Living the Dream at the "She Speaks" Conference

I feel like I am finally on my way. The plane tickets have been bought and I am yet one step closer to what has really been a dream of mine, attending the “She Speaks” conference.

It was about three years ago that a good friend of mine, Angela, sent me a link to this conference. She encouraged me to check it out. At the time I was starting to really get serious about this whole writing thing. I had begun to submit articles to various magazines and online resources.

Most of the time I received rejection notices. I did get a couple of things printed and I will never forget the feeling I got when I received my first payment for a magazine article. So when my friend sent me the information, I thought it was perfect.

But time, money and other obstacles seemed to stand in the way. Actually, I think it was really God’s perfect timing. He knew I was to go to this conference but it was going to be according to His schedule, not mine.

So the next couple of years passed by. I found my writing career starting to make some headway and I wrote a devotional book that I submitted to a publisher. I couldn’t believe it when I received a call from an editor at the publishing house. They were actually interested in my devotional! The trouble was that my book was 80% journaling and only 20% “devotional.”

My devotions were short with lots of lines for women to write on because I am an avid fan of journaling. The editor pointed out that not everyone enjoys journaling, so would it be possible to turn my book around to 80% devotional, 20% journaling.

My initial excitement at the prospect turned into fear. I allowed fear to keep me from moving any further. So I stopped writing. Well, I more or less wrote the devotional on and off. It is now at its halfway point and I felt that this was the year I was not only going to finish it but I was finally going to attend the “She Speaks” conference.

I knew this was God’s plan because not only did I have my husband’s support but my sister decided to join me. This trip will be about more than just learning how to fine tune my writing skills, it will be an opportunity for old wounds to be healed.

My sister has been pursuing a writing career as well, and it has helped meld us together in a way that I never thought was possible. I didn’t know what she would think when I asked her to attend the conference with me. Much to my surprise she agreed. So the first thing we did was book our flight from here in Milwaukee to our final destination, North Carolina.

The reason we booked the flight first was because of the threat of increasing airfares, so we wanted to get the lowest price possible. Next will come the registration but I sure wouldn’t mind winning the “She Speaks” scholarship.

I leave everything in God’s hands…the money for this conference, the opportunities that are before me, the book I am writing and the chance to work on a relationship that has been in desperate need of it.

I feel like “She Speaks” is going to do something incredible in my life and I am so excited. It fits in so well with the teachings of my church, to live the DREAM, the Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship, Relationships Devoted to Unity, Empowered through Biblical Training, Active Ministry Involvement and our Mission to Reach the World for Christ.