With just six days notice, I accepted an invitation to go on a very spontaneous trip to St. John last weekend.
It was life-changing.
Restorative.
Reflective.
Necessary.
Prior to leaving for the trip, I had already decided to unplug from social media in preparation for Holy Week.
Being on the remote island, removed from my daily routines and fast-paced lifestyle, was a perfect opportunity to disconnect from the realm of hand-held technology and connect with God on a deeper and more meaningful level.
During this time, I had some major epiphanies.
One in particular is extremely bold.
| On Saturday morning during a sunrise prayer session, God spoke to me, “It’s time.” I was then affirmed a number of times over the next 24 hours–“For such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14) You see, sunshine, for the last two years, I’ve committed to writing a book. But for a number of reasons, it hasn’t happened. Until now. Now this might not seem that big of a deal to you, sunshine–“People write books all of the time,” you might say. True. And everyone has a story. And our stories are designed to point others to Our Father. And I know mine has the power to do that, just like yours, sunshine. Revelation 12: 11-12 emphasizes the importance of sharing our testimonies. They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness. They were willing to die for Christ. They weren’t in love with themselves; Rev 12: 11-12 MSG It is by Jesus’ blood AND the word of their testimonies that the dragon was slain–we conquer Satan by telling others how God rescued us. So it’s time to take a big leap of faith, sunshine. To focus my energies on writing my book, I am going to take a break from writing Shine blogs. My time cannot be consumed writing blogs when my story–all for His glory– is ready to be shared. I realize that during this time of “silence”, I will lose followers. I understand it’s a tremendous undertaking of time and resources. I risk that the book won’t sell as I imagine. But I am willing to take all of this on so that God may receive the glory. Even if one reads and comes to know Jesus, it will be worth all of this and more. (Matt 18:12-14) Since returning from my travels, I have been ferociously pounding on my keyboard to get my thoughts into a Word document that chronicles my epic fails and the many ways God has pursued me with His gracious, loving ways. As of yesterday, I am on page 53. I know I have a long way to go–editing, publishing, marketing, sales—but I know this even more so: where God guides, He provides. If you are still reading, sunshine, know that I am grateful for you and will continue to pray that: “‘…The Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’” Num 6:24-26 NLT With love and gratitude for you, dear one. Frannie |
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P.S. Let’s stay connected–I will be sharing excerpts of my book (among many other things!) over the next few months on social media platforms. I hope you follow Shine with Frannie on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for faith-based fitness inspiration. And if you need to reach me, you can always reach out via email: shinewithfrannie@gmail.com |