I’m sitting in front of a white screen with a little
black cursor blinking, just waiting for me to type away. But I have no idea how
to begin. God has given me a writing day – a day I have wanted for a long time
and now I’m scared. Scared I won’t have anything to write. Scared I won’t be
able to put into words all that I have going through my mind. Scared that I’ll
sound silly as I attempt to tell you all the ways God spoke to me this past
weekend.
Saturday I sat in a room with women I admire on so many
different levels – writers, bible study leaders, speakers & bloggers. I sat
at lunch with women who have families, who work outside the home, who stay at
home with their kids, who are married, who are single moms, who are trying so
hard to follow God but struggle each and every day to handle all that life
throws at us without coming Unglued.
Saturday was a luncheon given by Lysa TerKeurst and her
team for Lysa’s In the Loop Group. It was a day of laughter & fun as Lysa
answered questions, shared with us some of her favorite things and shared her
Unglued message.
If you would like to read about my walk through Unglued Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions click on the links below.
Everywhere I turned Saturday God showed up BIG. I met
new Sisters in Christ who each touched me in her own little way. I reconnected
with ladies I met 3 years ago at She Speaks and I met new friends who spoke
encouragement to my uncertain heart. I loved watching God work.
These 4 ladies you see with me are some of the first
ladies I met. Prior to the luncheon we submitted questions to be answered by
Lysa during her question & answer portion of the day. By having our
questions chosen we had the honor of having a reserved front row seat. Amy,
Gayle, Shelly & Kim each had great questions. Although I can’t remember
each question word for word I wrote down some key points of Lysa’s answers that
I will share with you.
·
Invite our kids to fight for something good.
Instead of lecturing them on what they should or should not do give them an
assignment to research a topic (for example: not texting while driving) and
then present it over dinner as a family. This gives them the incentive to take
ownership of their choices.
·
When asked to give advice to writers trying to
build a platform Lysa told us to ask God in the morning “what is my assignment
for the day” and focus on that assignment. When the assignment is completed put
it up and move onto other responsibilities for the day. Each day we should make
some kind of progress towards our goal.
·
Don’t take a “shot gun” approach to social
media. Find the social media sites that best work for you (twitter, facebook,
pinterest, instagram) and focus on those. Don’t try to do it all. Use quotes
and content from blog posts to encourage traffic to your blog.
·
In order to stay grounded while preparing topics
for speaking events, blog posts & books Lysa looks for ways God is
specifically speaking to her. As He speaks to her she uses those lessons to
share with her readers.
And my question: When you are walking through a storm
in your life where God is teaching you some very difficult lessons, how do you
know when you should share it with your readers? How do you share all that God
has taught you that could benefit others while being mindful of the feelings of
those who are personally involved in the storm?
I wish that I had a recording of all that Lysa shared
in her answer it was just what I needed to hear, an answer that I can’t do
justice to in a few short bullet points but here goes.
·
If you can, ask permission from those involved
before sharing with your readers or at an event.
·
Change intimate details of the story that don’t
change or affect the moral or teaching point of the message.
·
Wait to share the story until the storm has
passed and wounds are healed.
There were also times of laughter as we shared “big
hair” pictures and played Lysa’s favorite trivia game Beezerwhizzer.
After Lysa’s Unglued message we moved down to lunch.
This was such a fun time of getting to know each other a little more over
incredible food catered by Lysa’s favorite restaurant Zoe’s.
After lunch we took time to help Lysa brainstorm for
her next book. I loved watching her interact with the ladies as she received
suggestions on topics to cover in the book. I can’t put into words how amazing
it was to watch a book in the birthing process.
Throughout the day God touched my heart through women I
spoke to.
Rachel & I began talking in line for lunch. During
that conversation God used her to speak encouragement to me over a decision I
have made recently. God knew I was unsure of the direction and used her to
speak confidence in following him.
Ah Melissa, Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study leader extraordinaire,
I met Melissa 3 years ago at She Speaks- at the time we shared tears over her
recent loss of her Mom and my recent loss of my Mother-in-law. We also share a
love of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. I loved getting a chance to
reconnect with Melissa even if it was for a short time. Melissa is leading a
new study on her blog Melissa Taylor, Online Bible Studies coming up very shortly you don’t want to miss it!
Laci is Lysa’s In the Loop Group coordinator. She along
with Meredith Brock, did an incredible job coordinating the luncheon. Thank you
ladies for a God-filled day.
I know this has been the longest post I have ever
written. Thank you for bearing with me and reading my thoughts.
There is so much more I am still processing and can’t
wait to watch God work as He unfolds His plan. He has given me a dream -one
that scares me to death, gives me butterflies in my stomach, and excites me and
makes me want to scream it to the mountaintops -but, its one that He is revealing
one baby step at a time. As He slowly reveals it, I trust Him each baby step of
the way.
Has God given you a dream that seems unattainable? What
can you do to trust Him in the next baby step that He reveals to you?
In His Calm,
Mary
Mary
