Photo by flaivoloka

Sitting in the hairdressers chair this morning it became even more apparent, though it didn’t have anything to do with getting my hair done. No, it had more to do with the conversation taking place. My hairdresser, a friend of mine, is also in ministry, she sings in a gospel quartet, next to her in the other hairdressers chair sat a pastor’s wife who has spent much time in ministry, and is a freelance writer herself. The three of us were in deep conversation about the what we do. How ministry “jobs” come along, speaking opportunities, invites to sing, and opportunities to write, how there are peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows, but how much we enjoy what we do.

As I sat there and poured out my story to the pastor’s wife, who wasn’t aware of what I have been doing for the past 2.5 years I felt it, that sense of “knowing” once again that THIS is my calling. This is my passion. Yesterday, I read this quote on a fellow blogger’s blog and it struck me deeply, Thanks Holley –

“It seems God values passion more than our idea of perfection. That doesn’t mean following our feelings but rather pursuing Him relentlessly and refusing to become passive.”

How wonderful it is that God is more concerned about my passion, and passion I have!  I’m also proud to continue pursing Him and doing whatever it takes.

Over the weekend my husband reminded me that I used to call myself Super Woman.  I looked at him strange and he said, “Well you did.” I told him that I must have been joking and that I surely do not feel like super woman now.  After having three children, taking on a writing business, establishing a ministry and returning to seminary to finish my Master’s I feel like anyone BUT Super Woman. 

Today, after three weeks of feeling like I was in a major rut and totally realizing I am experiencing what many of you have probably experienced before, “Burnout” I’ve decided to seriously end the “super woman” phase of my life and to take off my super woman cape.

I cannot continue down the path that I have started down.  I am experiencing major burnout and I am slowly as a result loosing my passion and my creativity.  I’m no longer enjoying what I do, so therefore something HAD to give.

Today, I did what I encourage others to do as the trainer over at FaithLeaps.com I took a leap of faith.  I am officially outsourcing all writing to my team of writers over at A Writer for Hire.  While I will still be overseeing all the articles and working with my clients via all correspondence, I will no longer be heading up the writing itself.  I am going to be putting all my creative juices and writing skills back into my passion, my ministry and FaithLeaps itself.  More than anything I love to help others.  So my focus will now be those things I love to do:

1. Helping others to take a leap of faith into speaking, writing and ministry.
2. Helping moms and daughters grow their relationship with each other and their relationship with God.
3. Helping girls be what God made them to be not what the world wants them to be.

Stay tuned this means projects for me, and you know projects make me happy.  So be looking for some happier posts in the days ahead.

I’m sorry folks I had an extremely busy week of writing for clients, writing for school, writin, writing, writing.  That’s why I haven’t written here on the blog or announced the winner of the Windex Outdoor All In One cleaner.  Major oops on my part.

The winner is. . . Angela Congrats !! Please email me your mailing address.

Two years ago this month I took a giant “leap of faith”. I was already in “ministry” but part time church ministry, feeling called by God to step out on faith and do my “part-time speaking ministry to girls and their moms full time”. With fear and trembling I took that leap. I am so glad I did, but I sure wish there had been someone there to mentor me, guide me and encourage me. That is what I hope to be for others who are needing to take a “leap of faith” with my all new FaithLeaps Training Membership: Training for taking a leap of faith into speaking, writing or ministry.

This Thursday, we’re officially opening the program for membership with an official Tweet Up, in association with the Christian Women Tweet Up hosted monthly by Noelle over at Take Root and Write. I am so excited to also be having this hosted by Amy of Resourceful Mom.com and Sitwarming Parties.com She will be asking me questions which will provide you tons of info about the program and give you a sneak peek of the first lesson.

Faith Leaps is a three month membership training program for Christians who are looking to “take a leap of faith into speaking, writing or ministry.” This is an important site for you if you are feeling called to:

• Start a Bible study in your local church
• Start a club or organization in your community
• Organize a community project
• Write a column for your local newspaper
• Start a blog to minister to a specific group of people
• Chase your dream…

Whatever it may be, this program will help give the tools and the confidence to take the leap of faith.

So, join us for a Tweet Up on Thursday, March 12 on Twitter at 9:00 pm EST / 8:00 pm CST.

During the event, We will be giving away three prizes!

1. A one month “sneak peek” of the program
2. A two month membership
3. A three month membership – worth $150!

If you have any specific questions for me please go ahead and feel free to post them in the comments section of this post and I’ll do my best to answer them on Thursday!

Want to get a sneak peek of the Lessons in FaithLeaps? You can sign up for the Early Bird List and receive a sneak peek of Lesson 1 instantly.

To participate in the Tweet Up you must have an active Twitter account. Twitter is fast and easy to sign up and begin using. Find me at http://twitter.com/alyssaavant. Noelle is http://twitter.com/takeroot and Amy is http://twitter.com/resourcefulmom.

See you at the Tweet Up!

I discovered that I enjoyed writing when I was in high school, however unfortunately my teachers were not encouraging and as a result I felt that it wasn’t my strong suit.   Fast forward to college, I began taking extra English and writing classes, which further revealed my gift for writing.  My college professors unlike my high school teachers were encouraging and impressed by my ability to write.

Therefore, I finished college with a minor in English and a love for writing.  At this point nothing becomes of this new found love, but still it was a stepping stone. I have kept a “journal” for many years, which is also another reason that I began to realize I had a “writing bug“.  My husband saw my talent and constantly encouraged me to do something with it.  He always told me “You should write a book.”

So, two years ago when I felt God calling me to take a step of faith and pursue full time ministry outside the walls of the church through a speaking and writing ministry it all began to make sense, but I was still terrified as I still am today of the rejections that come with pursuing publishing, whether in a print magazine or for a book.

Nevertheless, a little over a year ago I began writing a monthly column for a local Christian magazine, North Mississippi Christian Family and to this day I still have a monthly column in it. So, my dreams to be published in a larger magazine and to publish a book still remain.  Finally, I am pursuing that with a little more gusto.

As I told Kathy Willis, the editor and publicist I am now working with, I am published all over the web.  I have written more articles than I can count, many are in article directories, published on Christian websites and I maintain 2 blogs of my own, as well as contributing regularly to others.

As the country singer, Brad Paisley’s song says, “I’m so much cooler online.” Thank God for the internet, or I may have never believed in my writing abilities. It is a result of some connections I made online and a phone call I received from an online friend that I now own a freelance writing business.  My “money making” job these past approximately 15 months has been writing for others as both a ghostwriter and freelance writer.

Writing has become my life, most definitely, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Photo Credit: dabawenya

Shelia, from To Love, Honor and Vacuum (what a cute name eh?) tagged me today as she has been following me on Twitter lately and wants to learn more about me.  I’m honored really!  So here is my feable attempt at telling you all 7 Juicy Tidbits about Me.  I’m not really one to think that things about me are “juicy” but I’ll try my best.

Actually I think I”m going to break the rules here a bit and instead of writing 7 new tidbits about myself, and since Sheila is a relatively new follower of mine I think that she’ll benefit a great deal from, (meaning get to know me better) by reading some of my previous posts here on my blog.  So, I’m going to be pointing out 7 of them from 2008 that I think will best help her to get to know me.  How’s that for juicy?

So, I’ve changed this meme up a bit, but hey! one juicy thing you’ll learn about me is that I like to be different.

Post #1 – I did a 7 Wierd Things post last January.  It should give you some things to know about me.

Post #2 – 10 Likes Verses Dislikes - A few more interesting things about me can be found here.

Post #3 - My Little Love Story – Here is the first in a series of posts on how I meet my husband.

Post #4 - I Am From – I did this neat meme and it reveals alot about my past.

Post #5 – What I’m About Online – I share in this post the many things I do online and what I am all about.

Post #6 – Counting My Blessings – In this post I tell you about some of my blessings.

Post #7 – Writing, My Passion – One of the things I’m most passionate about as explained here.

So, this may not have been the original meme, but I like how it turned out.

A couple of days ago, as I was getting ready for my day a friend of mine said a prayer that I would be blessed that day.   I know I receive blessings everyday, but this day the blessing would turn out to be a little different.  You see, I have been struggling recently with alot of anxiety over financial worries as well as medical issues with my children.  All of it was just sort of closing in on me.  I’d been in a real funk and was desperate to get out of it. I wanted and still do want my money issues fixed but at the point I was 2 days ago I was just about willing to do anything I could to fix them. You see that’s how I am, I”m a fixer. I want things to go smoothly so I try to fix “everything” and as many of you know in life not everything is fixable at least not overnight.

So, at this point I was ready to go out and get a job, outside of the home, not because I wanted to, but because I was feeling like that was my only option.  No, it was definitely not what I wanted.  I after all love being home with my children and I after all am passionate about my “job”  of writing, speaking and ministering, but felt it just wasn’t paying the bills like I wanted it to.

One of the most difficult parts of working from home is that my family (meaning my parents) has never seemed to really “get” what it is that I do. And because I have not chosen to follow the career path I had talked about going down in high school and back when I was living under their roof, I felt my parents were disappointed in me.

Well, this thought changed a couple days ago, when after my friend prayed I’d receive a blessing.  I did.  I was having a conversation with my daddy about my situation.  You see it was not until earlier this week that I admitted to myself, my husband and my mom and dad that I was having anxiety issues (this is not new to me I’ve had them before and will again).  So, he and I were discussing what I could do and I mentioned the idea of the “job”. He answered by telling me that I already had a job.   I was a writer, I was good at what I did. He actually told me I was talented, I had potential and that I could do whatever  I wanted with it.  He knows that I want to write and publish a book, I also shared with him about my ebooks, and other ideas I had.  He agreed they were all good ideas, and then said, “So what are you waiting for? What’s holding you back?”  I admitted that time and the distraction of my children being under foot 24/7 was one big issue. (They are precious and I love them but they make it hard to concentrate.)  We resolved it by deciding to let my mother in law watch them at couple of days a week so I could work uninterrupted and focus.

Then, he said, “what else?”  I then admitted that “fear” was my only other stumbling block.  He then asked me, “Haven’t you stepped out on faith before?”  To which I responded, “well of course”.  So he told me, “Close your eyes and step.”

Honestly, to me those were the perfect words, just what I needed to hear.  Months worth of worries seemed to fade, as well as over 2 years worth (that’s how long I”ve been working from home) of wondering if he understood and was proud of me faded.  It was as if he had just giving me “his blessing.”  And now, I’m ready to take that step I need to take.

Bartering rocks people.  I am totally crazy about it, have done it many times in the past and over the past several weeks have accomplished quite a few of my goals for my businesses as a result of a good barter with some other very capable, awesome WAHMs.  Thank the Lord for them!

So far, I have gotten my header redone over at Beauty by Design Ministries, as well as gotten my podcast site and my ministry site converted into one Wordpress site, then I got some awesome new graphics for my ebooks there as well.

Finally, this week I have gotten a whole new look for A Writer for Hire. It is looking fresh and unique which I am pumped about, as I have a new slogan, “Delivering Fresh Content to You”, and a new approach for that business to totally get me going in 2009.  So, if you need help with your blog or website content or articles written to help market your business or to put in your newsletter, I”m your gal. But, mostly my specialty for 09′ is going to be blog content management.  My goal is to have 5 blog content managements.  So, if you want in on that you should go here, read up on what I can do for you and then contact me before I fill those 5 spots.

So, what have you bartered for lately? Was it worth it?  Would you do it again? Do tell!

Several weeks ago I believe it was, and then my timing may be completely off, Heather, one of my favorite bloggers over at Desperately Seeking Sanity creating a blog carnival and contest entitled, Where He Met Me…. I might be completely and totally late doing this, but my point really wasn’t to enter the carnival or the contest, but to give you my testimony. So, Either way, I’m accomplishing that.

I am preparing to attend She Speaks in just 8 days now and as I blogged about yesterday, part of that is going to be giving my testimony or sharing my “story” in 3 minutes with my speaker evaluation group. As stated in yesterday’s post, this is going to be difficult for me. Reading this post you’ll be able to see that , because it is LONG. So, part of the reason I am posting this is I’m hoping to gain some ideas and insight into what I should talk about in that 3 minutes and to also give those in my group at She Speaks a place to go for the “rest of the story” as they say because apparently I’m going to have to leave a good bit out to make my speech ONLY 3 minutes. So, here it is, my testimony….it’s more than just Where He Met Me, but also How He Got Me Here, to where I am today, enjoy:

By the way, this is adapted from a testimony I gave to a ladies group regarding my ministry:

I will begin with my testimony of how Beauty By Design Ministries was created, my inspiration I guess you would say for having a ministry to girls and their moms. Let me give you a little background, I have to begin at the beginning as they say. I grew up in a Christian home; I was saved at the age of eight and was very fortunate to be one of the kids that was at church every time the doors were open. During my teen years I was involved in everything the church offered from Youth Choir to serving on the Youth Council to attending Church camp and going on mission trips in the summers. Growing up in Winona, I lived a pretty sheltered life. Therefore, I did not realize that others out there didn’t have the same situation that is until I attended Modeling School in Memphis. There I met girls from many different backgrounds and lifestyles. The situations were as different as they were numerous, and they were all very eye opening for me.

After attending Modeling school, I was chosen to attend an international modeling competition in Miami, FL to represent Memphis. There I saw and met even more people from very different situations than myself. I was also put in the situation where I had to choose how I would present myself, The girls in line with me at the competition were all wearing what appeared to be tube tops for both their top and their bottom, revealing was more than true! There I stood in line with these girls clothed from head to toe in my flare legged suit and boots. I was stylish but I was completely covered!

Ok, you may be wondering, what does this have to do with ministry? Well, a lot, I realized through these experiences that I was fortunate and that I was different. My experiences growing up in Church had made me who I was at 17 years old. I was a confident, bold, Christian who didn’t mind telling those girls about my faith or why I had on more clothes than they did! I understood that being a Christian meant being like Christ, honoring God with my body and my actions. This began a passion within me to help other girls to understand why it was important to be modest, and to make Christ a part of their lives and their decisions for their future. I had seen so many girls that were going down the wrong road that I wanted them to realize that they could choose a different path.
The girls I attended modeling school with looked at beauty much differently than the Bible speaks of beauty; they also found their self worth in a much different place than I was taught to find mine, in Christ. I wanted them to have the relationship with God that I did and the hope for my future that I knew could be theirs.

A ministry for girls became a dream of mine way back then. I also began sensing a call of God on my life back around that time, and even before that time. In December of 1998, at a youth service I committed my life to full time Christian service. At that time, I was unsure of what God was calling me to do. I just continued to follow God’s guidance. In 2002, after I was married and had moved to Carrollton two years prior I received the opportunity to do youth/children’s ministry with Carrollton Baptist, as many of you know I served there for over 4 ½ years. God truly stretched me and grew me in this position and I developed an even great love for ministry, for teenagers and for children as I served there.

There came a time in my heart that I knew the girls ministry was what God was calling me to do. BBDM was actually born in January of 2005 when I began pursuing speaking opportunities to speak to girls and their moms on my favorite topics of beauty, etiquette, modesty, fashion, etc. I only did a couple of speaking engagements that year but God continued to inspire me with ideas. One of which was to make the topics hands on where the girls would not only hear me speak on a topic such as beauty from a Biblical viewpoint but also be shown how to properly apply makeup so that she could look great without overdoing it. I also created a pampering session, a fashion show, a tea party, each paired with a topic.

The next January 2006, God blessed me even more. He gave me the opportunity to have a website created and send out flyers to churches to let them know about my ministry. This created more opportunities and in 06 I spoke 6 times. During that year, God created in me a desire to do this full time. I did not know how God was going to make it happen, but I had the strong feeling that he would. In March, my pastor at our church resigned, and I began questioning whether I should stay on staff. I prayed more in those months surrounding his resignation than I think I have ever prayed in my life.

During that time, I read the book “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat”, I began to realize that my “boat” or comfort zone in my life was my job at the church. I knew God was calling me to be like Peter and step out of my boat on faith. However, I didn’t do it immediately. Even though I was unsure of my position at the church, I still hung on to it. I went through the days in a fog, constantly wondering what God was doing and what I should do next. I pursued other ministry positions in other churches, even in other towns, only to find dead ends. I had at this point forgotten about my girls ministry because I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do it.

It was over in the fall before I began to think about girl’s ministry anymore. It was at the Women’s Conference held every September at my church. Becky Brown of Little Brown Light Ministries was the speaker. I had prayed to God that through her speaking her would speak to me and show me what I was suppose to be doing. God answered my prayer. Anyway, through her speaking that Saturday and my thoughts and prayers I realize that God was saying, “Alyssa, you’re not prepared.” I began spending more time studying God’s word as a result. God continued to pull at my heart, giving me a longing to speak and minister to girls and their moms. He also gave me the inspiration to write and to create products.

During a sermon on the first Sunday of January 2007, that our interim pastor preached on change I knew God was saying, “you have to make a change, you have to trust me and step out on faith.” That day I told my pastor of my plans to resign after my baby who was due in March was born. It felt as if a weight was lifted off me, God continued to bless. He began filling my calendar with speaking opportunities and he inspired me to write. Since January, I have been able to write countless articles, as well as a prayer journal devotional guide for teens.

Beauty by Design Ministries is off to a fabulous start. God is doing what I knew he would do if I took that step of faith and that is he is paving the way. He is giving me opportunities to minister to girls and their moms from a Biblical perspective on things that they enjoy but also maybe some topic that they struggle with. Today’s society has a much different view of such topics as beauty, modesty, and abstinence than the Bible teaches. My programs teach these topics from a Biblical perspective while giving participants the opportunity to have hands on fun in the activities that they love. Each of my programs has a theme and topic that go together. I’ve had the opportunity to do Mother Daughter nights and retreats, girl’s nights and retreats as well as be the guest speaker at community events.

I am blessed to be able to use the Internet to reach an even broader market. I publish my articles online to many places visited frequently by moms, and I offer a weekly newsletter moms can receive via email with articles, devotions, tips and encouragement.

I am blessed to daily stay home with my children, but to also do what I love and that is speaking, writing and ministering. I can truly say that I am where God wants me to be.

By the way, this needs updating too. This was written in July 2007. Since then much more has happened that God has done. The ministry is still thriving, I”ve added a new branch, Organized Life by Design, and God has blessed me with a writing business as well. God is good!  I’ll blog the rest, since there still is more to the story another day, so check back!

I thought I’d participate in this Tuesday Toot since I am loving the way I am feeling this fine Tuesday morning. I tackled my writing this morning head on and completed 5 articles for clients as well as a devotional that I wrote for Proverbs 31 Ministries. I am beginning to write for their Next Generation division known as the Radical Revolution, they have a blog with devotions for girls ages 12 to 17.  I am excited about the opportunity to write with them.

In addition to that I am working hard around my home and my home office getting organized and it feels good. I have tackled several of my projects and look forward to completing all of them hopefully by the end of April, which is my goal.

May will bring a new project for me, which I’m hoping I can reveal more about to you in the near future. For now, I must keep you in suspense.