Beginning My Journey of Shalom

As I begin the new year 2010 with my two children and husband that God has so lovingly blessed me with, I am forever in awe of how far we’ve come, and I am floored by the idea of where we are going.

I started off this very first post with the idea of God and family. What I have come to discover over the course of these past few years is that really, that is the bottom line for me.

I have been online since 1998, and  active with online businesses, education, ministries, and other various projects since 2002. If you happen to have been a part of my mailing list for even a portion of that time, you’ll know just how busy I’ve been, how many projects I have begun, and how many changes and transitions those online projects have gone through.

And now…in all of the “busy-ness” of my business (get it?  Word play ), I am beginning to get more clarity about direction, vision, and purpose for my own life despite the fact that I have spent at least five eight years attempting to help other women find theirs.

This is a time in my life in which I slow down.  I smell the roses.  I sip the coffee (or tea, whichever), and I enjoy my family more.

This is a time in my life when I see that my little babies won’t be babies for long.  My young children will soon be grown and out of the house.  This is my time to love on them and nurture them.

This is the time in my life when I understand that the reason I prayed to God for a godly husband to begin with was so that I would enjoy my days of marriage with him.  You cannot enjoy what you don’t slow down long enough to appreciate.

This is also a time in my life when I feel the urgency to prepare myself for my groom.  I’ve already done that once with my husband nearly 9 years ago.  No…I’m talking about my Heavenly groom.  This is the time and the season and the era in which I, along with the rest of the Church, are looking forward to the coming of our Savior.

That means spiritual preparation.

That means more time spent studying God’s word and less time in front of the television.

More time meditating on the goodness of God, and less time sulking about the things that are wrong in our society.

More time in ACTION to relieve the broken hearted and less time building the businesses and ministries that are supposed to do the actual work to begin with.  I am learning that it doesn’t take much to be a servant, and you don’t have to have the perfect organization or title.  You just need the willingness to serve.

That is what I crave.  That is what I long for in this new journey of mine, which I have been referring lovingly to my family as my “Journey of Shalom”.

I am finding peace.  Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace.  Shalom is also one of my oldest daughter’s middle names (she has two).   Every time I see her, I am reminded of peace that she has and will continue to receive.  I am also reminded of the peace that I should be having, and I ultimately need to come away from the craziness of the daily humdrum of life and run straight into the presence of God where peace envelops my soul.

Shalom.

Welcome to my newest blog and my journey.

As  you journey along with me, you can also join me at what I refer to as my main ministry site: Christian Ladies Connect.  There I tend to post more formal bible studies, songs, articles, and interviews. I’m not really sure how I will end up eventually uploading audio content– if it will be housed mainly at that site, or if I will begin to plug in the interviews here instead.

I’ve also recently began a transition with my second ministry site, Christian Ladies Connect Online Magazine.  My initial goal was to have an internet based magazine for Christian women  that would be entertaining, informative, and inspiring.  The tone was to be fresh and friendly, as in one friend chatting with another over coffee.  I ran into some hiccups with a few of my articles initially, but soon got past those bumps in the road.  Then after having some wonderful writers come my way, the magazine took on a life of its own, thanks to their articles which gave the mag a lift!  I gave the site about 6 months development, and another 6 month trial run.  It did well, considering there was absolutely no budget (with the exception of hosting).  All advertising was due to word of mouth and Facebook.  We had some great writers and inspirational and informative contributions to the e-mag.  All in all, it was a great experience.  I guess the main gist of the operation of the entire magazine rested solely upon me…and I was somehow (perhaps naively) counting on a horde of volunteers to keep the issues running and flowing smoothly- everything from article uploads, to editing.  Needless to say, it was a great plan, but…that’s just it.  Planning and reality are two entirely different things.

So…I walk away from yet another project.  Not defeated, or sad, or even remotely disappointed, for I think the mag served its purpose.  But ,maybe I feel a bit disjointed, because I know that  had I planned for a smoother ride I could have had all of my helpers in place, and perhaps I could still keep the magazine going.  But at this point in my life, I am seeking “shalom”.  To have order and peace, I have to sometimes walk away from the very things I myself began, and learn to simplify.

In the business world, I have been taught to “diversify”.  I found out very quickly that this train of thought doesn’t always apply very well to the home front, when you have family counting on you to streamline and commit to a few things as opposed to a SMORGASBOARD of activities. So to that end I must say goodbye to the magazine…but I am so thankful that the main ministry site (Christian Ladies Connect – www.christianladies.net) will continue as long as the Lord provides me the funds for hosting and the bible studies and resources to share.

So, here is where I am today.  I want to take all of what I know, all of what I’ve been afforded the opportunity to accomplish (interviews, writing, etc.) and make it part of this Journey of Shalom without allowing “it” to overpower me.  You know what I mean?  Everything Christian Ladies Connect, the ministry, means to me will be poured out at the main site, and hopefully I can add to the value of it here at this blog.