What do you call 3 days of learning, laughing, and lounging by the pool? MOPS convention or MomCon of course! I had the privilege of spending the last 4 days with Shawna, Maggie, Susan and Alissa in Texas at this years MOPS convention. It was an incredible time of renewal, refreshment, bonding, fun and fellowship with some of the most beautiful women I know.

For your viewing pleasure – a sad reenactment of our first flight.

For me, I was a little uncertain how the trip was going to go. Especially because I started our trip with a migraine and utterly humiliated myself by getting sick on the airplane for the first time in my entire life and then again in what I have affectionately named the “hall of shame” (otherwise known as the Delta terminal), in Salt Lake City.  However, by the time we reached the blissfully balmy Grapevine, TX my migraine was subsiding and my traveling companions were more than gracious.

Splashin’ around in the lazy river!

It was a good nights sleep and off to the water park! Yes, you can be jealous. Our hotel had a water park and we all know that there are few things better than being in a lazy river without our children. No one was panicked about where the kids were, if someone had to pee or if someone was going to get too brave and need to be rescued from a near drowning. We soaked it up.

The convention began that afternoon. The weekend was filled with great speakers (Lisa Harper, Shauna Niequist, Rebekah Lyons, and may more),  powerful worship (Christy Nockels) and concerts (Matthew West and Plumb), lots of laughter and tons of tears. God was moving in the group and in our hearts. What I thought was going to be a convention of practical ways to inspire each of you as we enter into our 2012/2013 MOPS season, was more about remembering who my God is, who I am, and how to walk in His love. What I thought would fill me with more “to do’s” for my list, instead became a time of personal renewal. It was a time of refueling so that my tank is no longer on empty. It was a time to find myself or at least try to remember myself before I became a mom.  It was a time to remember how handsome and wonderful my husband, Norse, really is. It was a time to remember how beautifully unique and special my children are. It was a time to remember just how big, powerful, and loving my God is. It was a time to remember to face my fears, be authentic, and forget trying to attain super mommy status.  It was a time to start fresh.

Well, my refueling lasted the 45 minutes it took to get from the airport to my house as the kids fought in the back seat……………………………………… just kidding.

I came back a little more thankful for my husband, a little more patient with my kids and a whole lot more excited about what God is going to accomplish in MOPS this year! We did come away with some great tools for ourselves, but also some fabulous ideas for the MOPS season to come. We cannot wait to share our excitement with you and hopefully use what we learned to help refuel your tank this year.  We are ready to take the “plunge” with you to more authentic relationships and less pretending, more loving and less judging, more acceptance and less division as we seek to do life together as MOPS.  I look forward to “loving as if my life depended on it”!

Love you ladies,

-Jes

P.S. – Because there are not enough words to adequately summarize the convention experience, here is a fun highlight video from the weekend, that MOPS Intl. put together. 🙂