What’s your WHY?

Be brave!  Do your thing!  Do it scared.

 

We cheer our friends and children with these words.

 

So why is it so hard to believe the same message applies to us?

 

A dreamer, doer friend recently shot me a text, “I have a few things I am praying about, as well as a few business projects I would like to partner/discuss with you.  Also, there a women’s business boutique in Nashville, Dave Ramsey is sponsoring.  It sounds like it’s going to be great. Another friend and I are going.  You should go with us!”

 

Awe, how sweet of her to think to include me.  Another conference?  Nah. I think I’ll pass on this one.  Dave Ramsey? He’s too smart and too out of debt for me. 

 

Days and a couple of weeks passed and yet I couldn’t quit thinking about the conference.  So I started praying.  (Note- I didn’t pray first.  Why do we wait to pray? That’s another post for another day.)

 

Lord what about this?  Is this a yes? Or a no? Is this a need or want?

 

I’m not one to request “a sign” but because the event was quickly approaching and I was still unclear on whether I should or shouldn’t go, I asked for a sign.  It wasn’t a fancy request. I only said, “Lord if I am supposed to go on this trip, the cash will be there, right?”

 

Monday morning I made the request. Monday afternoon, I had sold enough flea market junk to go.

 

This post is not an IPIG post.  (I Prayed, I Got), but that is what happened.

 

So we went.  To the first ever, Christy Wright’s Business Boutique, sponsored by money guru Dave Ramsey in Nashville, TN.  To say we drank from a fire hydrant would be an unjust understatement. It.was.unbelievable!!!!

 

In no way, could I justly recap the amount of goodness. Know this, f you are a woman, who has a business or wants to start a business whether it be an Etsy shop or an empire-GO! Sign up for the Spring Business Boutique.

 

We were given a journal for note taking. It is now and will remain my go-to book, next in line to the Bible for business and life! So much truth is still ringing in my ears.

 

WHY do YOU do what you do?

 

The question sounds simple enough.  But when you peel back the layers of how you got to where you are, and what keeps you there, it gets personal.

Because I love asking questions and getting you to think: WHY do YOU do what you do?

 

Your answers, may or may not, sound like this:

 

To pay the bills 

To pay for my daughter’s dance

To serve others

To pay for my son’s athletics

So my family can go on vacation

Because I never wanted to do anything else

We are pursuing the American Dream.

 

What keeps you there?

 

Your answers may or may not be the same but for some maybe it’s fear that keeps you there.  Maybe you dream of something different but you’re too scared.

 

Me too.

 

I left my career of teaching just over three years ago.  I was scared then, and I’m scared now.  I was scared then we wouldn’t be able to pay our bills.  My fears now are different but the same.  Now, I fear rejection and failure.

 

Yesterday, my son’s reading lesson was about a grumpy groundhog.  The groundhog was grumpy because he was too afraid to come out of his tunnel.  One day a rabbit stumbled upon him while scurrying underground.  The rabbit was surprised to discover the old coot that had gone missing.  The rabbit reminded him the world needed him because Spring wouldn’t end until he came out of his tunnel.  The groundhog confessed to the rabbit he was scared.  The rabbit assured him he wouldn’t be alone.  He declared they could go up together!

 

What’s the point?  We are ALL afraid of something!  But here’s the thing:  God is faithful.  He is trustworthy.

 

How can I be sure?  Along with an army of others who have stepped out in faith over the years, I can testify that we have not missed a meal since that risky step of obedience. God will never forsake you!

 

And maybe you’re not called to leave your job.  Maybe these words are to inspire you to revisit your why.  If you have always loved your job, whether you’re a banker, social worker, teacher, welder (Did you know there are women welders!  I met one this weekend!) homemaker, stylist or _______, and you have forgotten to LOVE what you do!

LOVE WHAT YOU DO! and ASK God to USE YOU where you are! I don’t think we can ever hear this truth too often!  We are a forgetful people.

 

We believe the lie that we aren’t important because we don’t look like those around us, or we don’t have what they have, or don’t have the level of influence they do…. LIES!

 

We’ve got to stop listening to the lies and BLOOM WHERE WE’RE PLANTED!

 

Jim Elliot said,

Others need YOU!  They need your giftedness.  They need your encouragement. They need your wisdom from past experiences. They need to know, like the grumpy groundhog in my son’s story, they’re not alone.

 

My WHY is to encourage you to know Jesus or know Him better.  Whether you are shopping for dog food at our store or visiting this space. My heart is to point you to the One, who does not disappoint.

 

I’ll end with my favorite quote from the weekend.  It shook my soul.

 

 

Wishing a day full of goodness,