What a weekend.

5 weeks ago I stepped out and decided to go for it. I didn’t want to spend my life waiting. I didn’t want to let fear make decisions for me. I didn’t know how it was going to go. I still don’t know where it will lead but after this weekend I feel inspired, motivated and ready to move forward. I need to listen to God and be open to His plans for my life.

So what exactly happened this weekend? The Declare Conference occurred. It was a weekend spent with exceptional keynote speakers who shared their stories, hearts and knowledge. Jill Monaco, Mary DeMuth, and Jeff Goins anyone? Okay, so to be honest, I may have never read anything by or heard some of these individuals before but I left blessed by their messages and wanting to learn more from them. (A separate post might be coming on what their keynotes taught me.)

I attended breakout sessions to help my skills and writing voice (I can’t wait to listen to them all). The most delicious tangy key lime pie ever entered my mouth. There were crazy generous sponsors, a wonderful hotel,  and dozens of great bloggers all wanting God to use them. From the minute we pulled up in front of the hotel and were welcomed by the Declare sign inside and the smiling faces at the registration an amazing experience was had. 

See what I mean? It’s hard to top that.

The old me would never have stepped foot outside of my house to spend a weekend with people I didn’t know.  Sure, I agonized over whether or not to attend Declare for so long that I bought my ticket on the last day possible but I did do it. There was no turning back. I pretended that I wasn’t nervous those 5 days leading up to the conference so that I would hopefully not feel nervous. (I think it mostly worked.)

The old me could have missed out on this powerful weekend. The old me would have missed out on sweet conversations. The old me would have missed out on what God wanted to speak to me.

Follow me. Step out in faith. Don’t worry about what others think. Get out of your comfort zone. These are all things God has been teaching me the past years. (Goodness, am I a slow learner.)

He blessed me this weekend for going for it and I’m so grateful. May I not hesitate to follow His leading.

You are going to want to head over the the great link-up to read all the amazing stories!

Linked to Fellowship Friday and Essential Fridays

We had a fun weekend away and am trying to get back in the groove. I suppose I have only been home for one night so I can give myself some slack. If I was smart I would have menu planned for this week before I left. Maybe next time. 🙂 All that to say, don’t be jealous of our rocking suppers this week.

Menu

Breakfasts:

• Muffins
• Yogurt and granola

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• Bean and cheese burritos

Dinners:

• Baked Ziti (from the freezer) x 2
• Grilled Cheese (I guess it’s better than take-out after unloading the car and coming home to an empty fridge)
• Grilled Chicken
• Smoothies and stovetop popcorn

Snacks:

• Nuts, raisins, dates, pretzels

This Week’s Goals

Blog: Write 3 posts, update Twitter and Facebook once per day, Amazon Affiliate

Physical: Exercise 4 times

Reading: Start The Wall Around Your Heart (review and giveaway to come when I finish it)

Concert Series Job: List of Donors finished and e-mail

Linked-up to Menu Plan Monday

Emily, at Chatting at the Sky, hosts a link-up at the end of every month where we can share the things we learned. Her list was so fun and it was enjoyable to click through all the other blogs last month that I decided to share my own list this time.

Things I Learned in July

1. Even though it saves gas money, it’s not worth combining a trip to the zoo with a doctor appointment if the high is 106. Torture, pure torture. The entire time we were at the zoo, I was thinking about how soon we were going to leave. Looking forward to a return trip when it cools off.
   
2.  Staplers have two settings! I had no clue. Please tell me that I’m not the only one? Someone at work would occasionally switch the setting on mine without me knowing and I always wondered how it broke.
3. It’s freeing to sometimes just step out there – make myself try something new, put myself in a different situation, not worry about what might happen. Blogging is one of things. In July I decided to go for it.
4. It better be a pretty incredible event to justify keeping our daughter up late several nights in a row. Dealing with the consequences of her lack of sleep is painful.
5. Not forcing potty training made for a simple transition when she finally decide she cared. Hooray for learning to use the toilet how to sleep in a big girl bed the same weekend.
6. I already knew this, but I was again reminded how amazing family is. When my family came to meet the baby they came loaded with larger sizes of clothes (for both kids), my mom mopped my floor twice in 4 days, the siblings entertained the kids continuously, and Dad spent countless hours working on a house project. Love them.
7. With as many projects as I want to tackle, it seems that I’m going through post-pregnancy nesting. I didn’t know that happened. On the plus side, cleaning is happening that hasn’t been done once in the 3 1/2 years we’ve lived here.
8. After writing numerous comments only to find out a Blogger blog doesn’t have URL/Name as an option I always check before I type. Or maybe I should just suck it up and get a Google Blogger account but I don’t really want something else to keep track of.
9. Crunchy almonds and chewy dates make the perfect quick snack.

Linking up to Weekend Whatever and Fellowship Friday

I think someone found a new favorite snack. 🙂 When they are sliced she calls them bagels. . . Hmm, I guess they are circles with holes in the middle.