Beth Moore and Two Days of Thankful

I just got home from an amazing overnight stay in Maine to attend Beth Moore's Living Proof Live with three incredible women. We talked, laughed, shopped, learned and spent some quality time in the company of other women. The conference was incredible and Beth Moore is a truly fantastic speaker. She is inspiring, encouraging, funny and most importantly real. It was a lot for me to take in during a whirlwind time frame, but it was worth it in many ways. After last night's session we took a late night trip to L.L. Bean to do some browsing. Yay for being open 24 hours. This morning we had to get up way too early to make the one hour drive back to the venue for 8:30am, but Beth's energy is so contagious that we were all wide awake shortly after arriving.

Her main message was simple and clear; be willing to be different in a positive way. She didn't suggest that we go out and act so differently that we stood out and bothered people, but more along the lines of leading by example. Show our children that giving up is not an option. Teach them to fight for what they deserve. Treat people kindly and act without jealousy. It sounds easy in words, but have you ever tried to be yourself without worrying about the way that other people see you? Do you have enough confidence to carry yourself and present yourself in a way that you are comfortable with yourself without the approval of others? Do you lead others simply by example and not by compelling them to do what you want? Not an easy task, but a challenge I will try to accept.

Yesterday I was thankful for:

1. A safe trip to Maine in the company of wonderful women whom I treasure.
2. A husband who willingly stayed home with our children so that I could get an overnight away.

Today I am thankful for:

1. The love, support and encouragement of Jean, Prudy and Abbie who carried me along with them this weekend and shared themselves and listened while I tried to make sense of all that I was learning.
2. Happy children when I returned home.
3. Joel installing my kitchen faucet while I was gone so that I can once again use the kitchen sink. 

Tomorrow we celebrate Halloween in our town. I don't know our exact plan yet, but I am sure that the kids will have fun no matter what we do. Bring on the sugar high!