Good Morning! If you hopped over from the Encouragement Cafe', welcome to my site! At the bottom of the page you will see a list of the top ten posts of all time. If you have no idea what I am talking about because you're a regular reader, visit the Encouragement Cafe and check out my post on holy detours.
Speaking of detours, I have been home from She Speaks for three days now, and am still processing what happened there. I arrived on Thursday, with my agenda clenched tightly in my hand. Girls, I had plans for this conference which, admittedly, were loosely cloaked in the good of the Kingdom, but were mostly for the good of me. My plan was to blow everyone away with my heartfelt, skillfully presented testimony and have women clamoring for me to speak at their events. Somewhere along the way this conference became more about self-promotion than anything else. Now, if you know me, you know that I joke that I tried "humble" once but no one noticed, so I gave up. As I am painfully learning, there is a difference between being confident in the Name of the Lord, and being a glory-hound. (Insert deep sigh here.)
Because God knows what I need better than I myself know, He met me there in the circle of my limelight and filled my heart with a new desire: to sloooooow down, to enjoy my life where it is today, and to let Him tie up a few loose ends. He spoke to me through the words of many presenters, friends I've made along the way, and one on one in prayer this weekend. He showed me areas that still need healing, which took me by surprise. I missed the tsunami siren again, which you can read about here. The sign He didn't hold up, though, was a Dead End or U-Turn sign. I am on the path I am supposed to be on, to bring hope to the lost, to introduce them to Jesus.
My book, Not Beyond Reach, was not picked up by a publisher because I do not have a large enough marketing platform; one of the editors was extremely encouraging though, telling me it is a necessary and relevant message. It was, however, held onto by an agent. The next step is to wait until I hear from her. The fun part is that I get to keep working on my passion without the pressure of a publisher telling me how to do it. This is all between me and God right now, and I'm happy to keep it that way until He directs otherwise. I also get to keep working on a fiction book that I started last year but haven't had time to play with. My characters have been developing their story without me and I'm just trying to keep up with them.
After reading the signs this weekend, I have my orders: Slow down. Let God lead. Unclench my hand and see what He pours into it. Sunday morning, I spent some time in Deuteronomy 4. Verse 1 says to heed the directions we have been given so the Lord can lead us into the land He has prepared for us. And I'm good with that. Really good with that.
My prayer for you, as you wander around in the desert, is to look for what God has for you in your meantime.
Seems like you and I are in a similar boat in that we both still have little guys who need a full time mom. No glamor in that, but no shame either... and lots of rewards.
ReplyDeleteThe best you can get from any conference is to hear from God. Sounds like it was worth every penny.
I can relate Debbie! I went in with one message and came out with another. I was very confident in my testimony because I had shared it many times-in one on one conversation, in groups and even as presentations. BUT when I got up and did it on Friday night it flopped. I knew it flopped and it was because of several things. One was me trying to do it in myself and the other was not doing it from my heart as I had always presented it before. I tried to follow other's advice and do it another way and it, well, it was not good. I learned a huge lesson that God will write my talks for me, all I have to do it wait, be patient and be a willing vessel for Him to pour into. When I finally did that, His message I presented Saturday was from my heart and what He has shown me is where He wants me to go from She Speaks and take that message and expand and write it out. It was so good to meet you :)
ReplyDeleteLove,
Brandee
For all the young moms, please know that there is absolutely nothing more important than caring for your family. You'll NEVER get another chance at it. You'll always have another chance to write or to speak.
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to speak since high school (graduated in 1984, before many of you were born!) My kids are now 17, 14, and 7. Our family is finally ready for me to do my thing. I didn't always like waiting. Sometimes, I fought it -- duh. God again. Now, though, my topics are coming together. The inquiries are beginning to trickle in. Most importantly, my heart is at peace -- and my family is with me 100%.
Don't force your dream on your family. GOD will let you know when the time is right. In the meantime, thank Him for his abundant blessings. Listen and learn as He teaches you. Take notes. Dream. Love. Play! You never get another chance at childhood with your kids!
With that, I'm off to pack the pool bag and the lemonade!
Hugs and blessings!
Karen
Looking for what God has for us in the meantime is very good advice. Thank you for sharing your She Speaks experience and the word the Lord has placed in your heart.
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