!" to Candace I walked through the Rochester skyway to get my caffeine fix and found this super cool Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks, thank goodness the holiday drinks are out!!!  I love this time of year.

I loved the story of this man who shared his testimony at the conference.  He grew up in extreme poverty, was brought into a sponsorship program and his life changed.  Today he has a master's degree, is married and sponsoring 4 children through Compassion International, talk about a success story!  It is definitely motivating me to continue doing the work I am (hint, hint: see the child sponsorship tab at the top of my blog)!

The conference ended with Candace sharing her testimony and journey as a mom.  Again, it was SO refreshing to hear that she isn't perfect, has had lots of struggles.  This mom journey isn't easy and it is comforting to know, it's not just me struggling.  

I also attended a workshop on boys, since I have 3 of them and they are crazy!  It cracked me up to hear the speaker say things that I SO resonated with and at the same time hear 100's of other moms laughing, again, it's not just me!  Here are 5 things I got out of the conference:

1) There is a biological reason boys are aggressive (it's called testosterone) and the best strategy for dealing with it is to embrace it!

2) Boys have an innate desire to fight evil and uphold good.  That is why they love running around with sticks saving the world, again, embrace it!

3) Boys need an outlet for their aggression and desire to fight evil, get them outside, let them run, let them fight with sticks and wrestle with them a lot!

4) No mom is perfect, every person has their struggles, don't compare someone's highlight reel (Facebook) to your inner mess.

5) Moms don't need to be judged, they need support, NO MORE JUDGING!

I came home from the conference and immediately wrestled with my 7 year old, since that is what he needs!  I also practically attacked my husband, thanks to all the sex talk over the weekend, and he definitely didn't mind :-)  I hope to make it again next year to Hearts at Home!