In this world you will have troubles

There are a few versus in the Bible that I would rather not read or hear, and John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world," happens to be one of them.

Although God clearly states He is greater than any problem, situation or concern we will ever face, the fact that we have to face them at all is a bummer. However, I have learned that those unpleasant, difficult, painful, discouraging, draining, engulfing, burdening trials are the footings necessary to the solid construction of our faith foundation.

How else would we know that God is true to His Word? How else could we be of help and support and encouragement to others going through the same situation? I am amazed that He loves and believes in us so much that He actually allows us to go through "boot camp" so that we may gain the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective soldiers for His kingdom.

I know I don't like going through the valleys of life, but if I've learned anything from those experiences is that when I reach the mountain top the view is that much more awesome and rewarding.

Pressing on,

And The Winner Is...

"I can't believe it, I won, I'm going to the 2009 She Speaks Conference in North Carolina. Woohoo!!!!"

"Honey, honey, wake up," my husband says as he gently nudges me awake from my nap. Slightly embarrassed, I ask, "Did it happen again?" With a little smirk and tender eyes he lovingly answers, "Yes." The past few days since I've learned of the She Speaks Scholarship Contest at Lysa TerKeurst's Blog, I've had the same delicious dream of winning this wonderful opportunity.

How do I explain to my husband what it would mean to me to attend this event. To meet and share with other women who have the same passion and desire to use the gifts and talents that God has placed in them to minister and do works for His Kingdom. To hear testimonies and learn from women whom God has already directed and guided through the paths that some of us only dream of.

The She Speaks Conference brings women from every walk of life and age group who possess a desire to use the gifts of writing, speaking, teaching and sharing to touch the lives and minister to the hearts of other women. It provides workshops, encouragement, networking, fellowship and unity to inspire and equip women from dream to reality.

The first time I heard of the She Speaks Conference was last October and I made a decision to make attending the 2009 conference my goal. Unfortunately, we were not immune to the economic crisis and our business (and financial support) suffered considerably. But learning of the She Speaks Scholarship Contest sparked new hope that my chance to attend this year was not lost.

I have always loved to write and within the past couple of years that love has birthed a desire to use my writing as a ministry. I realize I have a lot to learn and God is working in me to develop character and qualities to be an effective disciple of His love. I started this blog as a training ground and a way to step out of my comfort zone and by faith into the path I believe He is setting before me. I feel spending 3 days around other women and gleaning from their experiences and knowledge would not only help encourage but empower me to continue on this path even when it seems unattainable. I hold on to Philippians 4:13, "I can do everything through Him you gives me strength."

So for every woman with a dream, a passion, a vision I say, step forward look ahead and don't ever give up. I know that even if I don't win the scholarship for this upcoming conference, I will look forward to She Speaks 2010 and press on.

A New Day

As I thought about my post today, I asked myself, "What is living beyond ordinary?"

Living beyond ordinary is seeing every day as an opportunity. Lately, all we have been bombarded with is negativity: the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afgahnistan, the housing crisis, etc. Even in the face of all those difficulties, the United States of America is still the most powerful, humanitarian, opportunity rich nation in the world.

It's time we stop looking at our limitations and not allow the dark "gloom and doom" image portrayed by the media at large to dictate our security. Yes, times are challenging but not impossible. Will it be easy? Heck no, but the struggles we overcome will make us that much more stronger and less fearful.

I say let's hold our heads up, roll up our sleeves and not wait around for a hand-out or someone to fix our situations.

Ordinary is blaming someone else for our personal struggles whether financial, physical, spiritual or otherwise; living beyond ordinary is accepting our situation, taking ownership and doing what we need to do to overcome it.

This is a new day, my new day to reach out to someone, feel the sun on my face, accomplish a goal, overcome a challenge, thank God for His mercy and love, and live beyond ordinary.

I'm Back

Shame on me, it's been over a month since I've posted, I've definitely got to work on being more consistent with my posts.

However, a lot has happened since, I decided to started a transcription business and launched my new website Seasoned Transcription, yea!!! I started putting myself out there the early part of February, through a transcription forum and was hired for several jobs and eventually by a company on a contract basis. I've still got a ways to go, but the fact that I was able to find work, is a confident boost and validates my abilities to go out and do this.

I even posted an ad on Craigslist.org and was contacted to do transcription for a local city college. Although it was only one job, again it validated my efforts. I don't know where this will go, my original goal was to some earn money working from home utilizing the skills I posses, but now I'm considering taking a Desktop Publishing coarse and refreshing my bookkeeping skills to offer those services as well.

Just putting one foot in front of the other for now.