If I did it, you can do it!
So I finally published my first book! I must say it was an amazing journey. It wasn’t an easy journey by far, but to look back to where I started from and to be able to stand firm in where I am now is nothing short of a miracle!
I want to take a moment to encourage those that have gifts that are laying dormant and dreams that have been buried under disappointment, brokenness and/or despair. I want to speak to those who struggle to believe that you have what it takes to step out on faith to achieve the seemingly impossible. I know that you may feel like you are in a stuck or stagnant place. Believe me I have been there many of times. It is a very uncomfortable place to be. You may feel like you don’t have what it takes, or you may feel that what you have endured and made it through is not enough to encourage others. Maybe you feel that you are still in the midst of the storm and are in no place to share your story to encourage others because you need encouragement yourself. Maybe you are feeling that no one wants to hear what you have to share or you don’t have what it takes to articulate your journey. Maybe you are in a place that you are ready to share your journey but you don’t know where to start. Where ever you find yourself, you don’t have to stay there. In spite of what you are going through or what you have gone through, you have what it takes to use your voice to encourage and to uplift others through your story. No matter what you have been told, you have a purpose and God has a plan for your life! No matter how many times you started and things didn’t go as you planned, every journey has detours….try again or try a different path. Don’t give up and don’t give in.
You are God’s masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), and you were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)….on purpose and in purpose (Genesis 1:26). No matter the circumstances that you were brought into this world, God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah1:5). How reassuring is that! He thought of you and He chose you! Not only that but He called you by your name (Isaiah 43:1) and when He created you, he said, “It is good” (Genesis 1:31). Beloved, God has already equipped you with all you need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3) which means you are fully equipped to start that business, to lose the weight, to revamp your entire life, to make every dream come to fruition. Don’t allow the disappointment of your last season to prevent you from reaping the harvest of your new season! Put your hands to the plow of life and get busy. It is time to awaken those gifts and dreams that have been laying dormant due to fear, doubt, and disappointment. God is the breath of life and can breathe into dead things and bring them back to life!
I have one reminder of what to do and it is based on the good ole advertisement of a popular shoe franchise, “Like NIKE just do it”. It may be hard, it may be exhausting, it may be tedious, it may cost you some things, but remember that everything great was birthed through adversity!
Here are a few reminders of what NOT to do!
~Do NOT hesitate or procrastinate. Hesitation creates stagnation and procrastination prevents activation.
~Do NOT wait until your life is “together”. The truth is it will never be completely “together”. The day that the work is finished will be the day that you take your last breath, until then you’re always a work in progress.
~Do NOT wait until “the perfect moment”. Truth is there will never be a perfect moment, the best time is the ordained time when God speaks to you. It’s also important to understand that once God speaks that ordained window is opened. This means the word He has given you last week, last month, last year is still waiting to be fulfilled! There is no time like the present!
~Do NOT wait until you are completely sure and confident. There will always be some doubt, there will always be some fear, there will always be more going out than coming in. Conquer doubt by trusting God and following the steps He has ordered for your life (2 Timothy 2:15). Use fear to fuel your faith and use your faith to build your future.
If you need some guidance and support in starting, please contact me!
If you have started and would like to share some tips or encouragement, please comment below!
Self-published Author