Post For RENEE SWOPE- SHE SPEAKS CONFERENCE

Minutes in ‘March’-ing…

The She Speaks Conference is for any woman with a desire to lead, speak, write, or serve for/to women.  This conference can help you understand how to fine tune (and tone down)

 ministry ideas, network with Sisters who share these passions,
learn how to write with focus, speak with precision, and above all else, how to accurately-
REFLECT HIS GLORY & SPREAD HIS STORY...


(This Post is for Renee Swope Who is Graciously Offering a Scholarship to the She Speaks Womens Conference)

‘Onward Minute #978’

Imagine if you will, an actual minute. You know, one minute- as in a measurement of time. Like an hour, second or day. Now imagine this minute with arms and legs- silly I know, but really, just try...You can even put a top-hat on it if you’d like! There are actually 1440 minutes in a day. Now imagine all of these minutes- armed, legged, and all lined up in a row. Then at the start of each new day, 12:00am, they begin marching right alongside of you, top-hats and all! However, these minutes do not stop marching. They march continuously onward only able to be stopped by you!

Hypothetically, let’s just say that normal people usually are sleeping by 12:00am. So from 12:00am until about 7:00 am, 420 minutes have marched right-on and out of their day, permanently unused and never to return. Ok- a bit dramatic, but realistically, we only get 1440 minutes each day- these are not recyclable. We are now left with 1020 minutes to do as you will…

I was thinking if I could really see the minutes I have in a day, would I use them differently? If I understood that once they have marched by me and I can no longer grasp them, would it change the amount of enthusiasm with which I approach my day? I thought to myself, “If I actually could see how many minutes I waste, I bet I’d be much more likely to use them a bit wiser!” We are visual beings. Greater impact is made when we can attach a picture to a thought in our mind. Although we can’t see- armed, legged, and ‘top-hatted’ minutes’ marching on by, the reality is that these minutes indeed vanish if not used immediately!

I know that my life is but a vapor- I am only here, in the real scheme of things, for a time so short that I really have no business letting my ‘marching minutes’ miss a beat! Do I grab onto my minutes and hand them to someone else- i.e. Sending help to Japan, helping a neighbor here, feeding the homeless, visiting a widow, mentoring children, or investing at all in the ‘what really matters?’ Or do I grab my minutes and tuck them into my pockets only to be used for my own needs- pull twenty minutes out for a power nap, fifteen more minutes for a disgruntled phone tangent- minutes #897-#1000 spent on facebook and twitter, while the rest of my minutes get divided between all things that benefit the cause of… ‘Me!’ With a guilty sigh, I regretfully confess, that my marching minutes have often charged right out of my day and into someone else’s. Unfortunately, I have lost many an opportunity to give minutes away that could have potentially turned someone’s minutes of divorce, grief, loneliness and need, into minutes of hope, love, and peace. Then the Lord gave me something…

I have now been married ten joy filled months, and I have really been able to so see my ugly heart in the reflection of my husband’s predominantly God-centered one. The transition from single and slipping by, to married and accountable is a rough one filled with humility, grace and mercy. This is when the Lord put something on my heart. In learning more about relationship with Him, how to be a wife, and how I had changed from worldview to WORDview. Over a three year period (& many many minutes…), He did the changing while showing me every step along the way (and we are still walking). In those precious minutes with Him, He stirred my heart with a desire to lead women to be bold, deep, honest, and true about where they came from and where they are going.

I noticed that so many of my ‘Christian sisters’ may have unconsciously accepted being proclaiming ‘Magic Prayer Say-ers.’ That is who I was before those three years with Him. I was a church going good girl with a Pharisee heart. I knew all the Bible verses, I talked all the lingo, hey- I even shared a time or two about how to be a Christian, “just say this prayer… “What I was gravely missing, was a life altering real encounter with a Risen Savior! Wow… I needed relationship in the worst way- and so do many of the teen girls I work with now, and sadly some of their ritual driven momma’s! (Not to be judgmental). I was so comfortable in just knowing I was going to Heaven- because at 5 years old I asked ‘Jeshush’ in my heart (I had a lisp, & still do :0)

At some point, many of us have fallen underneath the umbrella of ‘safe because I know I am going to Heaven’ living. It is my passion to stir urgency in our behavior; Purposefully living with eternity as our focus- for our families, our friends, at work, in everyday! I am learning life is but a vapor and our time here is short, but vital. Therefore I need to think on what counts- minute after minute…

Please help me share this vision by creating/leading/speaking/writing about a curriculum the Lord put on my heart.

(Should copyright this- another reason this conference would sure be a blessing;-)
My idea is— ‘Molding Modern Mary’s’ (based on Mary of Nazareth, Mary ‘Lazarus’ )

I would love to lead woman in an in depth look at how to be intimate, obedient, and transparent, out of devotion to the heart of Jesus- A thorough understanding on the lives of these women and how to apply their life principles to our modern day…Making being ‘Mary’s’ cool to every generation of ‘transitioning’ (from umbrella living, to loud by lifestyle proclaimers of Jesus Christ) -preparing teen girls with character, homemakers with spunk, delighted to be servants of the King, in love with a Savior that intended to have an intimate relationship with them- The problem- I have no idea how to get this going! He does and that is why, since the first scholarship came out, I have created my first blog, wrote many a’ stories, applied to all the scholarships offered so far and am continuously learning how to manage a small business, finish paying for my recent schooling- A Master Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty University (thank you Abba), while providing, by the grace of God, all we need while my husband cannot work as he is now in his schooling. Needless to say, a scholarship would help!

Renee, I thank you for this opportunity. I will be praying for your heart and the hearts of the applicants. God has given me so much in my heart to share and lead with- if I could just show you or let you feel for yourself the desire He has put in there, you would never give it back :0)

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” ~ James 4:14



A note to Cecil Murphy and the Staff of the She Speaks Conference.


Thank you so much for the scholarship opportunities! I pray the Lord will richly bless you, your staff, and these amazing ministries. I am aware that nothing I post could ever truly illustrate the desire in my heart for His service, women, and an opportunity to combine them all at this conference. With that, I started to pray diligently. Here is what the Lord put on my heart.