She Speaks . . . To Me!

Have you ever used the phrase, "It just speaks to me!"? Whether it's a gorgeous fabric that suits your personality and would be perfect for your den "mistreatments," a book that a friend has loaned you that had the perfect message for you at this moment in your life, or a blog whose author seems like a best friend although you've never met her, we all have experiences that simply "speak to us." Here is one of mine.

Lysa TerKeurst announced on her blog this week that she is hosting a contest for a scholarship to a conference sponsored by her ministry Proverbs 31. And the name of this contest? Why, She Speaks, of course. Geared for those women interested in sharing God's story in their lives, it has three tracks: one for Women's Ministry leaders, one for speakers, and one for writers, including bloggers.

As I read over the descriptions of each track, the first question under the Speaker's track jumped out at me: "Do you hunger for the Word of God and long to teach it with authority and excellence?". This question spoke to me, and I felt my spirit rising up to shout, "Yes!" God has been awakening in me a longing for his Word over the past year or so, leading me to take part in Bible studies, lead a Bible study, and create a weekly meme called "Thirstin' for the Word Thursday" on my blog (You can see some of the posts by clicking on the link in my sidebar).

With my foray into the blogosphere, I was thrilled to see that there are sessions that feature such bloggers as Melanie from Big Mama, Sophie from BooMama, the Nester (Do you think we could convince her to do a session on her famous "mistreatments"?), and her sister Emily from Chatting at the Sky. Each of these bloggers has spoken to me through their posts, and it would be an awesome opportunity to receive their advice on blogging face-to-face. I would love to learn ways to increase my readership so that more and more people could be encouraged to share their encounters with God's and His Word.

In addition to seeing the sessions for speakers and bloggers, I was also excited to see sessions for writers. I have always loved reading and writing, and from the time I was a child, I have had the conviction that someday I will write a book. I have the idea for a book related to my decision to homeschool percolating in my head (and I even have the title). These session descriptions have inspired me to continue to brew this idea and filter it into a book proposal.

The Women's Ministry track also spoke to me because last year I helped to plan a women's retreat for our church. You can read more about that retreat here and here (pre-retreat) and here (post-retreat). I even developed one of my Thirstin' for the Word blog posts into a session that I led at that retreat. In fact, I suppose that this session was my first speaking gig!

With these three different tracks and my varying interests, how could I choose which track to take? I shouldn't have worried; although an attendee signs up for a particular track, she will be able to choose from sessions from all the tracks.

The description of this conference really did speak to me. It was a voice confirming God's call to me to share what He has done and continues to do in my life. It was an exclamation encouraging me to hone my skills to better serve His glory. I can only imagine what attending the conference in person would have to say to me.

So, does She Speaks . . . to you? If so, find all the information at the conference website.