Dear Friends,

Some of you may know I started this blog to write about crafting and all the fun I was having with My Messy Desk, but you may have noticed God had other plans for this platform. I will still occasionally throw in a post or two with a crafty tutorial, but my writing has been predominantly Christian devotional in nature.

I feel compelled to write and to share what God is teaching me. Not because I think I am so wise, but because I have realized how very much I have to learn. Not because I have all the answers, but because I have so many questions. Not because my life is perfect, but because I am so flawed. Not because I have anything earth shattering or unique to share, but because I’m making connections through the unique fabric of my very own story about things that so many wise and scholarly people before me have written. My hope is that you who are within my circle of love and friendship will find these stories relatable to your own lives because you and I share common bonds.

I often think about the passage Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:22 when he says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” I certainly cannot be all things and many of you are much further along than I in your walk with Christ, but I am similar enough to most of you that my stories might resonate with you and hopefully encourage you as you go. Each of us has our own story to tell and the more we tell it, the more Good News we can spread either through written or spoken word or even the example we set as we go about our daily routines and intersect with people in our own circles!

One of my sweet sisters-in-law recently forwarded a link to me about a conference for people who feel called to write or speak or have leadership roles in ministry. I have shared with her my dream of a larger audience for my writing, and this opportunity would certainly mean making a deliberate step toward that goal, but I’m not going to lie…it is at least as scary as it is exhilarating. It would mean opening myself up to rejection and sharing my heart with strangers, not to mention the logistical and financial hurdles involved in simply getting to the She Speaks Conference venue. I just don’t know if I’m ready for all that!

As I researched this giant leap, I came across a baby step that felt much more comfortable. Proverbs 31 Ministries has on-line lessons called Compel Training for writers covering topics that range from How to Think Like a Writer to How to Write a Book Proposal and so much more. There are classes I can watch in the privacy of my own home, forums I can post my writing on and not have to physically face the critiquing, and hints, tips and inspiration for me to keep working at my improving my writing.

This I can do, and I’m realizing that I actually enjoy this study of an entirely different creative process. I have said for years now that I had no desire to “go back to school,” but I think perhaps this is a kind of school I can embrace wholeheartedly! For all of you who are also compelled to write about any topic, I encourage you to investigate it for yourself.

My request of you is that you would pray for me as I begin this journey. Pray for encouragement as I study. Pray for doors to open widely if this conference is part of God’s path for me. Pray that God would continue to inspire my writing and that it would bless those who read it in some way. Pray that I would always seek His will and wisdom in both my writing and my life. Amen!

In Him,

Liz