Whining is the Opposite of Giving Thanks

… and other things I learned at the 2014 Indiana Farm Bureau Conference

My husband and I recently spent the weekend at the 2014 Indiana Farm Bureau Conference at French Lick Springs and West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick Indiana. We had a wonderful time.

The Farm Bureau conferences are always fun and very informative, but this year was especially nice. I really enjoyed the break out sessions I went to with Basil Momma on Cooking for Two and Portion Control, and my husband enjoyed the break out sessions he went to on big data in agriculture and legislative issues on water.

I’m not really sure what all Matt learned at his break out sessions, but I got recipes for some food I’m really looking forward to trying.

Aside from the breakout sessions, we had a couple fabulous meals served at West Baden, which we took the time to explore after our meal.

The building interior was lovely, but even in the winter, the exterior and grounds are truly stunning.

The building is historically accurate right down to restoring the swastikas on the railing. (The hotel was built in the early 1900s, about 2 decades before the swastika became the symbol for the Nazi party.)

But for me, I think the most interesting thing on the grounds of the West Baden Hotel (that we were allowed to see) was the small cemetery placed on the grounds during the time it was owned by the Jesuits.

Of course, the West Baden isn’t the only nice hotel in town. My husband and I actually stayed overnight in the French Lick Springs Hotel. A lovely 15 minute walk from the West Baden, the French Lick Hotel is also historic, with a few new additions, including the events events center most of our conference was housed in and a casino.

The whole place was decorated beautifully for the Christmas season. The events center was full of holiday vignettes, and the hotel was appointed with classic Christmas charm.

The final part of our trip was lunch with Keynote speaker, Nido Qubein. He is President of High Point University in North Carolina, and Chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company. His story was very interesting, and several things he said stuck with me.

• First that whining is the opposite of giving thanks. When we are whining and complaining about something, we are basically saying that all the things we have to be thankful for don’t matter.
• Secondly, there is a difference between training someone to do something and educating them. Qubein had several hilarious examples of this, but my favorite was “Would you rather your high school student took Sex Education or Sex Training?” See… there really is a difference.
• Lastly, and this was a big theme throughout the conference. People will never get involved, or do anything really, if you don’t ask.

Overall, the conference was great, and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my 5th anniversary with my husband than staying in a lovely hotel learning about things that inspire us both.

Sharing over at:
Inspiration Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Made by You Monday at Skip to 
My Lou, Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Much Ado About Monday at Huckleberry
Love, Show and Share at Coastal Charm