Relevant Reflections

I had such a wonderful time at the Relevant Conference this past weekend, and there is so much to share.  Now that I'm back to the daily craziness it's hard to remember everything I heard and learned and thought, but I really want to get something out there.

It was a wonderful weekend of fellowship with other Christian women who also blog.  The topics of these women's blogs range from saving money to homeschooling to home decorating to many other topics, but we were all united by our faith.
Much of the time was spent discussing balancing blogging with your "real life," especially not neglecting God and your family for your blogging.  While of course I know I have fallen into this sometimes (see: checking the computer every time I go by), it's actually not been the main problem I have been struggling with.  (Three children under five have a way of grabbing your attention whether you plan it or not!)  Instead, I have more been looking to find enough time for blogging!

However, I think these talks were still something I needed to hear.  I return greatly inspired to reorganize my life with my priorities in their proper order.  Crystal used the old analogy of "putting in the big rocks first."  If you start out with the unimportant things, you have no time for the important ones.  However, if you put the truly important things ahead of everything else, there often turns out to be time for the lesser ones too.

I think that focusing on my true priorities will ultimately give me the time that I need for blogging, but in the end that is not the most important thing.  In the end, the conference was truly more about life than about blogging, and that's okay.  After all, life is what makes blogging interesting and makes people want to read blogs.

I also returned with lots of ideas how to improve this blog, both for you readers and as a way to earn some extra income for my family.  I'm hoping that some of the time management strategies I learned will help me give you a greater number of deals and money saving tips.  I plan to ask for your feedback in the coming weeks about what you would like to see here as well!

Finally, I return from Relevant '10 with everything refocused on the God for whom I ultimately do everything.  In the midst of one of the most physically challenging times in my life (i.e. learning to care for three little children and keep my sanity), God is leading me back to Him.