My 5 Favorite Things About the .MOM Conference

This past weekend I escaped the responsibilities of mommyhood for a few days and went to Dallas for the .MOM conference. I stayed with my baby sister, so I enjoyed sister time when I wasn’t soaking up encouragement for moms.

Ok, enough chit chat.

My 5 Favorite Things About the .MOM Conference

1. Travis Cottrell and his team (which included his wife! awesome!) leading worship. Seriously, the man has a gift. (But my favorite male singer is still my husband. Just sayin’.)

2. The breakout session Priscilla Shirer and her sister, Chrystal Hurst, did for busy moms. THEY WERE SO FUNNY! Loved them. They were my favorite part about the whole first day. Priscilla and Chrystal gave some great practical advice, but what stood out to me the most was the charge to think about the memories that we want our children to have from their childhood. For example, Priscilla shared that she makes bread every week or so because she wants her kids to remember the smell of baking bread in the house. Garrett and I are going to sit and talk about this one.

3. As a matter of fact, my favorite of the main sessions was Priscilla’s. This was the first time I heard her speak in person, and it was impressive. She was hilarious and did a great job of wrapping up the entire conference. There are a lot of good speakers, but she was truly great. I spent some time thinking about what it was that made her so good. Was it her confidence? Charisma? Humor? Love for her audience? Or was it as simple as an anointing to relay a message? I don’t know, but whatever it was, it worked.

4. The lunch provided on Saturday. I expected a sandwich and a bag of chips. I got a generous sandwich, chips, apple, huge cookie, and full-size Snickers bar (along with a bottle of water I never got around to picking up). That’s a big lunch, right? It’s interesting how that lunch made me feel pampered. Such a simple thing.

5. Sister time! Diana isn’t a mom, but she attended the conference with me on Friday. It was nice to have a little bit of company and someone to discuss the conference with that was actually there.

I attended alone on Saturday since Diana had another commitment, but there were so many people there that I was never truly alone. As a matter of fact, by the last session I was DONE with being around people. It was funny how I hardly spoke to anyone all day, but was still overwhelmed by just being among so many people. I am most definitely an introvert.

Other great things about the weekend:

• the drive to Dallas (peace and quiet! phone conversations! audiobooks!)
• long conversations with Diana
• getting my hair done at the Dry Bar
• getting my nails done
• dinner at this neat Mediterranean restaurant
• sleeping in on Sunday

I’ve been a little burnt out lately, so this weekend was just what I needed. I even enjoyed the drive to Dallas. I was refreshed and inspired to work at being a better wife and mother. And the homecoming was the best. I missed my three guys and was so happy to see them again. Sometimes I need a chance to miss home, you know? I’m very much a homebody, but even I have to get out of the house every now and then. I enjoy new experiences, but part of the draw is that they remind me that I miss my routine at home with my hubby and kiddos.