If I had any doubt left

2011/04/12 By 10 Comments

…it’s completely gone now! Besides the high that I’m still riding from the conference this past weekend, God gave me some very clear signs that He is speaking and I’m listening.

During the conference, one of the speakers urged us to look at non-church methods of getting people in the doors. Basically, if you invite people to your church without expecting them to take part in worship, you may be surprised at the result.  As we sat there, I wrote MOPS on my program and went about my day.  Now, I’ve never been a part of MOPS, but I have heard about the group from other moms, so when I was looking at the booklet today, I decided to research a bit more.

I emailed the idea to our pastor and left to pick up Miss Mack from school.  I got there early and started talking to one of the other moms waiting to pick up her daughter. She and I wound up talking about churches in town and I invited her to check out ours. Then, she told me how much she wishes we had a MOPS group in town!  Not only that, but she used to help lead the group in her former church and said she’d love to be involved in leadership again!

Okay God, you got me again!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

To My Critics

2011/04/10 By 2 Comments

I know I’m not a perfect Christian.  I know that, at times, I haven’t been a great person. There are many things in my life that I wish I hadn’t done. There is one thing I will never regret, no matter how much you try to break me down.  I will NEVER regret giving my life to God.

You can choose to spend your days highlighting my faults. You can say I have no business doing what I am doing because of my past mistakes, that’s certainly your opinion and your right. I understand that as much as God is trying to show me the ways I am alright, Satan is reminding you how I’m not.

You may think you know every misstep I’ve taken in life, but I assure you there are many you have no clue about. Even those who have known me from the moment I was born do not know every sin I have committed. Christ is the only one who knows what I have done. And by His grace, I am forgiven for those sins.  He still has great things in store for me and He will use my past mistakes to guide my future.

Before you criticize me for my own failings, I ask you to pray about your own. I know I will be praying for you when I pray for myself.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

You Want Me to Do What Debut!!!

2011/04/10 By 1 Comment

“You Want Me to Do What?!” is my story to this point.  I have written it in hopes of showing others that it is completely possible to give your life to Christ but it does take sacrifice.  What it does NOT take is being a perfect person or a “good Christian.”

It’s a quick read that I hope others will enjoy!  In the future, there may be a part two since I know my story is far from over. In fact, my entire purpose for selling this book is to raise the funds to continue my mission for Christ. To purchase directly through my site, click on the button below and you will be sent the eBook for a $3 investment. If you would prefer to make a tax-deductible donation directly to Proverbs 31 Ministries in an effort to build my personal scholarship for She Speaks, you can find the information here.  Send me an email and let me know that is the route you have taken and I will send you the book.

I want to thank each and every person for their support and investments as I shoot for the heavens with my ministry!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

I am alive!!!!

2011/04/10 By 1 Comment

And no, I don’t mean in the sense of “I didn’t post for a day” type of alive.  A group from our church just got home from the most inspiring (okay, so my first) leadership summit.  Only in Wisconsin would you find a leadership summit about church growth with a cow tipping theme!!!

Over the next weeks, I fully intend to share some of the wealth I have gathered this weekend, but for now, I leave you with this YouTube video.

Filed Under: Hanging onto Sanity

You Don't Get to Decide!

2011/04/07 By 2 Comments

It’s funny how God works.  Just over a week ago, I let myself get completely down about the prospect of attending She Speaks this year.  I had realized that the scholarships were all doing to other women and that was my only hope of attending.  I was blessed to have a friend who reminded me that it’s not up to me whether I go or not, He will be the one who decides.  As long as I follow my calling and do all that I can, He will make it happen if it’s meant to be.  This week, I saw that come true as that same friend won one of the scholarships!

That renewed my spirit, knowing that someone I had gotten to know online was heading to She Speaks made me realize that He truly does help those who He knows need to be there.  I reaffirmed my commitment to find a way, even if it’s making $3 here and there until I can pay for it.

Today, I saw a woman on Twitter post that it was official, she’s not going. Her reasons were the same as mine. No money, no scholarship, no conference. It was like God was showing me my own actions through her. Instead of wallowing with her, I tweeted her back and asked her to please not give up. Giving up is exactly what Satan wants us to do. For every woman who gives up hope, he is that much closer to winning.  Fighting back is the only way to show him that Christ is the only one in control.

It’s amazing to see these glimmering examples of what life can be like when I listen to Him. There are times I’m not sure who I am anymore because I’m not reacting the same way I used to.  But that’s okay because God has reassured me that I don’t get to decide when it’s time to give up, He will tell me when it’s time to reshift my focus to other ventures.

Filed Under: Hanging onto Sanity

You Want Me to Do What Excerpt

2011/04/07 By 27 Comments

Here is just a peek of what I’m working on right now.  It’s part memoir, part motivational book for following God’s calling no matter what the perceived cost may be.

Being judged for the choices I made has helped me be more compassionate when I’m trying to help others. I can appreciate that there are times when we need to ask His help to get out of situations that He does not want us in because we have no way of knowing how to do it without His help. And I can attest to the fact that even if we don’t accept His help, He will still love us and accept us when we are ready to accept Him.

Nearly a decade ago, I was a young woman living 700 miles from home for the first time in my life. I had made the move with my boyfriend, now my husband, to be closer to his family. Even though they accepted me with open arms, I felt incredibly alone. One day, I drove past a church that was the same faith and synod as the one I had attended as a child and I felt like it was all going to be okay.

Tentatively, I walked into the church on Sunday morning. There was something familiar about the traditional service. After the service was finished, I allowed myself to open up and accept these strangers as members of my spiritual family in a new state. Over the next few weeks, I entered the church with more and more confidence, certain that I was home.

Finally, I worked up the courage to ask the pastor what needed to be done to become an official member of the church. I had assumed that it would be a simple formality because I was already a member of a synod church. I couldn’t have been more wrong! The pastor told me that I would not be granted membership until I moved out of the apartment I shared with my boyfriend. After all, what would the church members think if an unwed woman was living in sin and she was allowed to join them?

As I left the church that day, the only thing I was certain of was that I would never walk back into that place. I doubled over the steering wheel and sobbed uncontrollably, not able to fully absorb what had happened. In that moment, it wasn’t one pastor or one congregation that had shunned me, I truly felt that God had rejected me because I was so consumed with sin.

Just when I was ready to completely turn my back on God, a friend reached out to me and invited me to her church. My gut told me that I would never be accepted at her conservative Baptist church but I knew in my head that I couldn’t shut Christ out of my life because of the words of men. I was terrified that everyone would see me for the sinner I was as we walked into her church the following Sunday. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms into a house of lively praise and worship.

After about a month, I approached the pastor to explain the issues with my previous church to him. I prepared myself for the lectures about my actions. He heard my confession and offered me an hour of comfort and conversation. To this day, I carry his words with me and try to use them as a light to guide my outreach. “What you do is between you and God. You need to reconcile with Him, not me.”
Filed Under: Uncategorized

You Want Me to Do What?!

2011/04/06 By 1 Comment

I’m not sure why I’m posting this, but anyone who knows me knows there are many times I post things without knowing why.  The truth is, I know why and it’s because I feel called to do so by God.  Yes, I have officially turned into one of those women I would have rolled my eyes at in a former life!

I believe with every fiber of my being that Christ is calling me to write and speak on certain topics.  I also feel that He led me to the She Speaks Conference as a way to hone the skills that I have so I can fully serve Him.  The problem is, when you give up on material goals for a greater cause, you have to deal with things like living on one income, and that’s not conducive to spending money to go to a conference.

Rather than just asking for money with nothing in return, I have been working on polishing my first eBook, titled “You Want Me to Do What?!” and I will be releasing it within the next few weeks.  Because it’s my first book, I’m going to be selling it through this blog for a nominal fee.  I will tell you that I have a lofty goal, I want to sell at least 500 copies by June 1st.

If you are interested in being notified when the book is ready or if you’d be willing to help me promote this, please leave me a comment!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Coupon Jealousy

2011/04/06 By 11 Comments

I’m seriously starting to get a huge complex with all of these women out there who are into extreme couponing and getting these huge deals everywhere!  I want to be like that. I want to save that much money.  The problem is, I lack the organization to make it work.  Not only that, but the whole concept just confuses me!

So, can you use multiple copies of the same coupon on a single item to bring the price down or it is several different coupons on the same item?  And is each coupon good for one of the item?  I see the previews for the new TLC show and they’re throwing HUGE quantities of each thing into their cart.  Just HOW does that work????

I’m going to start looking into using more coupons but only if I can figure out how to combine coupons in order to make name brand items cheaper than the store brand.

If you coupon, what tips would you give a newbie??

Filed Under: Happy Homemaker

When the Words Won't Come…

2011/04/06 By Leave a Comment

This week has been more than just a little difficult. We’re trying a new combination of medication for my depression and whether it’s all in my head or real, I feel all over the place.  I’ve had a couple of days that were totally wonderful and I felt totally alive. But yesterday and today, there are just no words.  No words to describe my mood, no words to put on paper, no words.

As someone who takes great pride in her ability to write and speak well, this just sucks.  I need to find the way out of this slump and back to living.  I think that later today, I’m going to sit down with a book of writing prompts and take the “just do it” approach.

What do you do when you get into a funk?

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Wednesday's Hops

2011/04/06 By 1 Comment

 

Today, I’m participating in two blog hops.  I need to get myself back on schedule because yesterday pretty much sucked, so I’m limiting what I participate in.  I still have a goal of hitting a minimum of 10 blogs from each of these hops plus my reader blogs.

If you’re swinging by from a blog hop, follow me and leave a comment so I can be sure to hit yours!  

Filed Under: Mom's Working
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