Posts Tagged ‘She Seeks’

She Speaks Scholarship Giveaway

Friday, April 1st, 2011

She Speaks

I receive emails all the time from women of all ages who want to write and speak but have no clue how to get started. While I’m happy to help women of any age, I have a special place in my heart for the 20-something woman who feels this tug and desire.

At the age of nineteen I sat down at my laptop, alone in my dorm room, and tapped out the following words thinking I was just writing a journal entry:

In a busy, noisy world, a little girl walks onto a dark stage and begins to perform. She wears her pink princess costume with pride.

Will you love me? her actions ask. Will you hold me; will you keep me close to your heart forever?

The pain in her eyes screams at you. And with graceful pirouettes across the stage, she beckons you to choose her, to set her apart from the other performers, and to call her beloved.

She has wounds buried so deeply beneath her costume that she has almost forgotten they are there. But the laughter of her audiences echoes through her mind as she thinks of all the times she has tried and failed.

All she has ever wanted is acceptance, but she has never found it—at least not for long…

She has been missing the Divine Dance because she has been too busy dancing for men and princes to notice the king.

When I finished that night I had no idea God was beginning the process of calling me to write and speak for His glory. Over the course of the next year He took me on a journey that led me (butterflies in my stomach and all) to a writer’s conference where I sat before editors and agents and tried to figure out if the dream God placed in my heart was just my imagination. 

Turns out, it wasn’t. At the age of twenty, a real-life publisher offered me my very first book contract and God and I were off on an exciting adventure I could have never imagined. It’s been a whirlwind ever since.

In all of the conferences I‘ve been to since, one of my absolute favorites is the Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks Conference in Concord, NC. If you sense God beginning to tug on your heart and lead you in the direction of writing or speaking for Him, then you MUST attend this conference.

And, as a special treat, I want to let you know that the She Seeks division of Proverbs 31 is giving away a scholarship to one lucky 20-something woman who is willing to step out in faith and enter their contest. You can learn more about that here.

For those of you of any age who want to attend She Speaks you can head over to She Reads and read about they contest they are hosting here.

My story attests to the fact that God doesn’t look at us and see age. Instead, He looks for willingness, faithfulness and availability. Be willing to follow God down the path He is leading you on no matter how crazy it seems.

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Posted in Contests, Shannon Recommends, She Seeks, Writing | 8 Comments »

She Seeks: An Interview with My Friend Krystal

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Kris and Shannon.jpegThis is Krystal (this picture is circa 2006 in case you were wondering why my hair is blonde). We’ve been friends since 1987 when we met in a Sunday School class at a small church neither of our families stayed at for long. Sometimes I think God led us all there just so Krystal and I could be friends.

Together we survived acne, high school and a road trip on which one of the girls traveling with us insisted on sleeping on a pool raft (I should blog about that some time). 

In 2005 she stood beside me when I got married and I was there to witness her nuptials a mere year later. Our conversations over the years have progressed from Barbies to boys to which of us is going to have kids first. She’s the closest thing I have to a sister and I love her like family. Even though we live two hours apart we get together once a quarter at our favorite Mexican place (where we both always order the cheese enchilada special) and catch up.

Yesterday was our summer lunch date and since I knew I had a vlog post for She Seeks due today I thought I’d change things up a bit and interview Krystal instead of talking to you myself (you already have 20 minutes of video of me this week–that’s enough, right?). The topic this week at She Seeks is not feeling like you are enough–pretty enough, smart enough, good enough…you name it.

Krystal has an interesting story from high school about a time other girls made her feel like she wasn’t enough. Now, more than a decade later she works as a school counselor with junior high and high school students and she uses her story to encourage others.

Today, she’s using that story to encourage you. So head on over to She Seeks and watch what she has to say. Then leave a comment for her over there to let her (and me) know you stopped by.

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Posted in Friendship, She Seeks | 1 Comment »

She Seeks: What Does the Bible Really Mean?

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

iStock_000008962604XSmall

When I was fifteen years old I thought God told me who I was going to marry. I could even quote a Bible verse explaining my reasoning. It’s embarrassing to type that now, but back then I was convinced that God used a Bible verse to tell me I was going to marry one of my guy friends.

Imagine my devastation when he married someone else. I was shocked. By then I was well over the guy but I couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around one thing: God lied to me, or so I thought. I read the verse and re-read it. I knew what it said. But I didn’t know what it meant — or what the original author intended for it to mean, anyway.

To read the rest of this post come visit me over at She Seeks.

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Posted in God, Life Lessons, She Seeks | No Comments »

The She Seeks SPEAK UP Challenge

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

African children

Today I’m vlogging over at She Seeks about something very near and dear to my heart: speaking up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.

Please follow this link and watch my vlog and consider participating in the challenge and speaking up for those who have no voice.

Today your comments (over at She Seeks not here!) can be converted into cash that will be donated to Compassion International’s Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. You don’t have to give any money, you just have to tell someone else about what Compassion is doing. To learn how click here.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
       for the rights of all who are destitute.

  Speak up and judge fairly;
       defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

-Proverbs 31:8-9

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Posted in Compassion, She Seeks | 1 Comment »

She Seeks: Keep the Change

Monday, January 11th, 2010

moneygirl

Growing up, I was a words person. Numbers didn’t really exist in my world. At the age of sixteen when I got my first job, and my first bank account, I managed to bounce a few checks as the result of living in a numberless world. When I went off to college I stopped bouncing checks, but I still didn’t balance or reconcile my checkbook. I simply remembered to look at my bank statement online before making major purchases. Sound familiar?

By the time I was in my mid-twenties, my dad had done an excellent job at drilling the dangers of debt into my head. I didn’t have a credit card until I was out of college, and even then I carried a zero balance. So I entered adult life debt free, and intended to stay that way. However, I didn’t have a game plan for doing so. With meager savings, a modest income, no budget and expensive taste I was quickly headed for trouble…

To read the rest of this story visit the She Seeks website. Derek, a 25-year-old-finanical coach, will also be available all week to field YOUR questions about money.

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Posted in My Life, Shannon Recommends, She Seeks | 3 Comments »

Gobble, Gobble and the Family Drama

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

I know I’ve linked up to some of my articles from She Seeks before, but I’m not sure if I mentioned that I’ve officially been invited to be part of the She Seeks team. It’s a huge honor and I’m thrilled to be working with all of these great women.

Every six weeks or so I’ll write a new post for them, and in the meantime I get to do video check-ins on other people’s posts.

This week the fabulous Sarah Martin wrote about surviving family drama at the holidays (who can’t relate to that?!) and today I’m checking in via video to talk about it. So pop on over and wish me a Happy Turkey Day over there.

Read Sarah’s post here. Then watch me talk about my own family drama.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Posted in She Seeks | No Comments »

She Seeks: What if I Don’t Believe Anymore?

Monday, November 16th, 2009

SadnessI stood next to the others with my head bowed low. No, I wasn’t praying. I was refusing to look up at the people worshiping with their hands lifted high. A few had tears streaming down their faces. Their gratitude was immeasurable, their adoration sincere.

Me? I was angry at God for not coming through in my darkest hour. I was questioning His authority in light of the desperate circumstances surrounding my life. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if there even was a God on the other side of my prayers.

This season of doubt came not before I was a Christian, but after I had walked with God for years and had even been serving in vocational ministry.

I sobbed into the carpet in the privacy of my bedroom. I beat my fist against tables demanding answers. In a way, I did whatever I could to provoke a response from the silent God. I was convinced I was the only one left in the relationship He and I used to have…

(To read the rest of this post click on over to She Seeks where I’m the featured writer for the week.)

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Posted in Doubt, She Seeks | 2 Comments »

Salon Blonde Christianity

Monday, September 7th, 2009

salonblonde

Two years ago I made a life altering decision. I changed my hair color. A natural brunette, I spent thirteen years dying my hair blonde before I decided I wanted a change. Without discussing it with anyone else I waltzed into the hair salon with a photo of Kate Walsh and asked my hairstylist, Liz, to make me a redhead. She studied the picture, blinked twice and jumped in. I left the salon looking—and feeling—like a new person.

 The reaction was mixed. Some people loved my red hair. A few hated it. Most had a hard time adjusting. It was just so different. I went from being the status quo, Southern California, blonde to being a vibrant redhead. That was unsettling to those who only knew me as a blonde.

It wasn’t long before I realized people have similar perceptions about faith… 

To read the rest of this post, visit me over at the She Seeks website. I’ll be guest blogging over there every now and then. It’s a great site aimed at Christian women between the ages of 19-29. You’ll love it.

And, rumor has it, if you come visit me this week you can enter a contest to win some very fun prizes! So, stop by and leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Posted in God, Life Lessons | 2 Comments »