BEECH Mini Conference

I’ve said it over and over again since the weekend. My head is full of ideas. My heart is full of friendship. Full. Yes. I enjoyed a weekend full of the blessings of the friendships I found with these like-minded Christian, homeschool, blogging women.

photo credit ~ Jenn

Last Thursday, I got in the car and drove 10 hours to Vero Beach, Florida. I jokingly told a few people that it was the first time I’d been anywhere by myself – except the grocery store – in years. I had a wonderfully relaxing drive listening to an iPod full of music my husband had loaded for me. Especially all the favorite hymns by our church choir.

I went to Florida because I was invited to a trial run of the BEECH mini-conference. A retreat for women. Every one of us women are at various stages of raising children, homeschooling and blogging experience.

BEECH: Blogging to Encourage and Equip Christian Homeschoolers

1. Jenn @ Daze of Adventure prepping for Twitter party. Hostess grits gift from me | 2. Gathered around for Twitter party – Maureen @ Spell Outloud, Daniele @ Domestic Serenity, Suzanne and Jamerrill @ Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling | 3. Jolanthe @ Homeschool Creations and Jimmie @ Jimmie’s Collage | 4. Jimmie leading Is Your Blog Wearing Mommy Jeans? session | 5. BEECH notebook and Bright Ideas chocolate | 6. One last, early-morning photo with Maureen at the airport Sunday.

E is for Encouragement

The weekend started off with the E in BEECH. After supper Thursday night, we soaked up encouragement from homeschool leader and mentor, Maggie Hogan of Bright Ideas Press. She charged us to take courage from the Lord in our homeschool and in our blogging lives. Immediately following Maggie’s session, our time ramped up with the fast-paced and fun #BEECHcon Twitter party. {insert chocolate and coffee}

photo credit ~ Jolanthe

B is for Blogging

A big part of the weekend we spent together in sessions learning organizational skills, specifics of building an online presence and community, plus ways to be better bloggers. All from these ladies, above: Jimmie, Maureen, Jolanthe and Jenn. {insert chocolate and coffee}

A place where homeschool moms can retreat and build relationships while learning the ins and outs of blogging.

And, of course we took pictures!

E is for Equip

Following each session, we then had a built in hands-on time to ask questions and see the practical application of a topic. So, all those notes I took? I could then ask a specific question, open my laptop and point to what I was curious about. We discussed plug ins, time management techniques and even the ‘how do you balance it all?’ question. Plus so much more. {insert chocolate and coffee}

Part of the weekend we made it to the beach!

CH is for Christian Homeschoolers

Any time Christian women gather, hearts are knitted together in Him. “He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.” Proverbs 19:8. Plus, we all shared the common bond of homeschooling. So there were times we chatted about our educational journeys too. It was a truly remarkable weekend. I’m still pinching myself.

Photo credit ~ Jimmie

Was I actually there with all of those incredible, Christian, homeschooling ladies? Did I really get to spend time with Suzanne Broadhurst? Suzanne, the Homeschool Enrichment Magazine author? Yes! I shared with her how, with my new Homeschool Enrichment magazine in hand, I would flip to the very back of the magazine and read her Homeschool Humor article first.

Jamerrill of Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling

I think we can all say we had a huge amount of fun. We laughed with and at each other. And we came away encouraged to do our very best for the Lord – in all areas of my lives. If you’d like to hear other tales from BEECH, be sure to visit these friends. I’m sure thankful for each and every one of these ladies – for the time they invested in my life this past weekend! A special thank you to our hostess, Maggie Hogan, as well.

• Daze of Adventure
• Homeschool Creations
• Spell Outloud
• Jimmie’s Collage
• Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling
• Domestic Serenity
• Mommy Matters
• Donna Spann
• Layered Soul
• Finding Joy

I sure hope you can join us for BEECH next year. Because this weekend was also about paving the way for bigger, exciting things for the homeschool community in 2013. Remember to subscribe to the BEECH newsletter for all the latest updates.

I’m still enjoying looking at my painted toenails. Rarely are they this pretty in February!