Last night was a cool drink of water on a scorching hot Texas day. So even though it’s technically not ALL Day 2…I want to begin today with the end of Day 1. 🙂
5:30pm – met with Sheryl and Bud & Linda Mayhew from Hope Christian stores in the California area. I was blessed to hear their stories and spend an evening empowering one another with every story told.
To finish we attended the Worship concert ICRS sponsored and got to listen to Max Lucado and hear music from Stephen Curtis Chapman and Laura Story. At the end of the evening I received an email letting me know I have been nominated one of “Houston’s Favorite Bloggers”!!! I have a photo shoot in July and the big event is in October at the Authors Networking Summit. An excellent end to a very very long day.
8:00am – Went to Fed Ex and low and behold my packages were under Shannon Drive…? Drive? Definitely my day was already back on track and the trepidation I felt in the beginning of Day 1 has subsided.
9:00am – Kicked off the day with Randy Robison who does TV interviews for LIFE TODAY. It’s funny, once I get the opportunity to share what I feel God has called me to it empowers me that much more and the bundle of nerves subsides. I’m finally ‘back’ and in my element and loving every second.
10:00am – Let the book signing begin, and WOW did it ever! I didn’t really believe people would come over to our corner in Author Ave but I’m quite pleased with the amount of people from ALL OVER THE WORLD who were interested in EXPOSED and picking up order forms for their store.
1:00pm – Another interview with Rose Gamblin – MRG Media producing the radio program “Homeschool Companion”
When she asked, “Did you ever ask why God didn’t just deliver you from the abuser and what was being done?” I instantly could visualize every person who’d gone through abuse listening intently to what I might have to say.
“I’d be lying if I said I never felt that frustration or asked that question but what I’ve come to realize is that we all have the freedom to make choices and sometimes we make bad choices…there are even some who make the choice to do evil things and we can get caught up in their choices. What I’d rather focus on is the fact that I got through what had been done and am now empowered by the fact that I survived and can realize what God has done through my life.”
1:30pm – Guess who I ran into? The sweet woman I helped yesterday at the airport. Come to find out she is from Nigeria and buying books for her bookstore.
Which reminds me, Sheryl leads women on missions to Africa and, God willing, one day I will go with her and mission to the rape survivors in Africa. Talk about a bucket list…which in hindsight sounds odd and wrong to call it a bucket list item but it IS…
3:30pm – It’s been a LONG DAY…I’m literally dead on my feet. The conversations I’ve had have been powerful, dynamic, and encouraging. There is no greater blessing than to hear “Thank you for writing your story,” and I heard almost from every single person who felt compelled to come to my table. Often some would wait till their companion walked to the next table and they’d whisper,
“I’m a survivor too.”
“I know what you are talking about and it’s refreshing to see that someone had the courage to write it down for us.”
“I haven’t told anyone but my step-brother…”
“My mother was raped at 70.”
“My wife…”
And it goes on, those are just what I remember. Where do I get my payment…from the 2 minutes I have with a survivor and see the hope in their eyes that they, too, can overcome.
The main message of the day that seems to resonate is though you might have suffered through a great ordeal, it does not define you, but you survived through it and it has made you the strong, resilient person you are today. It’s about learning to take empowerment from your past instead of letting it steal your power.
I look forward to what tomorrow has to bring. Right now I need sleep!
Blessings
Shannon