She Speaks!

She Speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 

Proverbs 31:26

I hope you are having a blessed and thankful Thursday! For a few weeks I've been wanting to share the exciting news that this year I will be going to my very first blogging conference called She Speaks! 

Attending this conference has been a desire of my heart for years. But in the past five years we've had so many medical expenses due to infertility treatments. And we have taken the Dave Ramsey challenge to Live Like No One Else now so we can Live Like No One Else later which means without debt (with the exception of our mortgage which we are working to eliminate). 

In the past that meant the expense of going to the She Speaks conference was not possible. But I am so grateful for my amazing family and friends who consistently encourage me to write and pursue the ministry I believe God has called me to through my blog. This year my twin sister Melissa insisted I commit to going to the conference ...and you guys...I am STILL breathless about this....she's covered the cost. 

I am so humbled and thankful to her and to God who moved her heart to make such a sweet, amazing gift. I can't wait to see my absolute favorite Christian author, Lysa TerKeurst!! I've met her briefly once after seeing her speak, gone through two of her books as part of a Bible Study and feel like she is a sister! I am so inspired by her so this will be an amazing experience in itself!


And it will give me goosebumps to finally meet Renee Swope, Karen Ehman, T. Suzanne Eller along with all the other Proverbs 31 Ministry speakers and writers that inspire me on a daily basis through their devotionals and books. Plus I am so excited to meet publishers and literary agents from Zondervan and more to see what possible next steps might be available as I continue to craft my writing skills. 


I've already signed up for amazing breakout sessions including

• Reaching Today’s Busy Woman
• The Song Only You Can Sing: Finding Your Voice
• Unforgettable: How to Give a Message that Lingers and Lasts
• From Blog to Book Deal
• Magazine Writing 101: Honing Your Writing Skills
• Walking Beside the Brokenhearted
• Writing Life-changing Devotions

There are so many incredible sessions and I've only listed a fraction here. I also can't wait to see what new friendships and support come from being in a room with roughly 600 incredible women called to grow and glorify God's Kingdom!

Registration is still open and I would so love to meet YOU if you have the opportunity to join us. Here's the scoop! 

12th Annual She Speaks Conference!

July 20-22, 2012 in Concord, North Carolina

She Speaks is a life-changing conference for women of every generation seeking to explore the tug on her heart to reach out to the world for Jesus. Through She Speaks, Proverbs 31 Ministries encourages and equips women who are called by God to share our mission to bring God’s peace, perspective and purpose to today’s busy woman. Sharing God’s truth with love is not only a holy calling but a remarkable responsibility. We believe by equipping women to become more effective at sharing the Word of God, we multiply our efforts to reach a hurting world with the life-transforming hope of Jesus.

Have a wonderful day there! Tomorrow I will be sharing Liebster blog award nominations and I can't wait! Come back to see if your blog was nominated!

Blessings, Michelle

Blogtastic! A Few of My Favorite Blogs

Happy Friday everyone! Today I am linking up again with Kelly's Korner's blog. Kelly has the best ideas and today it is a SUYL day which stands for Show Us Your Life! She's asked fellow bloggers to write about their favorite blogs and I can't wait to get turned on to new sites as there is so much to explore! My absolute favorite mommy blogs are listed on my sidebar so take a mintue to check them out for sure! In addition to those I seem to gravitate toward a few topics and I've added links to the ones that make my heart happy below. Thanks for checking them out and I hope you'll leave a comment!

Home Decorating/Crafts/DIY

My absolute favorite in this category has got to be Thrifty Decor Chick! One look at her site and I promise you'll be hooked. Aside from stunning, awe-inspiring ideas I love that TDC lives by the Dave Ramsey principle to Live Like No One Else now so you can LIVE like no one else later. That means without debt and while building a financial future for your family. These projects are showroom worthy but don't break the bank. And oh! What that woman can do with crown molding!

While I am at it I want to include one non-blog link. The Save-on-Crafts website is the bomb and I've wanted to share it on my blog since last spring but keep getting sidetracked! You can find everything from romantic apothecary jars to Sassafras Zebra Cupcakes Kits! The best part? A whopping 20-50% regular store prices will make you whoop for joy!

Education/Homeschooling

As a mom to a toddler and a five month old it is easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of "gotta dos." Some load of laundry always waits, a floor needs to be mopped, an errand run...and speaking of, what about the jog I put off until 8:00 at night because there just isn't time anywhere else in my day? I try to always include learning opportunities for the little ones but I admit some days I am just plain tired and uninspired. At the same time I envision a future where my house is perfect, my children take naptimes and I am twenty pounds lighter! Within that vision is the goal of homeschooling, at least for a portion of Teagan and Isla's education. Lucky for me there are amazing educational resources available on the web albeit fewer specifically geared toward moms of toddlers and preschoolers.

In steps Life in 5-D! Mom Meg homeschools preschoolers and provides a detailed schedule and list of activities they are doing this fall! Hers is a super cute and inspiring site that links to Prayer of Hannah which is another blogtastic site written by five friends who taught school together. It is a collection of stories, ideas, and encouragement about trying to raise children up in a godly manner. What do I say about that? Super score!!!

Inspirational

There are lots of ways to find inspiration online but my favorite Christian author is Lysa TerKeurst, hands down! Reading this southern mom of five's blog is like sitting down for a nice cup of coffee with a girlfriend. A super funny girlfriend. I've learned through her that life as a Christian doesn't have to be perfect. Sticky tables, goofy mishaps I can ever so relate to, bad days and what we learn from them make her a Jesus girl after my own heart! While we are talking about Lysa check out her Proverbs 31 Ministries site which she co-founded. I especially love their Encouragement for Today which is a daily devotional written by several amazing and inspiring women on a rotation basis. This is the way I start my day, a little applicable nugget that hopefully prepares me for a better day. I am grateful to these amazing writers!

I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do. So share with me now! What sites can you just not do without???