More Than Halfway There!

In the past 3 days I've gotten $350 in pledges toward the "She Speaks" conference. I am beyond excited, and extraordinarily grateful!! The past 10 days have been "whirlwind-ish," for lack of a better word--so full of the Lord confirming things right and left. I am humbled that He has allowed me to see His glory time and again.



All for now. I'll keep you posted!



P.S. Two of the three songs we sang in church today talked about shining your light. :)

One More For Good Measure

Can you believe God brought up Matthew 5:14-16 again?!?

Yesterday I went to my Bible study (Believing God by Beth Moore), and the coolest thing happened. Last week we'd gotten a bit chatty and ran short on time, so we had to leave the last few minutes of our DVD for this week.

Totally in keeping with this week's Matthew 5:14-16 theme, Beth closed out what was meant to be last week's video message with an illustration. She pulled out an oil lamp and I thought to myself, "No way. No way is she really going to speak from the Matthew 5 passage!" although I knew in my heart God was saying, "Yes way!"

"A city on a hill cannot be hidden!" Beth said emphatically. And there it was!!! She went on to speak of how the tongue can do mighty things when set ablaze by the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

Here's the thing...the day before Bible study, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be amazing if that passage came up in Bible study this week?" It wasn't likely to happen--the study is on Believing God, and we've never spent much time in Matthew thus far. I knew in my heart that if that passage were to pop up during Bible study, it would totally have to be a God thing. And I believe it was!

Can I just say it? Praise God!!!! Had we not gone over our time last week, we never would have watched the end of the video yesterday, which was truly when I needed to see it. Lord, You are perfect and awesome and good!

Still Room!

I got an email on March 18th with the news that the She Speaks Conference still has some spots available!



So what now? Well, I'm continuing to pray about whether this is the year for me to go. And I have been praying a lot about it this past week. And while I don't want to try to connect dots that aren't meant to be connected, this passage has come up several times in the past few days...

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden; Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16

1. A "Let Your Light So Shine" expression in an Uppercase Living catalog. I saw this and thought it would be cool to choose as one of my free expressions to have in our home. (March 22nd)

2. Singing along the lyrics "Shine your light and let the whole world see, we're living for the glory of the risen King" on the radio and in church. This song ("Mighty to Save") keeps coming on these past few days...once even right after I'd been praying for some guidance regarding the conference. (March 24th)

3. K-Love's website Scripture passage today: "Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." Matthew 5:15, NLT. (March 25th)

So anyway, as I said, I don't want to jump to conclusions or read too much into this. My prayer this morning was "Lord, I feel like you might be leading through these words from Scripture--that perhaps You want me to pursue this opportunity to "let my light shine" for You. And I know You aren't a genie or a show pony that I can make do tricks, but I am simply asking that You will confirm this one more time, if it's what I'm supposed to do. I just really want to be clear. If this is not the year, I trust You, so either way, I give it to You But please help me to discern what You want me to do."

Wait a second--OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I just remembered something, just right this minute, as I've been typing up this blog entry...

4. I was cleaning the kitchen this morning and had the song "Shine" by the Newsboys running through my head. It has been literally years since I have even thought about this song, which is from the early 90's. "Shine--Make them wonder what you got--make them wish that they were not on the outside looking bored. Shine--let it shine before all men--let them see good works and then let them glorify the Lord. Shine!" (March 25th)

Okay, Lord. I believe You have been answering my prayer for confirmation. Thank You, Mighty God. You are so awesome. So, by Your grace, I'm in! You know the mountains in the way. Move 'em. I want to shine for You!

The Beginning

I Corinthians 2:4-5

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

Have you ever felt called to something? I mean really, really called to something?

Ten years ago I worked at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center. After an extraordinarily trying week in my personal life, I was asked to speak at the End of Summer Banquet. "You've got the wrong girl," I thought emphatically, but gave a verbal agreement to do so anyway. A few weeks later I stood before several hundred friends and told of the things God had been so gracious to show me that summer.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

I absolutely believe that Justin is my number one earthly priority. Trevor and Aila come into play next. My marriage and the raising of my children to know and love God--THESE are my greatest earthly ministries. And if that's all there ever was, I would be completely content spending my life building into and investing those three beautiful people living under this roof with me. I am completely and totally passionate about getting it right when it comes to my family.

But I just can't deny there's this other calling, too. The ten years since Mount Hermon have been filled with confirmation after confirmation that the Lord is leading me to share what He's revealed to me about who He is. Have I had more opportunities than I can count and people beating my door down?

No.

I've had a few chances to share, and I've cherished them with all my heart. It is a sweet thing to really feel you're doing something God has called you to do. But I feel I've been in a season of preparation. I've spent the last few year writing, developing outlines, recording what God has laid on my heart, and praying.

Oh, how I've been praying.

God has been working all along, I believe. But recently it seems He has been working to connect me with opportunities that could really get this ministry going, and I am SO excited! Right now I am praying about possibly attending a speaking conference this summer in North Carolina. I'm actually waiting for an email to learn whether or not the conference is full...and so I continue praying.

It's wonderful to have you on this faith journey with me!!!