Experiencing a New Normal

I kissed Jon good bye and slowly rode the escalator up to security.  The butterflies in my stomach were about too much to handle.  I was leaving all by myself to the She Speaks Conference - to say I was a little nervous might have been an understatement.  I knew that God had ordained this trip from the very beginning - every thing fell into place perfectly.  It just wasn't in God's plan for anyone to go with me.  I knew it was the best plan but it still didn't calm my nerves that early Thursday morning. I made it to security - took off my shoes, unloaded my quart size bag of liquids, put my bag on the conveyor belt and made my way through when I noticed my bag was pushed off to the side.  The following conversation happened with The TSA guy and myself. "Ma'am is that your bag?" "Yes." "Do you have anything sharp in your bag?" "Yes, my razor." Then he reaches into my bag - grabs any item I had packed and pulls it out. H...

I was sitting front and center at my very last breakout session of She Speaks anxiously awaiting to soak up everything Lysa TerKeurst was going to teach us about Writing Content That Unleashes the Power of Conversation .  Lysa is the founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries and author to several books - some of which I have read and have impacted my life.  She was going to coach us to write words that move people - it was going to be a three hour long session and I could hardly wait.  She came out and we dove head first into learning the three C's of writing.  I was a sponge - soaking it all up and learning so much.  My pencil could hardly keep up.  When she had finished pouring out to all of us, she gave us an assignment to work on during the rest of the session.  However our time was cut short since we were in the main room where our evening session was going to be held - we had to all get out so they could prep for our very last session.  I not...

Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday I had the privilege of attending the She Speaks conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a conference put on by Lysa TerKeurst and Proverb 31 Ministries. Here is a brief explanation,      "When a woman hears God's call to write, speak or lead, the path isn't always clear. How do you start? Where do you go next? Who can help you? That's where She Speaks can help.  We know what it's like to be confident in the call, but unclear in the course you are to take. Each year we offer workshops and keynote messages that will help bring clarity to your calling. We combine equipping with encouraging, which will lead to greater confidence for you." My hope is to share with you how this conference affected my walk with Jesus and my calling to write. So instead of just making one large post telling you all about what I learned, I'm going to spread it out over several posts (not sure how many there will be) so stay tuned!

Ever feel like you are finally doing what God called you to do only to get knocked down and begin to question was I really obeying God or doing what I wanted to do all along? That has been me for the last month. Over the last couple of years I had really been struggling with my writing. I enjoyed writing but felt like I was repeating the same thing over and over - like I was some kind of broken record. My goal in writing was to encourage and inspire people with their faith walk.  I didn't want it to be something that people went to read and found out what the Goemaat clan was up to.  Well it was as if I had lost that - so I stopped writing. Then I was scrolling through Instagram one day and came along the post from Jennie Allen (founder of the IF Gathering). She writes: My first blog was called: Untangling God and Ponytails (And had 10 followers) My first Bible study (Stuck) was originally called: God and your Emotions (and had clip art flowers on it) Just start. Do i...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there.  Mother's day - a day set aside to celebrate and honor our moms.  What are your expectations on Mother's day?  Some want extravagant gifts or breakfast in bed.  Others just want a day where they have to do nothing. And some just want the gift of your presence or time.  Each mother is special in our own unique way - which is great. There are days us mother's can feel very unappreciated.  We do the dishes, fix the meals,scrub the floors, clean the bathrooms, pack lunches, run the kids from here to there.  Moms make sure everyone has clean clothes to wear, food to eat and tries to make sure the house is clean.  Let's not forget about the homework and projects that the kids need help with.  Many moms are the first one up in the morning and the last to go to bed.  Throughout the day we can wear many different hats - from maid to taxi driver.  And then, we mothers compare ourselves to ...

So, it's never been a secret that I have struggled with trusting God since TJ's death (He's still teaching me).  I   In fact I had a friend ask me when I was little if I was the kid that always asked the question "why?"  I honestly didn't know, so I asked my mom.  My mom told me that as a kid I was very trusting of everyone.  Whatever anyone told me I believed it as truth.  Which makes sense why I always thought what my big sister said was fact.  Quick story..... In the 4th grade I remember the teacher asking if any of us knew why we had the hair in our noses?  Oh boy! I knew the answer to that.  I raised my hand high in the air.  I was hoping that I'd actually get picked this time, but no, the smart boy in the class got chosen AGAIN!  His response was to keep the dirt from coming in.  I was laughing - inside my head of course - I didn't want to get in trouble.  I couldn't believe that I knew the answer and the s...

Time. We've all heard the old saying "time flies when your having fun!"   It's kind of crazy how much our lives revolve around time.  And how our perspective on time is different on all different kinds of occasions. When you are little Christmas morning can't come soon enough.  Kids are constantly counting down the time for things they are looking forward to.  In fact just the other day Charlie was counting down the time until his first baseball game started.  I remember when my boys were little I could never tell them what we were going to be doing or where we were going until 5 minutes before.  Otherwise if I made the mistake and told them too far in advance I was asked at least 100 times a day per kid "are we going now?"  The time just can't go by quick enough when we are anxiously awaiting for something exciting or special. Yet there are also times it seems like the wait is taking forever!  You know the kind - when you are waiting on your...

Ever have times in your life when someone shares something with you that inspires you to want to do the same? Or at least try?  That was me this week.  Monday night our church had it's IF table discussion.  It's not really a Bible study - but where woman join together to have fellowship and answer/discuss the conversation cards that are provided.  This month's questions were:                      Who are the people God used in your life to point you to Him?                      Who are the people who prayed for you?                      Share a recent answer to prayer.                      What do you find most challenging about prayer?                      Share your "four by faith" - the fo...

It's been so long since I've written I'm not even sure if there is anyone out there that will read this! Well I'm back!  I've decided to dedicate more time to my writing.    A month ago I started a new job - off the farm.  It wasn't an easy decision - one I struggled and fought with for months.  I had really loved being on the farm and working along side my husband.  After the last four years I finally got to a place where I felt like I was valuable on the farm.  I've learned alot over the last few years - not only about farming but about myself.  I'm not the same person.  I didn't know I was capable of doing half as much as I did.  It's amazing what you can learn when you are thrown into something.  I'm really not trying to toot my own horn - I'm thankful for a great husband who taught me so much.  Spring will be different this year, but we will get through it. I've also been doing alot of reading and studying.  It's ...