Growing

I’ve been writing a series on calling on my personal blog, so I invite you over.  Click here.  This week’s is on the work of a calling, so this post is a tie-in.

I keep rolling Ann Voskamp’s She Speaks message around in my mind.  In one part of the talk, she began to talk about how we become successful, and she gave some wonderful stats.  It turns out that a genius IQ or being a childhood prodigy is not a marker of becoming a life-time master of a subject or discipline.  The main marker is hours of practice or work.

That comforts me for I’m neither a genius or a prodigy.  I admit that I’ve listened to Beth Moore, Kay Arthur or many of the speakers on our team and thought, “Maybe I just don’t have IT.”

But since work turns out to be “IT”, I can do that.  I may never achieve the same success as the world sees it, but if I join with God, I can become fully what He’s called me to be.  What will that look like?

I believe it looks like continuous growth.

Growth requires goals and plans.  (Just take a gander at Proverbs.  It’s written all over.)  So today I don’t want to hog the page.  I’d love for you to share.  What are your goals and plans for growth this year as a speaker? Leaving a comment and sharing will enter you into a contest for a free copy of Communicating for a Change!

I’ll start us off…My goal this year is to have my messages increasingly memorized.  I’m planning to use a new method for my notes called brain mapping.  (I promise I’ll share what I’m learning about brain mapping after I’ve actually tried it!)

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22 Comments

  1. shelly harp says:

    I stumbled across this website/blog and became very intrigued! I have been teaching women the Word since I was born-again @ 22 yrs old (just turned the big 40!), in a variety of forums. It has only been the last 6 years that the Lord has expanded our ministry to retreats/conferences and the occasional teaching from the pulpit.@ local and area churches. I have never promoted myself, mainly because of fear (not wanting to appear arrogant or prideful), and also just not sure how! Just feeling a nudging from the Lord that He is ready to move me to the “next step”. Any advice is grateful welcomed!

  2. My goal is to tell my story and use it for God’s glory. There is something from my past that God wants to use… to help hurting and broken women. But you see, to do that openly I must tell my parents of my hidden secret. I know that God wants this out in the light and it cannot be hidden for me to take that next step into His calling. Please pray that God will give me the courage, wisdom and discernment to tell them in His time, with His Words. Pray for them to receive it, seeing and believing how Great is our God, and that He delivered me. Psalm 40:1-3 is my testimony. Praise be to God!

    1. Janice, After my first She Speaks, I knew God was asking me to be willing to share my story of sexual abuse. My parents knew about it, but there was something else they needed to know. I argued with God a long time. That subject had been taboo in our family for more than 20 years and bringing it up was HARD! I’m praying this morning for you and your parents, as you tell and they hear your story.

  3. My goal is just to do more of it. Do the work and get in those main hours of practice.

  4. I am so thankful you are addressing “The Call” on this blog as well as your personal blog. I think that is the essence of why we do what we do – God has CALLED us to reach a particular person or persons with a message that only He can deliver to their heart. We are but the vessel from which His grace and love pours out. Wow! When I realized that, it set me free! My job is to be the best I can be in my delivery, but, first and foremost, I must learn to sit before Him and listen. That’s the hard part, isn’t it? Being still and listening. But, for me, I have learned that this is crucial to my delivery.

    Goals for this fall: Get my speaker packet together 🙂

    Thanks again for these blog posts…so helpful.

    Sweet blessings to you!
    Nan Jones

  5. Sandra Plate says:

    Baby steps. One at a time. Start with basics like obtaining prayer warriors, a tagline, mission statement, and bio-sheet. Picking times during the week that are reserved for working on these items only. Baby steps.

    1. Baby steps are great! Any step done in obedience is a step in the right direction. Go, girl, go!!

  6. My goal is for my words to be encouraging. Whether at home, work, the grocery store, a speaking engagement, or my blog I want to be conscientious of how I use my words. I also want to fully develop two messages and work on memorizing them.

    P.S. Girl you totally have ‘IT”! I was in one of your break-out sessions at She Speaks and I was so encouraged. You’ve definitely got “IT”! And I mean it, I really do!

    1. Encouraging words sets a high bar. (And thank you for your sweet words!)

  7. Joy Rushing says:

    One hour. Just one hour a day for the next 30 days is what I am committing to pour into my craft. One hour is a small amount of time, yet it’s a huge amount of time. Like many of you, my daily hours are precious and packed. Life as a working, single-again mother of two leaves little extra time, especially for something “extra” like the dream to write and speak. But, that is my goal, my next step. One hour. One important, valuable hour each day dedicated to the pursuit of this calling is my plan for growth this month.

    1. That’s a fabulous, very concrete goal. I can’t wait to hear what you accomplish with that commitment!

  8. I have recently experienced my first speaking event and absolutely loved it. Now I am just beginning to explore what that might mean in my future. Part of that exploration led me to you and the She Speaks organization. Thank you for this input – my goal is to listen well to God and ask Him for direction, then follow through. It’s the follow-through that can get lost in my busy, demanding life. Stillness, silence. That too is a goal.

  9. “Growth requires goals and plans. ” Goals & Plans for this year consist of becoming more diligent and disciplined in doing the work to prepare and get my feet wet by actually getting out there to speak! After SheSpeaks, my eyes were opened to see how I could use my writing and eventually speaking to minister to others and actually pursue. For me the biggest thing holding myself back is myself. I have goals, but I don’t always have the plans in place b/c I feel like if it’s not going to be 100%/perfect than I need to wait until it is just that. My goals and plans are to start taking the steps to get going.

  10. Regina Marshall says:

    Thanks for sharing that Amy, it was just what I needed to here. I was just talking with a friend last night, and she asked me how come I gave up looking for a job in the medical industry, I told her that I felt God was calling me to do something else, so then she said why haven’t I been pursuing what He’s called me to do? What it all comes down to is I’m not working toward doing it. I am teaching from time to time at our women’s bible studies, and I’ve helped to write bible study curriculum, but when it comes to writing and speaking on my own outside of church I haven’t tried working on that at all. Your email today encouraged me to start working thank you! I need to be in the Word more and be more disciplined to seeking after what the Lord has for me.

  11. Setting goals is difficult for me. I have lived most of my life (half a century at least!) “rolling with the punches.” But I would like to become an effective speaker and writer, which will not happen without diligent adherence to a strategy. So I plan to make writing a priority, asking GOD to help me be more disciplined.

    1. You’ve taken some great steps and worked hard to get that message finished. Talk to you Thursday!!

  12. My goals right now are to complete my book in the next year, read “The Reason We Speak” and “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God” and other inspirational books to keep me motivated/encouraged, keep building my platform and seek out speaking opportunities. I plan to implement what I learned at She Speaks, like videotaping myself and memorizing my message(s), and perhaps I’ll join Toastmasters to hone my public speaking skills. Mainly, I’m going to be spending a lot of time on my knees growing closer to Jesus and letting Him direct my path, whatever that might entail. I’m excited!

  13. In the next 12 months I plan to improve my speaking by implementing the things I learned at She Speaks, and also by reading a couple of suggested books like Andy Stanley’s. As a result of my improved abilities, I hope that increases my confidence, allowing me to market myself without feeling insecure about it.

  14. Jackie Dummer says:

    My goal this year is to be encouraged by other women’s ministry speakers, not intimidated by them. I plan to share my writings with friends and mentors to help me get over my insecurities and fear of rejection–and hopefully begin subimtting works for possible publication.

  15. Karen Clowe says:

    My goal is to be better prepared to give a ready answer for the hope that is within me. When moms ask me for advice about raising children, tough circumstances, etc. Not that I have or will ever have all the answers. I want to exude Christ.

  16. I am working on outlining my talks and memorizing them … looking forward to hearing more about brain mapping.