He Speaks through She Speaks

"She Speaks is a life-changing conference for women of every generation seeking to explore the tug on her heart to reach out to the world for Jesus. Through She Speaks, Proverbs 31 Ministries encourages and equips women who are called by God to share our mission to bring God’s peace, perspective and purpose to today’s busy woman. Sharing God’s truth with love is not only a holy calling but a remarkable responsibility. We believe by equipping women to become more effective at sharing the Word of God, we multiply our efforts to reach a hurting world with the life-transforming hope of Jesus."

(http://www.shespeaksconference.com/conferenceInfo.htm)

This week Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 is giving away 3 Cecil Murphy Scholarships which will allow 3 ladies the opportunity of a lifetime to attend She Speaks. The value of this scholarship is $575 which includes conference materials, conference registration, 2 nights at the conference hotel and meals associated with the conference. Isn't that amazing!?!?!

I've heard from several of my friends how wonderful the experience of attending She Speaks is and I look forward to being able to experience it for myself. I am trusting God to prepare the way ahead of me if He sees fit for me to attend this year.

Without further adieu, my entry for the Cecil Murphy Schloraship Giveaway...

Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a handsome young prince. The handsome young prince lived with his father and mother in a beautiful castle atop a wide open field of lush green grass. Over the way there lived a fair young maiden who spent the days filling her mind with lovely stories from the many books that lined her library shelves.

Then one day, as fate would have it, the handsome young prince and the fair young maiden met at the ball of a neighboring countryman. Soon they found themselves head-over-heels in love and not long after were married.

The handsome young prince and his now lovely princess-bride built a castle of their own, filled it with the finest of things, had a rather large family, and lived happily ever after.

Can you relate to this fairy tale of a story? Me either! Well, maybe just a little. My husband IS a very handsome man, my knight in shining armor, in fact. But, that’s about as far as my fairy tale goes.

Living “happily ever after” was not even a thought in our minds during the first years of our marriage. Our honeymoon was over before it even began. My husband and I both brought a lot of junk into our marriage. I had suitcases filled with shame and guilt, bitterness and hatred. I was lonely and depressed searching desperately for someone to fill the hole in my heart. My husband had his own set of baggage as well. He was carrying wounds from his parents’ divorce and had chosen to deal with those wounds by drowning himself in alcohol each night. He too, was lonely and looking for someone to fill those empty places in his heart. So here we were, two messed up people who had no business saying “I do”.

Fate would have nothing to do with the miracle that would later take place in our marriage and lives. That miracle can only be attributed to the mighty power of the hand of God moving and working in and through us. God Almighty took two extremely messed up people, filled their empty hearts with Himself and then filled them up with a love for each other that can only come from Him.

God has given me more opportunities than I could have ever imagined to serve Him and various women's groups through one-on-one mentoring, women's conferences and retreats, group Bible studies, and different writing venues sharing our story of redemption and restoration. I have cherished each and every one of these moments of service. My heart’s desire is to serve with excellence all those He places in my life, whether it be through writing or speaking, I want to glorify Him in ALL that I do. Attending She Speaks would present me with the opportunity to learn and grow more in the ministry God has called me to.

My heart’s desire and life’s passion is to first and foremost seek after Him in all things. This journey that He’s got me on is more than I ever dreamed possible. I want to share with all those He places in my path His unconditional love, never-ending patience, abundant mercy, overflowing grace, and magnificent healing. For it is only By His Grace that I am what I am today.