Wednesday, October 29, 2008

LNO

Last night I went with two of my friends, Kerri and Jobeth, to a local church's Ladies Night Out (LNO). Rhonda, the sweet lady that hosts it, has six children of her own (she's more of a woman than I'll ever be!)and opens up her home each month for women to meet up and talk about parenting and growing our children up in the Lord.

When Jobeth told me about LNO, I immediately wanted to go. For one, I can use all of the wisdom and parenting advice I can get. And two, it provides me with much needed girl time.

Upon arrival we enjoyed some homemade chicken taco soup. It was heaven in a bowl! And if you know anything about me, you know that I wanted so badly to get a second helping, but refrained so as not to look like the human garbage disposal that I am.

After eating, we gathered into the living room with coffee and dessert and started the night's discussion. We all sat around and talked and listened to Rhonda share what the Lord put upon her heart. It was inspiring and motivating, as well as comforting. She gave me a lot to think about and several ideas that I could start using immediately.

One thing that really stuck in my head was when she talked about how we speak in our home. What do we want the atmosphere to be in our home? Take note of the tone of your voice. Not only soften your tone, but she also noted that we need to 'soften our face'. The look on our face says a lot. The tenseness (or softness) it shows has a lot to do with how other people take what we say.

She also spoke about lightening up and taking time to laugh together. Laughing together builds confidence in our children. Not to mention it just feels good!

There were so many good points discussed about last night and I'm not doing them justice like she did. Everything we discussed could be applied not just to our children, but also to other relationships in our life. One of the most important points was to just pray for God's guidance, listen for his promptings and obey.

I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to attend last night and am looking forward to next month's get together. I learned so much in such a short amount of time and loved being able to share stories and advice with other gals.
Thanks for letting me tag along Jobeth!

25 comments:

*jemima* said...

It sounds like you had a lovely time :D x

Unknown said...

What a wonderful night! So glad you had a great time and felt like you learned a lot. :)

Kristen said...

What an awesome lady! I LOVE any kind of relatioinal advice like this. It's amazing what a difference a few tiny changes can make sometimes. Glad you had a great time...and the taco soup sounds awesome!

LyndsAU said...

that sounds really great! i am glad you had so much fun and learned something too! great advice!

Anonymous said...

It's amazing when you can find a group of women who you feel comfortable with sharing your love for God and your families. I hope your relationship with both only strengthen through your LNO :)

~Mrs. Guru~ said...

That is so cool! We have that but for newlyweds and I love it!

Rebecca Jo said...

Isn't it awesome to have other Christian women lifting you up & encouraging you....that's fantastic! The Bible calls for the older women to lead the younger too - life experience is to be shared!

Suz said...

Oh, I can't wait for next months post after LNO..

That is something to think about in what kind of enviornment you want your home to have by the tone of your voice.. I love it..

Thanks for sharing, as always, I just love your blog!!! :)

Lindsey said...

Wow! She sounds like such an amazing woman and LNO is such a creative and wonderful idea!

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

That sounds like a great time! So glad you got to go, I'm finally going to our new church's mom's time tomorrow! I can't wait :)

Girl Meets Beau said...

Sounds like you all had a great time and a great lesson. I need to keep this in mind next time I'm hollerin' at the Mr! Might as well get it right now before the kiddos come along.

P.S. Love your blog...as always!

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great night (and a yummy soup!)

I am just about to start a Tuesday night Bible Study with a bunch of girlfriends and I cannot wait!

Women getting together to celebrate eachother and give thanks and lift eachother up instead of being catty and tearing our fellow women down. What a fantastic concept, eh?!?

Brandi said...

Sounds like a great night!! I would love to attend something like that! Although no children YET, would be great to socialize with other women who share some of the same life stories and their love for God and be able to receive encouraging words.

MiMi said...

Sounds like a great time of being with other ladies and learning something that you could apply to your own life. What you said about softening your face is so true --it's not just WHAT you say, but HOW you say it! Sometimes our face can send a totally different message than what our lips are saying.

Great reminder. Thanks for sharing!

CarolinaGirl said...

Well, that hit home! Today the girls were going crazy, and I acted like a beast! I felt so bad after I sat down and really thought about how I acted. I just am so quick to yell, and this is something I am praying about. Patience! I need some. Thank you so much for sharing;)

Michele said...

Hi Hollie ~ Thanks for stopping by my blog...I love visitors! Your little girl is tooo sweet for words. She's just adorable! I love your blog and saved it to my favorites so I can come back and visit often!

Hugz,
michele

Unknown said...

Wow! That sounds like so much fun!

Weeksie50 said...

Our church has ladies of life.. It sounds a lot like your LNO. I am glad you were challenged by the speaker and that you had some much needed girl time..

Mom of Three said...

What a cool idea! I wish we had something like that around here. The taco soup sounded really good too!!!!

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

Hollie, nice to "meet" you. I hate to sound all old and know-it-all-y, but you are doing a good thing to get out and stay in touch with other women. It's really important to do that when you have little ones. I know that spouse date nights are important, too, but I think women neglect the need for female support and laughter.

Mojito Maven said...

What a wonderfuly night you had!!!!

Minnesota Girl said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Also, thanks for the fyi on how to use the link function. Thanks to you, I'll be a link pro in no time.

Sounds like you had fun @ LNO! LNO's are the best =) Take care & have a great day!

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

That sounds like a great LNO. I'm glad you were able to go...we could all use advice like that.

morewineplease said...

LNO is the best! GOOD FOR YOU!!!!!

Johnson Boys said...

Oh can I come and join this group too.. I love the advice and thanks for sharing. I would love to get a group like that together around here in Texas.