Conference Wind-down
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 by Cindy K. Sproles

Conference Withdrawal

By now, you are day two AT HOME. If you're like me, you really don't know what to do with yourself. It's been a hard and full-on go for the last seven months. There are times I ask God, "Are you SURE I'm the right person for this job? Then things fall into place, and it's an answer.

You are home now, and you can expect a bit of a letdown, but it's important to remember - YOU WERE CALLED. And this weekend, you answered the call. Now is not the time to put away your suitcase and kick up your feet. Now IS the time to get to work. Answer your call. You've made some wonderful peer friends, so keep in touch. Write. Practice. Put your nose to the grindstone because this business is not easy. It requires your time, attention, and hard work. It demands patience, perseverance, and determination. ADVANCE! We can't wait to see you rolling over the horizon.

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Marching Orders

Yearly, I write myself my marching orders. It's my reminder that I am not in control but that God is the leader. I remind myself that without Him, I am nothing and that through Him, I can accomplish everything He has assigned me. I simply have to step out of His way and then become obedient. When distraction hits, when frustration comes. When fear overtakes me when doubt in my ability hits me in the gut. My marching orders serve to reinforce my calling. Print these. Keep them close. Write your own specific details. But before I give you these orders, I want to share a quick story.

I've been a Mary Kay Consultant for the better part of 35 years. When I began, I was a young, divorced mom struggling to feed her two babies. I loved being a consultant. It was fun, and though I never drove a famous pink caddy, I earned a decent living between being a consultant and working two other jobs. You do what you must...right? But I remember being at a retreat where our directors gave us a pillowcase and asked us to write our dreams and goals on it with a Sharpie pen. We were to then put it on our pillow and read it every night before we went to sleep. My director was a bit stunned when she read my dreams and goals because as much as I enjoyed being a consultant, directorship or driving a Mary Kay car was not my goal.

My dream: To be a writer.

My goal: To be a writer.

My desire: To be a writer.

I tell you this because you will hear seasoned writers say, "Write every day. JUST WRITE." But if that is not the call you feel. If that is not the desire and dream that you have, then don't. If you feel God has spoken to your heart and called you to a mission of writing, then be ready for it NOT TO LOOK like anything you expect. Prepare to be obedient, and then pick up the pen and write. But do it with zeal, zest, and determination. Do it to the very best of your ability, and God will bless it. He will bless it in HIS way, in HIS time, and in HIS wisdom. Advance! Do not retreat. Advance.

It has been my honor to challenge you.

My Calling

He is the still, small voice. Do not ignore Him just because He may whisper. When you are called, answer.

Listen to the caller. Hear the words that come to your mind. There is reason behind the call.

When you are called to write, understand the calling may not be for glory or fame. Instead, it may be as simple as writing a prayer or as difficult as marching into battle. Still, be brave and answer the call.

David heard the call while watching sheep and, without hesitation, bolted into action to kill a giant. Goliath was something many times larger than David, yet the call came, and David ran to answer with only a sling and a stone. You have the power of the pen and God behind your fingers to push it.

Moses heard the call, and so did Jonah. They tried to ignore but could not—God worked amazing things through them when they answered.

I understand my call may not be to lead others into battle and that I should not rate my calling according to my scale of importance. Any call from God is mighty. Any call is important. Every call has a reason, and I was chosen because God gave me the ability to do what He required of me. He always prepares us.

I understand my call may require me to stretch my wings – to leap when I am afraid, but I will take hold of the Word that says …those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I will trust. I will learn. I will seek out the call given to me to write. I will depend on God's leading for what I write, and I will rely on His will, not my own, for the work's level of success. I will lift my hands and praise Him, for in His wisdom, all things work to the good of those who love the Lord.

I will learn to wait when waiting is hard, and I will take hold of gratitude and appreciation for every word I pen, offering them back to the God who placed them in my heart so that He might use them to His glory and not mine. I do not expect glory in my own right, but I will rest in knowing that, though I may not see the fruit of my labor, God will use the things I write in His time – the right time.

I understand writing for the Father is not average. Nor is it easy. I know I will meet with adversity, but I will not lay the call of the work to the side and give up, for God's timing is amazing.

I have taken the first steps to answer His call for me to write by acknowledging He is in all I do. I will continue to listen to this call and follow in the footprints before me, for I am called to pen words. I am called as His writer.

I will listen to His call and answer.

THE BLESSING Believe Goodness of God

Listen to these songs to hear God's blessing over you. To renew your belief in Him. And to remember His goodness.

With all my love,

Cindy

Photo Noodles - credit unknown. But thank you.

Photo Military courtesy of Image by Djordje Nikolic from Pixabay