She Speaks Conference

Dancing in the desert has become my new motto in life over the last year. My husband lost his job January 20, 2009. My husband was one of hundreds who lost his job on Jan. 20th with the election. Having been a Bush appointee, we knew it was coming, we knew he would need a new job. It was not for a lack of trying. He had been working on lining up something about 6 months before the infamous day arrived. The economy had gone in a downward spiral and instead of having the luxury of having his pick of jobs as one might imagine after leaving a Presidential appointed position, companies were laying off people right and left and were no longer hiring.

As a mother to 3 beautiful princesses, it became my job to ration milk, to not waste any leftovers, to make every dollar go as far as possible. I remember very clearly one February day, saying to my husband, "I just need to get some milk and bread for the girls to make their lunches." That afternoon, when I went to pick up my kids from school, I was handed an envelope. That envelope contained a gift card to a local grocery store. That day marked a journey that we have continued to be on...one of trusting God.

Over the last year, I have kept a "blessing journal," writing down EVERY blessing God has provided for our family. This includes if someone buys my coffee at Starbucks, to free furniture, to doctors writing off bills that we no longer were going to have to pay. My job as wife became to help lead our family into a faith journey of dancing in the desert. We are still in our desert, but I can dance every day knowing that I serve a living God who is taking care of my family. I don't worry about providing milk for my girls. I know and have seen God provide. I keep this blessing journal as my "Ebenezer" as those stones of remembrance the Bible talks about. Periodically, we read thru the pages to our daughters just as the Bible says to pass them on to your children. I pray that our girls will know the tangible ways that God is taking care of them and us as a family.

My husband and I have been incredibly involved at our church as Marriage Mentors. I am weekly interacting with women that are sharing their struggles in their marriages. Because of today's economy there is a unique strain on marriages that our generation has never known. I believe God is calling me to share hope and encouragement of how to walk as Godly women during these desert moments. You see your desert may look different than my desert, but we all face desert moments. I have been approached about writing a book, sharing our "story". I am taking this one step at a time. I would love the opportunity to write a book as well as doing public speaking sharing hope and encouragement during this very difficult economic time. Just this week I saw this article in the Washington Post- http://bit.ly/aBz4Z1. This is not a problem that will end this year. I personally am encountering men and women who are writing ready to call it quits!

Why She Speaks: http://www.shespeaksconference.com/? I first learned about She Speaks about 4 weeks ago. Shortly after that, I had another friend mention She Speaks. Obviously, if I am having trouble buying my kids milk, I can't afford to pay to attend a conference http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2010/03/she-speaks-scholarship-contest.html. However, that does not mean I don't desire to attend this conference. It looks amazing! I would LOVE the opportunity to have the skills and knowledge poured into me so that I could do pursue writing and speaking with excellence. Just as my husband had a job interview today. I do not go to bed tonight with an anxious heart wondering if this is it! I KNOW God has a plan for me, His child. I trust He has a GREAT plan. He WILL give our family a job above and beyond anything we can ask or think. Just as I have that faith about the job interview today. I have that same faith that if God desires me to attend the She Speaks conference this year at this time, it will happen. If this is not the perfect timing, I will stay connected, I will pursue gleaning what I can from these wonderful ladies online and I will have a content heart. I WILL choose to Dance in the Desert Always!