DECLARE

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of DECLARING the good news about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts 20:24

You have probably heard the verse about how God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”. I have always had that verse in my heart, but I do not know if I allowed it to apply to me and to my life completely in the way that God intends. This weekend, at a writing conference called Declare, I started to believe this verse applied to me and to you. I started to not just hope it’s true, but to believe it is true.

An amazing woman from my church named Heather (godcenteredmom.com) invited me to this conference after she caught wind that I was writing devotionals for dancers. Thank you to my sis-in-law, Melissa (check out Melissa and my brother’s blog: lovingallpeoples.com) who mentioned to Heather that I have a blog. I NEVER would have had the guts to bring it up. I just started this blog in February of this year, but I have been writing about my journey through the dancing world in my own journals for more years than I can count. So when I started this blog, it was very scary. It felt a little like putting my journals out there for anybody to read, but I felt compelled to do so, even if it just helped or encouraged one person. I think we ALL know that I am not the most technilogically savvy gal! I think we all know that social media is not my forte. I think that is why I was pretty shy about putting my writing out there. But my husband, Brian, encouraged me. And he reminded me that the point was to encourage others. So I signed up for this writing conference, not really knowing what to expect. I assumed I would learn a lot of technical details about blogging and how to publish a book. I learned so much about both of those topics which was so incredibly helpful, and I have a new appreciation and inspiration for both of these subjects. But God did exceedingly, abundantly more than I could have ever imagined. I do not usually write about anything other than dancing on this blog. But I want to thank you, sweet reader, for taking the time to follow my blog. Whether you are a dancer or not, thank you for taking time out of your day to read my posts. I hope and pray you are encouraged and mostly I hope you know how much God loves for you and cares for you. I am praying for my readers, and thank you for those of you that have prayed for me. I ask, if you would be willing, to pray for Dancing with the Lord. I need your prayers. So I want to share with you what I learned at Declare because it does not just apply to me…I want to pass it on to you…

God is calling you to something.

A few tidbits from speaker Jill Monoco:

“Sometimes the crazier the project or dream, the more convinced I am that it is God’s idea and not mine.”

Say yes to God with blind abandon.

Satan is going to try to steal your calling and your dreams and get you to give up. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

If He calls you to do something, of course He will provide everything you need!

“Be confident. If you do what God is calling you to do, His work, He will exceed expectations and you will be blessed.” Heather Macfayden (godcenteredmom.com)

Be a prayer warrior. I had the sweetest run-in with the sweetest prayer warrior who prayed for me before I went into a meeting at Declare about Dancing for the Lord. Before running into her, I felt pretty nervous, but after she prayed for me, peace washed over me, and I felt giddy to go into the meeting! It reminded me to pray about everything. That God cares about every detail. (that was Meredith….meredithsings.com)

Notice God’s gifts all around you. Two gifts God gave me at the conference were two sweet friends that I got to know at our meals. Esther (laughwithusblog.com) and Lauren (enjoyingthejourneytx.com) I loved returning to that table and swapping stories and just laughing and having fun. I did not expect to make friends this weekend really! God is good!

All the women and speakers spoke one message to me all weekend: “God loves you, God made you, God has a unique calling for you, and nothing is impossible for God.” So I pass this simple, but profound message to you today. I want you to know that God loves you, He made you, and He has a special, unique plan for your life that only you can do. He has put a message, a gift, or a dream in your heart. Have you asked Him what that is?

Where in your life do you need to believe this message? What is the dream of your heart?

Prayer: “Dear Lord, here are the dreams of my heart…give me a vision for what you are calling me to do and show me what steps to take towards this dream. Thank You for loving me, creating me, and giving me a purpose and a calling for my life.”

And again, thank you to my faithful readers. Thank you for each comment you have made, each word of encouragement or affirmation, and for your prayers. I am so so so thankful for you.

And thank you to the Declare team, speakers, sponsors, staff at the Marriott, attendees, and worship band….to every person involved in making it such an amazing weekend. I felt so loved, pampered, and inspired. I also could not believe that I got to stay in such a nice hotel all by myself and just feel so refreshed. Thank you to my sweet husband for encouraging me to go and for my “purple ipad” that you gave me on Mother’s Day to encourage me in doing God’s work. And thank you Kat Lee (inspiredtoaction.com) You inspire me so much as a writer and as a mom. And thank you again, Heather, oh here comes the tears! Thank you for inviting me. And thank you, Jessica (iliveloud.net) for taking the time to meet with me and to see something in my idea. My cup runneth over!