Behind the Scenes
My writing might seem to have come to a pause, but there is a lot of writing going on behind the scenes.
When I made Still Waters Writings official, I prayed for God to open doors and told Him I would be faithful to follow. Since then, He has provided three different speaking opportunities. Psalm 66:19, "But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.”
At the beginning of March, the opportunity somewhat fell in my lap to share the devotion at the Alabama and Georgia Veterinary Medical Association conference. They weren’t sure if their speaker would be able to make it, so my husband suggested that I could share. And so I took the opportunity to remind them that, although much of the world might identify them as veterinarians, their true identity and calling are found in Christ.
At the end of March, our school needed a local speaker during our religious emphasis week. God had already put it on my heart to share with our students the difference in trying to earn our way to Heaven through the law, being lukewarm, and being trapped in sin. While many of us have found ourselves in one of those places, the only way to Heaven is through surrendering our lives to Christ, the one who accomplished everything we couldn’t. There was an awesome response by the students to this message, and all I can say is, “Thank you, God!” I pray students sincerely chose Him and worshipped Him that day.
Finally, the senior students have asked me to speak at their baccalaureate service on May 3rd. Wow… I feel so honored that they would ask me. Please pray for God to speak through me to give them a message to remember throughout their lives.
Some of you might be wondering something I have thought myself… What qualifies her to speak or write?
And it’s true. I haven’t been to Bible college. I am not qualified. But I do feel called. I believe God has given me talents, and I feel led to share them for His glory. My talents are very public. Writing and teaching are meant to be shared publicly.
But what about you? What talents has God given you? Are you using them for Him? If you don’t feel qualified, then just remember that many of the people he called in the Bible weren’t qualified either.
God might have blessed you with an amazing gift of cooking, like my sweet friend Wendy, who is faithful to cook for her church family members who might be going through hard times or recovering from sickness. Maybe he has blessed you with leadership skills that would be an asset to a ministry within your church. Prayer warriors can use their gift, even if it is within the seclusion of their closet. Whatever way God has blessed you, it can be used for Him. It should be used for Him. Because He is worthy of it, and it will be a blessing to you in return.
It took me a while to find my way to sharing Him through the gifts He gave me. And I now realize sharing my gifts isn’t boasting on myself but on Him. Without Him, I could do nothing. But if he opens the door for me to do something, I want to walk through it.
Is there an open door waiting for you to cross the threshold? Don’t hesitate. Take the step. The success waiting on the other side lies within His strength, not yours. But what an honor to get to be used by him.
I am excited to share in my next newsletter one of the main avenues of writing that has been going on behind the scenes! I will be announcing something extremely exciting to me later this month, and I would love to share it with you! If you have not yet joined my monthly newsletter, feel free to tag along using the link below. If you are already following along, be on the lookout for an update soon!
https://stillwaterswritings.kit.com/5149215172
I pray for God’s blessing over everyone reading this update. May God bless you with Still Waters.
Love,
JulieAnna
