A Dream Come True

Hello,

I haven't been around much this past week. I had a phenomenal weekend, last week, and haven't quite recovered (nor am I really trying to recover!). I had the opportunity to drive to New Jersey for an amazing conference hosted by The Alabaster Group. I'm not really a conference go-er, although I see one or two advertised once in awhile that grab my interest. Normally, though, I don't have money in the budget to go or they just haven't been a priority. 

Then why did I choose this one, you may wonder? Simple. Two of my spiritual heroes were going to be speaking, and it was only a five hour drive. It was a dream come true for me to go and hear them speak, meet them in person, and worship with them and hundreds of others who are seeking and living for Jesus and His Kingdom. 

Not only were two of my heroes at this conference, I learned more about three other phenomenal believers who are impacting their corners of the world in beautiful, powerful, crazy ways. The theme of the conference was "Until the world is filled with love for Jesus"! Yes!!!

Here is a list of the speakers:

Heidi Baker
Bill Johnson
David Hogan
Joseph Garlington
Claudio Freidzon

If you were to ask me who are the people who have had the greatest impact on my spiritual life in the past decade, Bill Johnson would be at the top of the list, followed closely by Heidi (and Rolland) Baker. In fact, it was through Bill's ministry and Bethel Church that I learned of Heidi. They are dear friends and support and honour each other's lives and ministries. Bill's book, When Heaven Invades Earth and then Heidi's book, Compelled By Love have both been life-changing for me. Life-changing. They both carry the Presence of God and have incredible authority and power, with countless miracles on a weekly, if not daily, basis. 

Here is an amazing example of Heidi's ministry in Mozambique. This witchdoctor was coming to kill her with his poisonous snakes. Watch what happens instead . . . 




And then there's this man named David Hogan. I am so completely thrilled to know about him and his wife and family and their ministry in Mexico. He is a big, intimidating guy, and at the same time, completely loving. He walks in some crazy, Kingdom authority and has seen some miracles that I have never even heard of before. My faith was stretched and strengthened and reinforced by hearing his stories. And the fire tunnel David and Heidi led on the last night was powerful!

Father also blessed me with this precious group of friends to share and fellowship with all weekend. We met the first evening at dinner and will carry this time with us forever. I love Kingdom connections!

I hope to share more this week about where God is leading us these days. We would appreciate your prayers.  

I'll also share more this week about two special baptisms we had last week!
Blessings and love. xo

bloom: A Journey to Joy (and Sanity) for Homeschool Moms

(Disclaimer: I was given a product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This post contains my affiliate links, which means that if you choose to purchase through my links, I will make a small commission. Thank you!!!)

***This course is only on sale through tonight (Saturday, June 20, 2015) and will not be available again until sometime in 2016. Please make your purchase today!***

I want all my homeschool mama friends to know about this new online course called "bloom"! It's an 8-week video course that comes with a corresponding At Home Discovery Packet, which includes 88 pages of charts, exercises and writing prompts to get you thinking about how to have more joy in your life and subsequently, in your homeschool. The videos are pre-recorded, which makes it nice to be able to watch anytime, at your convenience. The sessions are about 20 minutes each, so nothing that requires sitting for hours and hours. You could listen/watch while you fold laundry or while you're sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee or even while cooking dinner for your family. 

Please forgive my tardiness in getting this information to you. I had agreed to review and promote "bloom" what seems like "way back" in April. It's crazy how things can change so drastically in a matter of just a few days or weeks. For many years now, I have held the belief that joy is a choice. I've even written in the past about my thoughts on encouraging more Christians to be happy. I believe Heaven to be the happiest place in existence, and we, as believers, are ambassadors of Heaven. So, while I believe happiness and joy go hand in hand, there are those times when life provides more opportunity to purposefully press through in choosing joy more than at other times. My experience these past 7 weeks has been a path of choosing joy. 

In the past couple of years, there has rarely been a time when I didn't blog on a weekly basis, and most of the time, I was posting several times each week. I had gotten into a nice groove. Until last month, when a friend's death, a severe sports injury in our family and some additional circumstances have left me needing more margin and rest. Life can throw some curve balls, and sometimes those curve balls require stepping back, praying more, re-evaluating, listening and waiting. So that's where I've been. That's really where I still am, and although I feel eager to move past it all, I know there is still a need to take a break and rest. 

This course goes right along with pursuing more of that joy that I've been talking about. I believe life can be filled with joy, even amidst the hard places and dark times. And Alicia does a wonderful job in the course to encourage us as homeschool mamas to evaluate what may be keeping that joy at bay in our daily lives and how to put pillars in place to keep it there. 

Here are the class titles to give you a better idea:

•  Class 1: The Big Fat Lies (and the Truths That Set Us Free)

•  Class 2: Firm Foundations: Building Rhythm Around Daily Pillars

•  Class 3: Steps to Simple (and Rest-Filled) Days

•  Class 4: Homeschooling Joy Stealers: Part 1: The Perfectionist Vice

•  Class 5: Homeschooling Joy Stealers: Part 2: The Comparison Leech

•  Class 6: Homeschooling Joy Stealers: Part 3: The Anger Monster

•  Class 7: Needs and Opinions: How to Not Drown in the Tidal Wave

•  Class 8: The Path to Perennial (not Annual) Joy

The awesome thing about the “bloom” course is that the learning is three-dimensional: First, you learn the information in the video classes; second, you process and apply the information through the at-home exercises; and third, you have the opportunity to discuss these issues in real time with other women going through the course via our general “bloom” Facebook group or one of our “bloom” Community Groups (hosted by other top homeschooling bloggers). In addition, the resources are always there, so you can always go back to a class and use the tools again and again to gain more wisdom as your life circumstances change.

Please let me know if you have any questions . . . you can contact me directly at scarlettroyce(at)gmail(dot)(com).

And don't forget that today is the very last day to purchase!

Register NOW!

Blessings and love. xo