Today we have a very special guest post-er. It’s my DH, known in real life as Jonathan. I don’t know what I would do without him and I am grateful every day that God brought us together. He’s sharing today about how the Allume conference has blessed me in the past (when it was Relevant) and what he hopes for me as I attend it once again next week.
There have been many times my wife has called me at work telling me the latest “adventure” one of “MY” sons has been on that morning. Many times she is at her wits end and needs someone to vent to. Being a man, I want to solve the problem and get back to what I am doing at work. Sound familiar to any husbands out there? This is not the right response but it is what men do. Men do not think like women (I know, shock!). There is something about talking to other women of like faith and who are at a similar place that calms the troubled soul. When I think of Allume I think of renewal.
First my wife gets a renewed focus on her blog and gains an excitement that she is not just writing to herself. Talking with other fellow bloggers is a wonderful time to share insights you have and learn from others. My wife loves that most of the ladies that come to this conference may not be blogging on spiritual things but are blogging from a Christian perspective. She has been to other conferences where making money was above time with family. Allume emphasizes God, Family and then blogging and making money on blogging comes somewhere after these things. They make sure to focus on the eternal and not just the temporal.
The second way Allume has helped my wife is getting a renewed vision of raising her boys. Remember I said that men do not think like women. My wife has gone to the meet up Mothers of Boys (MOB). They can commiserate and share (I did not say fix the problem). This helps my wife know she is not the only one going through this. I have a feeling there is a lot more commiserating and listening happening then problem solving. Maybe I should learn from this and be “Swift to hear and slow to speak”. I am sure there is also some good insight that is gained.
Finally and most importantly would be spiritual renewal. My wife is able to go and get her batteries recharged. Everyday life with two very active boys is hard. The house seems never to be clean, the kitchen seems to always be dirty and, the boys always want to eat (Big Boy included). You feel like you are giving all the time and never have time to come up and breathe. You are drowning from everyday life and you feel like everything is falling apart around you. Taking time to stop and bring your focus back to our great and loving God is vital to being the person God wants us to be.
I hope my wife is able to gain some great insight about her blog and have a fresh enthusiasm to continue the great job she is doing. I also hope she is able to talk to friends and other ladies at the conference and commiserate and share “Wonderful” stories about our active boys. Most of all I hope my wife is able to (as she has in past) have a spiritual renewal as she drinks from the well that will never run dry.
P.S. The free coffee and swag is great also.
Other husbands have been hacking their wives’ blogs, too. Check ‘em out here.
Wow, I think someone should guest post more often! Well said, Jonathan, and thanks for taking the time to publicly bless your wife. I’m grateful you’re supporting her coming to Allume ’cause I can’t wait to see her again!
Ok. This was so sweet Jonathan! It is so nice to have a fresh perspective on the conference and blogging lifestyle! Thanks for taking the time to share about your lovely wife…and thanks for sharing her with us on a day to day basis…we love her to pieces!
This made me smile.
What a lovely photo of your family. : )
Well said Johnathan.
This is great, and what a great refreshing perspective from someone who has been there. Looking forward to meeting this amazing woman you speak of, Jonathan! Oh, and sharing a room with her, of course. From one boy mom to another, I’m grateful you share her with us.