The Adventure of Obedience to a New Beginning

Whew! It’s been a journey! A part of me wondered if this day would ever come. The fact that it is here is a testimony to God’s faithfulness. I am held in wonder that God chooses to use me to encourage others toward knowing Him better. 

I want to say “Thanks!”

First let me thank those of you who have been faithful readers of my blog.  A few of you have followed my writing from the beginning; you are gems. Some of you have been super sharers of my words and I am exceedingly grateful as you have expanded my reach.  Each of you has encouraged me with every comment and click of the “like” button. 

Why a New Website?

A friend posed the question to me of why I was creating this new website.  A question worthy of a well-thought-out response, especially since I realized many of you may wonder. The answer begins in 2018.

It was the year of You Say by Lauren Daigle and Joy by for King and Country.  Trump was President and the #MeToo movement went global. For more than half the year, I was trying to decide if I should close my home-based business.  I struggled deeply with that decision; I didn’t want to go where God wasn’t leading and I was fighting my own fears, insecurities, and selfish desires.  Long story short, in November I decided to end my business by the end of the year.I

In January and February of 2019, I went through the process of selling my product samples along with the odds and ends of running a business.  During that time God led me to read Isaiah 43 and verse 19 became an anthem for me.

“Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming.  Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

Isaiah 43:19

To be honest, I took the verse more literally than I should have.  I felt like I was living in a wilderness ending something I had been doing for seven years without a clue as to what was next.  I clung to the idea that it was coming NOW. I heard the phrase “do you not see it?” within the framework that it was going to be so obvious; I wouldn’t miss it; I couldn’t miss it.  I blissfully thought God was going to write the new thing in the sky or overwhelm me with some exciting opportunity that would revolutionize my heart.

God quietly nudged me to more consistent on my blog. That was it.

My Blog and Obedience

I tried to write regularly, even setting a scheduled reminder on my phone (an unheard-of practice for me). The goal was to post once a week.  I probably did better than before but looking back I believe I was working within my own strength and not God’s. My sweet Pastor husband encouraged me, and I signed up for Compel Training, an online community to help equip and encourage Christian writers created by Lysa TerKeurst, President of Proverbs 31 Ministries. During the early stages of this emphasis toward working on my craft, God blessed me with three words: encourage, equip, empower. I began to see Encourage Equip Empower as my focus and my purpose.

I wrote, I took online trainings, I entered my writings in contests.  I learned much about how to improve my writing, and I am still learning! One specific training talked about having one’s own website so that as the author you had control of your content.  The current blogging platform I was using did not give me ultimate control of what I wrote and posted.  The training also talked about the freedom to grow when you own your own website.  God planted a seed as I took notes.

“Take the Next Right Step”

The Pandemic came, and then my mother died in November of 2020. I entered 2021 fragile.  God graciously kept speaking truth to my heart and I kept writing in gratitude. God planted another seed through the unlikely venue of the movie Frozen 2: “Take the next right step.”

As I’ve looked back over my journals the first mention of having my own website was Jan 23, 2020.  God was tenderly and gently nudging me toward His something new. At times I think it may have been nice if God had sent me an email detailing out every stage of the process.  Instead, the Holy Spirit kept prompting me to lean into obedience, inching forward one little step at a time.

God Faithfully Encouraged Me

Throughout the month of February God spoke encouragement to my heart over and over.  If you read my journal, you would discover these notes to myself:

• “The presence of God’s Kingdom happens through us as we allow the King to choose what we do.”
• Jesus doesn’t join me in my journey to cushion my life.  Jesus wants to transform me as I journey His way.
• “Break free from hesitancy and second-guessing yourself.  God is IN you. He’s ready to do mighty things through you.”
• “Nothing is too difficult for God. Not writing regularly in a blog. Not posting consistently to IG. Not creating a website…”
• “Am I willing? Am I raising my hand saying ‘Pick me! Pick me!’”
• “I am to write what I sense God speaking. I am to trust Him how He wants to use it.”
• “Step into obedience. Do the research about a website, new blog, … God will equip and enable. He is with me. He doesn’t ever leave me.”
• “Keep asking God ‘What next, now what?’”

“What Next? Now What?

I knew God was leading, so I began the process of setting up my own website. Learning the “how to” was more involved and more confusing than I imagined.  Finding the time to do the work was just as difficult. God’s Word is clear that obedience is the best way for any of us to express our love to the God who loves us with such a great love. So, I kept coming back to “do the next right thing” and asking God “What next? Now what?”

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.  You did not choose me, but I chose you.  I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.  This is what I command you: Love one another.”

John 15:12-17 CSB

This website and my blog are my obedience.  They are to show my love for God and my love for those within the reach of my words. I honestly don’t know all the next steps.  I have no idea the plans God has for me and for this site.  I do know, this is what He asked of me and there is great joy in following in obedience.  I hope you know you are loved here.  I hope you encounter Jesus and His Kingdom.  I hope you are encouraged and equipped to follow Christ in obedience and empowered to take your next right step. I’m still asking “What next? Now what?” I challenge you to join me.

Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash