Asking for More

After having attended She Speaks in 2008 on a Women's Leadership track, I came home equipped with encouragement and resources for future assignments that were, at that time, still undisclosed by the Lord. Since then, He has opened up doors for ministry using the lessons learned at the conference.

Now I am asking Him for a scholarship to go to She Speaks again. God knows how much I have used what I brought home from the last time, and how I need to GROW in wisdom for the next phase of His work. He also KNOWS how I long to embrace some of my cyber-girlfriends who will be there. :)

A little over a year ago, I took on a new role as (I hesitated at the title..) Head Deaconess. What is that? The list of "duties" of the Head Deaconess didn't really appeal to me. They included visiting the hospitalized, assisting with communion elements, and baptisms, and prayer.

Though those things are important to me and I don't mind helping or doing them, that is not where my passion is for ministry. My heart is more in building, mentoring, and discipling women. I told Pastor this, and he said, "Well, we need that too! Would you be willing to take the position and add your heart to the ministry?"

I mentioned to him my aversion to the title "Deaconess", which sounded obsolete to me, and he suggested I put in a request to change it. So...I'm still working on that one, but my experience over the course of the year has been rewarding and fruitful! I attribute that to much prayer, the lessons learned in 2008, and the reading and listening I have done since returning.

Through my previous She Speaks experience, I learned to start with a mission statement, recruit to the vision rather than "duties", assess the needs of our women and set out prayerfully to meet them. By the grace of God, these things have been happening, and our women are growing in passion and community.

Besides the Deaconess ministry, I have had a few opportunities to speak to women, and would love to grow in God's grace to give effective messages, and to gain confidence. I've been helped by listening over and over to the CD of Micca Campbell's message "Capturing The Heart Of Your Audience" from 2008, and the recommended book by Andy Stanley, "Communicating For A Change". 

So I am at a point where I feel like I need more. More encouragement, and fresh vision. I am excited that there will be workshops for event planning too since that is something we are working on and I have a dream to do in our small-town, up-North neck-of-the-woods.

So, here I am Lord (asking), send me!
Thank you Renee Swope, for this opportunity!