January was a whirlwind. I went out of town, not once, but twice, leaving my boys behind at home. Being away from them is not easy. At the same time, I know they’re always left in perfectly capable hands while I’m away. AND – it was also amazing to be away for a bit – I learned so much and wanted to share it here with you.

Collab Book Launch Celebration!

My first trip was to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was right after the New Year holiday, and in fact, I left on the first day my boys went back to school after their winter break. Talk about coming back to reality fast after two blissful weeks of hot chocolate, fires, pjs, and enjoying time with family.

It was a quick start to the new year for me, too. This first trip was to celebrate the launch of my hope*books collaboration project, A Peaceful New Year. This was a high-impact super short trip, (I was gone for a total of 36 hours) where I had the incredible opportunity to meet (almost all) the other collab authors, and the publishing team packed a ton into this experience for us.

Gathering with the h*b publishing team and getting to know the other authors was the best part. We got our headshots taken by a local photographer, Morgan, who was amazing, which was a total sweet surprise. Check out how they turned out! She did a great job (despite the bad weather and my hair growing by the minute)!

We also got to tour the hope*book store and their team’s office space, which was apparently designed by the CEO’s wife who did an amazing job turning these blank canvases into beautiful, welcoming spaces.

As the launch day progressed, each of the authors had the opportunity to record our chapter of the book in a studio! It was legit, and such a cool thing to do. I’m not sure when the audio version will be released, but stay tuned for that! I was a bit nervous when we started. It’s a bit like being in a radio station, if you’ve ever had the chance to visit one. Lots of black fancy equipment, large headphones and a giant mic in your face. We were taught to double clap if we screwed up at any point so they had an audible cue to edit. I don’t know how many times I had to do that! I was assured by our producer afterwards that I had done a great job. We’ll see, haha! I’m sure they have mad editing skills. 😊

Later that evening, we all gathered at a great local restaurant where they treated us to dinner. Again – a wonderful surprise! They truly went above and beyond to take care of us and made sure we all felt welcomed and were enjoying this whole process – it was a celebration of all our hard work after all!

My chapter is called “Grounded in Grace: How to Set Grace-Filled Goals When Life Happens” and if you’re curious and want to grab your copy of the book – you can find it here on Amazon! I’d love for you to read it. It’s full of inspiring stories, moving experiences, and compelling calls to action.

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Side Note: I felt so thankful that I took some time in the months prior writing this chapter to get away for a writer’s retreat. It helped give me a powerful start on this project and truly propelled my work forward. You can read more about that in my blog post called: When Writing Dreams Come True.

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As I said, the connections I made during that very quick trip were amazing. All of us authors agreed we had a lifetime bond through publishing a book together and I look forward to cultivating those relationships. I’m also truly grateful to the publishing team that helped make my first-time publishing dreams come true. While there were moments where the publishing process wasn’t perfect, they have hearts of gold, and are working hard to continuously improve it.

Returning home from that powerful launch celebration gave me fresh motivation – and boy, did I need it before I headed off to my next adventure…

The hope*story Conference

Ten days after I came home from my book launch trip, I was on a plane again. This time with my hubby by my side, back to Charlotte for a second time in the same month.

But this trip was entirely different. And also strangely familiar. I was coming back to the same little town of Matthews just outside of Charlotte, but with an entirely different objective. I attended the hope*story Conference and also was one of their guest speakers!

I don’t think I’ve blogged about this before, but Jason and I, as a practice in our marriage, plan a weekend getaway each year. This has been a somewhat newer rhythm for us, going on year four now to set aside this sacred time together. If you’re interested in why and how we do this with four kiddos, let me know, and I’ll write a blog post about it!

With January being my birthday month, and the typical month we like to take our weekend trip, it just made sense to me to (lovingly) convince him to join me for my conference since it occurred in the same month. Surprisingly, he didn’t need much convincing and was all in! We took a little time in the few days leading up to the trip to peruse restaurant options and places for him to go visit while I was busy at the conference.

I don’t know how to describe this whole weekend away other than it was amazing! Everyone at the conference was so warm and welcoming. I led a hope*circle group leading up to the conference, so I immediately had familiar faces to hug, along with getting to meet my fellow hope*writers coaches.

It truly was a special experience. Jason stuck with me the first day and we had lunch with the other speakers at the White Duck Taco shop in Matthews. I highly recommend it – so delicious! He got to see the hope*book store where my collab book sat on one of the shelves, along with touring the office space (again for me!) where I recorded the audio portion for my chapter. It was too cool to go back there with Jason for him to see it with me. It all became real.

He got a deep dive into my world and it was like nothing we’d ever done before. Being married for nearly 19 years, it can be difficult to find newness in the relationship. But I can tell you with absolutely certainty that if you want to find that newness, just go somewhere the two of you have never been before. We got to have 3 date nights in a row – and that felt like a dream!

The second day of the conference, I was in sessions all day, so Jason took the opportunity to take our rental car and explore the Charlotte area. He had the best day all to himself, haha! He toured the Billy Graham Library, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum, and then he relaxed at a cigar lounge. Just his type of scene. All while I enjoyed soaking in the incredible speakers like Cyndi Galley, Jess Connolly and Lesley Swanson.

On the final conference day, I led my workshop called “Book Launch Bootcamp: How to Launch Your Book with Confidence,” and it was incredible! Not because of what I taught, (although that was a whole lotta fun) but the amazing people I met before and after my talk.

Was it scary getting up on stage? You bet! Did everything go perfectly as planned? Nope. (My slides didn’t update to the correct ones, so I had to do some pivoting on stage quickly.) But I learned so much from that, and got immediate positive feedback, which I know will only help me make the next workshop I teach even better.

(If you know of any writers’ conferences happening who need people to lead a workshop, let me know!)

Jason and I ended our weekend trip by having a wonderful morning to ourselves after the conference to decompress, talk, and spend a little more one-on-one time before we flew back home to the boys.

Overall, like I said, it was a whirlwind. But it was incredible, inspiring, and it’s impacted me in huge ways that I know I’ll continue to see fruit from. From the keynote session with Jess Connolly, to the breakout sessions where I learned how to be good at a media interview, there’s so much to be able to takeaway and implement.

If you’re like me, I bet you know the value of investing in yourself and doing things outside of your comfort zone such as going to a conference like this one. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? Attending a conference is like experiencing a mountaintop high—so much inspiration, so many connections, and tons of ideas swirling in your mind. But once you’re back home, reality hits and you’re thinking: What now?

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed after a conference, wondering how to implement what you learned or stay connected with the amazing people you met, you’re not alone! Trust me, it was like a tidal wave when I got back home with four other people demanding things of me, my time, and my energy again.

So if you’re attending a conference this year, I want to share a few tips to help to get the most out of it. Here are five practical ways to make the most of your experience before, during, and after the event.

Five Practical Tips to Make the Most of a Conference

1. Define Your Top 3 Takeaways 🎯

It’s easy to feel like you need to implement everything at once, but that’s a fast track to burnout. Instead, write down your top three takeaways.

👉 Ask yourself:

• What resonated most with me?
• What is one idea I can apply to my book or business right now?
• What will make the biggest impact in the next 90 days?

Keep it simple. Three takeaways, one next step.

2. Follow Up with Connections Within 7 Days 📩

The magic of a conference isn’t just in the speakers—it’s in the relationships you build. But if you don’t follow up, those connections can fade fast. (TBH – this is my weakness – so I have to intentionally work on this!)

👉 Try this:

• Send a quick email or DM: “Hey [Name], I loved meeting you at [conference]! Your story really stuck with me, and I’d love to stay in touch.”
• Make a list of 3-5 people you want to build relationships with and set a reminder to check in every few months.
• Give before you ask—share a helpful resource, encouragement, or opportunity before asking for anything.

3. Implement One Small Step Right Away 🚀

Avoid post-conference paralysis by taking one action step within 48 hours. It doesn’t have to be big! Just something to keep the momentum going.

👉 Quick wins could be:

• Writing one blog post or social media post about what you learned
• Sending an email to one new connection
• Outlining a small project based on a strategy you learned

Small steps create big results.

4. Keep the Momentum Going with an Accountability Partner 🤝

Find someone who also attended the conference (or someone who supports your goals) and set a monthly check-in.

👉 Ask:

• “What’s one thing you’ve implemented so far?”
• “Where are you stuck?”
• “How can we support each other this month?”

Accountability makes all the difference when implementing what you’ve learned.

5. Turn Insights into a 90-Day Action Plan 🗓

The best way to avoid overwhelm? Turn your takeaways into a simple plan. Instead of trying to do everything, focus on what will move the needle in the next 90 days.

👉 Try this:

• Month 1: Implement one idea
• Month 2: Deepen relationships & refine strategies
• Month 3: Evaluate progress & set new goals

This way, your conference experience doesn’t just end when you get home—it becomes the catalyst for real growth.

Wrapping Up

Attending a conference is an incredible investment, but the real impact happens after the event.

Take action, nurture relationships, and give yourself grace—because growth doesn’t happen overnight. One step at a time, you’ll start to see momentum in ways you never expected.

💬 Did you attend a conference this year? What’s one way you’re taking action on what you learned? Let’s talk in the comments! 👇