She Speaks Scholarship Contest

"If you want to make God laugh...tell Him your plans."

Oh how my life has become a testament to the accuracy of this little quote. I never planned on it being that way and certainly would not have set out towards the goal...but change it? Not for the world.

You see when life hurts...life happens. When life happens...love buds. When love buds...God blossoms. And when God blossoms...our hurts are healed. Only in these moments, may we choose to take the lives we've been given...and graciously give them back to Him.

Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Luke 8:48

In this peace, He revealed a hidden treasure buried deep within my heart...uncovered after the layers of hurt were finally healed, patiently waiting there all along...

...a passion to write.
The seed was planted nearly a year ago when I stumbled across the She Speaks Conference website. She Speaks is part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. The conference promises to be a life-changing experience for women of all generations, equipping attendees to more effectively share the Word of God and reach a hurting world with the life-transforming hope of Jesus.

My heart skipped a beat when I discovered that they are offering a She Speaks Scholarship Contest for Bloggers. Winning the scholarship would be a huge financial blessing on my ministry salary, but more importantly it would confirm my calling to be there and discover His plans for this new dream and begin writing the story He's already written.

This blog post serves as my contest entry, prayers welcome! :)

I started out in life, believing there must be a God
...but I never thought I’d live for Him.

I started out in Corporate America, planning to climb the ladder
...but I never thought I’d jump from it.

I started out in faith, traveling around the world to show His love
...but I never knew His love would be shown to me.

I started out in ministry, hoping to help broken lives become whole
...but I never knew the most broken life would be mine.

I started out in school, hating to read and write
...but I never dreamed God would write a story with my life.

I started out in writing, fearful to begin
...but I then realized...it already had.