My weekend.

Originally, I had planned to go to NYC last weekend to let my kids visit their cousins and play. It's always fun to go to NYC and, for us, we get to stay in mid-town on the East side so we're close to a lot of things. I decided to save some money and not drive to the city and pay for parking and all the other things that go along with going to New York and decided to stay home. Friday was a really long day since the kids were home because of parent/teacher conferences. I was reminded of how hard it was when I was home during the day, everyday with two kids. While it's good for one's sanity to get out and about, it's also difficult when you are carting two kids around. I don't miss those hard days. So there I was on Friday questioning my decision to not go to NYC. What? Was I crazy for not wanting to drive a mere 4 hours so I could have the city that never sleeps at my fingertips? I say no.

So, Friday morning I called a local church that was to host a women's conference starting that night. The conference was Friday night and Saturday morning. It turned out that they still had room. I decided to go. Since I had waited so late, I didn't go with anyone. I showed up at 6:30 pm, registered, and then ran into a mom from Clayton's preschool. She invited me to sit with her and her friends.

The speaker was Cynthia Heald. It was a real treat to sit and listen to a woman with so much wit and wisdom. She talked about her new book, Uncommon Beauty, 7 qualities of a Beautiful Woman.

Briefly, the seven qualities that she talked about are:

1. Passion
2. Wisdom
3. Integrity
4. Selflessness
5. Graciousness
6. Contentment
7. Courage

This book used examples of women throughout history and was not limited to examples from the Bible. She shared some wonderful quotes that made me really think, such as:

"You can take no credit for beauty at 16. But if you are beautiful at 60, it will be your soul's own doing." -- Marie Stoops

"You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can decide how you're going to live now."-- Joan Baez

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on
the heel of the one who crushed it."-- Mark Twain

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want but the realization of how much you already have."--Anonymous

While I feel like I can improve regarding all of the qualities, I feel like the ones that really stuck with me were Passion and Graciousness.

I realized that for the last 6 years, I have been just going through the motions. I haven't embraced this season of my life with zeal, in other words, with passion. I am a mother. A mother of small children. I feel I need to be the best mother I can be to my kids with energy and joy!

The other quality was Graciousness. I love to entertain and host people at my house. That part I feel like I'm OK on. But the part of graciousness that deals with forgiveness is another story. Oh sure, I forgive people when I've been wronged, but do I ever truly let it go? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I feel like that is an area where I could use some improvement. And the other area is regarding our puppy, Lilly, or perhaps better stated, Pete, my husband. I need to quit harboring feelings of resentment regarding the purchase of this puppy at this time in our lives. She's here and I need to move on and love her and forgive him for getting her without my blessing. What good does it do to keep bringing that point up with him. So, I felt really convicted on this part.

So, how was your weekend?