I made a decision to quit volunteering. Ok… not for forever, but to take a break for a short period of time. 🙂 I was volunteering through an awesome worship ministry. It involved participating 2-3 times a month and I was involved in this ministry for 4 years. While I had an awesome time and loved it, I began to feel that old “going through the motions” feeling. To read more about my decision to take a break, click the link below from my article on iBelieve.com:
Take a Break from Volunteering – by Mandy Smith
So how has it been since my break-up? 😉 Well, just like I thought, on the VERY first day of my break I was asked by someone to volunteer my time at ____. I’m not kidding. I thought it was a joke at first but it wasn’t. I kind of half-laughed, realized it wasn’t a joke, and said “no thank you.” I felt very proud of myself 🙂
I have had a lot of good time to relax, having volunteer-free Sundays that include a great church and enjoying the Sabbath, and most importantly have continued delving deeper into my relationship with Christ. Since the beginning of June I’ve read 4.5 books (yeah, I had to stop in the middle of one—too much thinking required), bought a hammock, set it up on my back porch, and have actually taken long weekend naps on it. Yes. Blissful!
After I wrote the article, a friend of mine had told me something really interesting. While I was taking a break from using my gift of music, it actually may be a time to discover and develop another gifting that might have been taking the “backburner.”
Well, they were spot on!
I have been journaling for over 13 years and blogging for almost 3 years now. I LOVE writing and connecting with people, but to be honest, I wasn’t doing it nearly enough to be considered consistent. One post every 4 months does not a blogger make.
I felt a strong push to learn more about writing last summer in 2012 after finishing a study. Through mentors, new friends, and some only-God connections, I found myself in the midst of encouraging like-minded writing people that helped guide me into some awesome opportunities over just the past year!
It’s only been 1 year now since I started being intentional and have had some cool experiences including guest blogging and having an article published for the very first time in May! (See link above)
*Special thanks to iBelieve.com for taking a chance on this girl! Awesome site…go check it out!
Funny thing, looking back now I see how the decision to take a break with volunteering had to come first before my publishing opportunity could happen…since that was what I ended up writing the article about! I LOVE how God is IN the details!
So, all that to say, this break has really allowed me to take a breather, remember that my gifts are valuable and are meant to be shared, and I was able to focus more on my writing. I attended Proverbs 31 Ministries — She Speaks: Speakers & Writers Conference at the end of this past July and I learned TONS of awesome information. I am pumped to continue forward with my blogging 🙂
I want to take a moment and say a BIG “Thank You!!!!” to all that have visited my little site so far and for the comments, likes, subscriptions, follows, and interactions I’ve had already! It means so much to me to have your support. I know how bombarded we all are to “read this and read that” so thank you for taking a chance on me 🙂
In a few weeks, I’ll be volunteering with a wonderful organization called Lighthouse Family Retreat! So…I guess my “taking a break” stint will be over soon. Can’t think of a better way to volunteer my time than with those precious kids and their families, though! To learn more about Lighthouse, click here!
I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me. You’re more than welcome to come along side me and read my adventures as I journey through this world of writing!
It’ll be a page-turner, I promise 🙂
Taking it to Heart:
Have you found yourself “going through the motions” lately? If so, is there something you can take a break from?
Is there a gifting that you have not had time to explore… but feel a calling to?
Sis, you really have a style with your writing that I find most interesting, it is honest , thoughtful,energetic,and at the same time, very down to earth and believable. I believe that you have found a niche, that with God’s help, you will have great opportunities to touch a lot of people by your writings……..Great Job,
Love ya lots
KK & Pop
Aww thank y’all! You may just be my biggest fans 😉 and I appreciate your words of encouragement so much! Love you!
Thanks for the post, I enjoyed it. It was a confirmation of a line of thought The Lord brought to mind just this morning!
Georgia! I am so glad that you did! So cool how God can work through our writings with His timing. Glad it was confirmation for you 🙂 Blessings!
I loved your article! The Mary and Martha story is one of my favorites, and I am reminded of it often in the day to day. NOT that I am a Martha…I am hardly ever completely prepared for anything, but we could all use a little more of Mary’s attitude in our lives. And it’s so true that we can be more effective in our ministries when we take a break. I have gone from leading youth group (only 4 kids), coordinating VBS, a fall festival, and the children’s Christmas program to doing NONE (except 1 Saturday of VBS) of it, and I feel like I am closer to the Lord because of it. Yes, I feel guilty sometimes, but with my husband preaching at other churches, it’s hard to keep up with everything at my home church, so it was the right time to stop. I think we get so bogged down in “doing” things for the Lord, that we forget to serve Him in the way HE intends. Can’t wait to hear about the next great thing the Lord has in store for you! 🙂
Teri! Thank you so much for responding and I am so glad that you enjoyed them! Sounds like you definitely can see both sides with all of your volunteering options there 🙂 I know God loves your willing servant heart! It can be really easy to think we can do it all and, for me, it even turns into a little bit of a control game 🙂 So glad you responded and yes, I’ll keep you posted!