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Multi-Tasking Queen?

This post is part of Lysa TerKeurst’s “The Best Yes” Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers.  To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE.

Overwhelmed?
Typically It takes a lot to overwhelm me.
By nature I am a multi-tasking queen!
I am continually doing two, three things at once and often get frustrated when others around me cannot multi-task. I start in the morning and continue throughout the day.

I brush my teeth and curl my hair.

Talk on the phone and drive to work.

Drink a cup of coffee and check my email.

Cook dinner and plan the next day’s breakfast.

Watch TV and read a book.

Buy groceries and plan a meeting over the phone.

One year a good friend bought me the same ornament I bought her (unknowingly)...

This ornament was part of Hallmark's Queen of Multi-tasking collection, so I am convinced that I am not in this alone!

Honestly, I even like that I can juggle effectively and efficiently all that I put on my plate.
Or can I?
Others see when I am overwhelmed before I do.
My husband warns me.
My children run from me.
My friends try to love me.

One thing I have learned from painful experience is that when my relationship with Jesus is distanced I am overwhelmed easily.

When I choose to put other things in front of and in place of my time with Jesus I am overwhelmed and pushed to the brink of emotional disaster.

That's why Lysa TerKeurst's new book, The Best Yes, called my name when I read this one powerful statement from Chapter 3:

So I had to get the book...it became a must read on my list!

And now I am gleaning a wealth of treasured truth to keep me focused on overwhelming my soul with the desires of my Savior! Furthermore, Lysa's book is full of tools that assist me when making choices. Tools that are guiding me to THE BEST YES in all I consider adding to my schedule. With each chapter of the book I have been able to immediately learn and apply what I have read to the decision-making dilemmas of that very day! The result has been peace and a confident reassurance that when I keep my heart and mind focused on the glory of my first love, Jesus, all my yes's and no's will be for His ultimate glory!

So whether you are wondering if you have time to

add a bible study to your schedule,

help a friend in need,

take a mission trip to Uganda

or just wondering if you should have a neighbor over for dinner...The Best Yes is for you!

If you are a woman who lives with the stress of a overwhelmed schedule and the ache of an underwhelmed soul...The Best Yes is for you!

Even if you are a woman who just can't decide whether to have fish or chicken, wear pink or purple, this is a good read for you! So go grab Lysa's book and then send your friends and family a memo something like this one:

They will thank you later because you will be one well-rested, unrushed girl with an amazing ability to leap tall towers (oops, no-no! not Wonder Women...get the book and you'll understand!).

You will be one unrushed girl making Best Yes choices, able to remember that our choices today affect our lives tomorrow and God desires for us to do whatever we do for His glory! (1Cor. 10:31)

Faithfully Following the One whose faithfulness is great~ Jodie

She Speaks - Shut up!

It has been about a week and a half since Jodie and I returned from She Speaks and I am still finding it difficult to put into words all that God taught me there. For me, there were times of laughter, times of tears, and times of growth. It was a combination of pure joy and pure discipline - both provided by a loving Father who wants only the best for me.

I went to She Speaks with all intentions of it being about learning how to grow and do the ministry of Faithfully Following (and Faithfully Fit) but I came away with so much more. Now for those of you who supported us, thank you, and please know that God taught me a lot about how to minister to others. But He did it in a way I did not expect. He reminded me over and over again that in order to effectively minister to those around me...that I must believe in me...that I must trust Him to do a work in me that I can then share with you. He reminded me that I have a story to tell and that He loves me...because I am me!

See, I don't have a tragic life story to tell you. I am a "good church girl" - if you will - and Satan wants me to think that my story is not important. But, I stand redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I am made whole through Him. And God taught me at She Speaks that if I am not me, then I rob the world from seeing the unique piece of God's glory that is found in me. For God tells me in His word (and He tells you too!) that:

I am His Beloved.

Jeremiah 31:3

I am a Child of God

1 John 3:1

I am Heaven's Poetry

Ephesians 2:10

I am Forgiven

 1 Peter 2:24

I am whole in Christ

Colossians 2:10

I am Never Alone

Deuteronomy 31:8

I am an Exquisite Fragrance

2 Corinthians 2:15

I am Free

Galatians 5:1

(shared with permission from Proverbs 31 Ministries)

So, God speaks to me saying...

Shut-up. 

Shut-up the voice of Satan in your mind and heart for he has already been defeated.

 Shut -up what the world will say that you are...and follow the Truth..found only through Me.

Shut-up those who say you don't have a testimony because you do - without a tragedy but with the same amount of victory!! 

Shut- up negative thoughts about yourself - do not beat yourself up about what you are not...bring what you are!!!

So,  now She Speaks.....Shut-up! And bring it!

~Donna

Interwoven By Prayer!

Interwoven.
It's a word that came to me a few days ago as I prayed for women that I have met once and likely will only meet again by chance. But we are interwoven.
Interwoven by a great God who created us all.
Interwoven by a like desire to share Christ with others through our written and spoken words.
And now, interwoven by my prayers.

While I continued to organize all the information that I recently received at Proverbs 31 Ministries She Speaks conference I prayed over the ladies I was able to share time and stories. Stories of ministries, families, hopes and desires. I had a heart felt desire to stay connected in some way and then I remembered my prayers for them are our connection. And greater than our connection to one another, they are the link that then tie us to God. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 9 Paul states, "For God as my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers". Paul was not always able to be near those he lifted in his prayers, but he was always able to pray. While traveling, while imprisoned, while out spreading the truth of Jesus He was able to pray. He often mentioned this and often asked for the prayers of others.
Interwoven!
We are interwoven by a common Creator.
We are interwoven by a uniform heart's desire.
We are interwoven by whispered prayers.

Today I will be placing all the cards of those I met at She speaks in a woven gift. It's a handcrafted bag created by an adult orphan raised in Myanmar who works in a loom house. The bright blue work of art was given to me by a sister named Stephanie who I now lift in prayer. I lift her up because she works in an environment where people ridicule her for praying with people. Interwoven!
Today I pray for a sweet Faithfully Fit sister who lives 6 hours away, up a mountain that I only get to travel to once a year at best. She created the jewelry pictured above and prays over each piece as she handcrafts them with wire and beads. Interwoven!
Last night as I turned through pages of a prayer journal, penned a prayer for my college bound son, I saw the names of two sweet friends with a young growing family. Today I saw a post. It's their anniversary! Interwoven!
Would you like to be woven in? Woven into my prayerful heart. I like to whisper One-Word Prayers. It may not seem like much but I trust that when God hears your name and your chosen One-Word He knows the one He Knit together and He knows the need represented by that One-Word Prayer.
Send me your One-Word.
Let's be interwoven!
Lifting high the name of the One who weaves us together~ Jodie