Worth braving the weather!

Today, I attended the Special Moms' Retreat at Grace Church. What a blessed time we had! I braved the 1st snow of the year and unplowed highways, but it was worth it. This was the 3rd moms' retreat that I've attended and I always leave refreshed. It's like getting my spiritual gas tank full so I can keep striving for Christ in my role as mom of a child with special needs. My sweet friend and "Aunt" to my kids, Mary Horning, was the keynote speaker. Here's a snapshot of her talk.

* Suffering takes us from a "God serve me" mindset to a how can "I serve God" mindset.

*Depression often occurs because we listen to ourselves instead of talk to ourselves. We need to turn off the thoughts of anxiety, fear, & doubt and start preaching God's truth to ourselves.

* God cares about the concerns that we have for our children. However, He cares more about our soul than our child's syndrome.

* The sin in our heart is a lot uglier than any physical deformity.

* Being weak is the best place for us to be because in our weakness Christ is our strength. (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

* Our lives should be about loving Christ. Everything else is temporal.

* We can love and serve Christ whether it's by wiping the dirty butt of our adult child or going on the mission field!

* God is preparing His children each day for heaven. He desires to make us more like Christ until He returns.

* We need to daily: 1) read God's Word, 2) pray truth to our soul, & 3) quietly wait for the salvation of our Lord.

God truly used Mary to speak the truth to our hearts. Next time, I plan on posting all the practical ideas that the panel of moms shared about loving and caring for our children who do not have special needs.