Friday, September 27, 2013

A Dream Come True


Dreams DO come true! 

These thoughts rolled around in my mind last Saturday, as I headed the Chattanooga, Tennessee for my first book signing. The devotional book was called Pearls of Promise. Forty-six writers in all had contributed but only 5 were able to attend this event. This was only the second time I have seen my writing in book form.


The day began at 11 am with a delicious lunch at Sticky Fingers. Our fellowship was lively as each of us shared stories. There seemed to be an instant sense of friendship and camaraderie. And then…the ribs came. They were the best ribs I have ever eaten. We laughed about getting a ‘BBQ sauce anointing’ while we tried to keep the sauce off our clothes. The manager was so taken by our group’s joy that he gave each of us a complimentary bottle of the sauce. I thought, Blessings are beginning to flow already. Thank you Lord. You have made my expectancy rise.


By the time we arrived at Barnes and Nobles around 12:30pm, everything was prepared for us. As we greeted Kelly, one of the store’s managers, he told us of his faith and commitment to make our time as fruitful as possible. Right before 1 pm, we all circled around (even Kelly), held hands, and prayed for God’s best. Along with signing a bunch of books, these are some of the highlights that followed:

Instant connections between all other
Christian authors presenting books there.
No competitive spirit among us.

Praying and ministering with a young father, Robert
about his newborn son, Nathan (mother-Rebecca)
who was born 6 weeks earlier with Gastroschisis
(born with intestines outside the body)

Kelly brought bottled water for each of us.

Authors ministered and prayed with other authors.

Words of prophesy were given and confirmed.

Prayers went upwards for one author who had not shown up
because her husband had been in a car horrible accident the day before,
and was in critical condition.

Kelly brought over oatmeal cookies in small white bags.

One of the author on our team got a call that her
little fourteen-year-old dog had to be put to sleep. She was heart broken.


I could hardly believe I was signing books and ministering
to people’s needs right in the middle of Barnes and Nobles.
For years, I have shopped at the store in our area and said, by faith,
“Yep, one of these days, I am going
to have a book on their shelves too.”


By the time 3 pm came, we could see that God had done something special with our newly formed friendships. The cohesiveness of our group did not happen just because we were all writers. It was because we all had servant hearts. Somewhere, we grasped that this day was not about promoting our own book and ourselves but about showing others Christ and being a living epistle for His glory.

What God-given dream are you working towards and expecting to manifest? Can you spread the Gospel of Christ through it? No matter what, don’t give up on your dreams. God is faithful to manifest what He has prepared you to do. Just keep moving forward by maturing your skills and the knowledge of Christ. Then one day, when you least expect it, your dream will come true.

12 comments:

  1. Congratulations MJ!
    (I still have your autograph!)

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    1. When did I give you that "free" autograph....lol!

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  2. Congratulations MJ!
    (I still have your autograph!)

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    1. You sent me a double message so I decided to just answer the second one...lol! Thanks!

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  3. Wow! This was great...but, that doesn't surprise me. It makes me wish all the more I was able to be there. This reminds me of our email conversation earlier in the week. Just because you have negative people come your way doesn't mean for you to give up. Once again, thank you for the encouragement. Love you, sweet friend.ion,

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    1. God does ask us to have faith and push through to see His plan manifest. We are stronger and He is glorified all through the process.

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  4. Mary Jane!!!!! How wonderful! I'm so proud of you :) Yay God!!

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    1. Thanks! Blessing on your book too! Isn't God wonderful?!

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  5. Hi Mary Jane! So nice to meet you today! Congrats on your book, and what an amazing afternoon you had at the Barnes and Noble! So good to hear that you had 'instant' fellowship with your fellow writers. God is so good :)

    And thank you for your encouragement to follow my dreams. I hope someday I can write something that inspires too, so I'll just keep at it! It's exciting for me to meet someone who has reached that goal.

    Blessings!
    Ceil

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    1. Thanks Ceil! God is so good to us when we wait on His timing and do it His way. Blessings to you and on the words you write for Him. I know that God is not a respecter of persons so what He did for me He can also do for you. Keep on believing!

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  6. Keep on Keeping on ! You are so inspiring. I love you M.J. (Can I get your autograph?)

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    1. Thanks Mary! And the same back to you. Since I have known you, you have modeled tenacity and look at where you are today! Headed towards wholeness. I am proud of you.

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