She Speaks 2012 ... God Spoke Loudly

Hello everyone!

It has taken me a little over a week being at home to absorb how life-changing the She Speaks Conference 2012 was for me. I am so happy that I can share my thoughts with you.

I really have ignored God's calling on my life. Yes. I freely admit it. I turned a deaf ear to my Lord. I allowed the enemy to get inside my head, telling me that no one really cares what I have to say. And I bought into his lies. ICK! You see, Satan knows what buttons to push with me. I battled clinical depression since I was a little girl (thankfully, I have been in recovery for years and am doing REALLY well), but I still sometimes give in to that negativity that he peppers over my thoughts. So I left my writing and speaking alone for years. And you know what? I have felt a huge void for the past five years - until the last year or so. My sweet Lord lit that fire in my belly again to write and to speak, and He made She Speaks happen for me. I married a wonderful man who supports my writing, so off I went to Charlotte! My man and my stepson even came with me for moral support - love those boys! :-)

I met some of the most AMAZING ladies that weekend, and I would like to introduce some of them to you:

I see Nicole, Michelle, Beth, Dawn and me!! Oh my goodness, I sound like Miss Sally from Romper Room (I have totally dated myself with that comment, but for those of y'all in your forties, you know what I mean!). Kelly, MaryBeth and Britta were not in this shot, but I want you all to know their names, too. Special, special ladies!

I feel like I have known these girls my whole life, and the Lord knew that I needed to meet them. We all spent Thursday evening, all day Friday and Saturday and Sunday morning laughing, crying, worshipping and learning. God is so very good! He knew that I needed encouragement, and He gave that to me through these friends and the Proverbs 31 Ministries family.

I have not had a chance to look through the pages and pages of notes and information I learned about blogging, creating blog sites, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, agents, book proposals, etc., but I feel the Lord working and moving within me. The excitement I feel to serve Him through writing, speaking and blogging is INCREDIBLE! I do not feel overwhelmed - I feel overjoyed!

Thanks for allowing me to slowly unpack my thoughts to you. For now, it's bedtime! Blessings on each one of you. Nighty-Night!

Blessings,

Lara <><

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." --Hebrews 4:12

Under Construction

Hello there!!

Thank you to all of you who are visiting my new little home in the blogosphere! I hope you will sit down for a spell, have a cool glass of sweet tea and kick your shoes off. :-)

Before the She Speaks Conference last weekend (the most INCREDIBLE writers and speakers conference EVER!!), I registered this site with Blogger. That is ALL I did! My apologies to all of you who stopped by from She Speaks and saw a dustbowl of nothingness on my blog. I promise that will change from this day forward - GUARANTEED!

I titled this post "Under Construction," and it made me think of how we are all under construction, too. We all long to be constructed in God's wonderful image each day, and, thankfully, when we accept Christ as the Lord of our lives, He promises to be with us each day, molding and shaping us into His image. What an awesome God we serve! Hallelujah!

This blog will be changing its look really soon because I am going to be working with Jami Leigh of Fount of Inspiration. She is a gifted designer of blogs, websites and e-books, but, most importantly, she loves the Lord! I cannot wait to see what she does, so stay tuned!!

See you all SOON!!

Blessings,
Lara <><