Don't let me forget

It was only 7 days ago that I was surrounded by 650 Godly women all pursuing their "God sized" dream. Smiling faces we're guarenteed as you walked down the hallway and elevator conversations with strangers were the norm. I have never felt the Holy Spirit somewhere as strong as I did at the She Speaks Conference last weekend. By the time I was getting ready to leave...it felt like home.

All these women were truly my sisters in Christ and any one of them would stop in the middle of the hallway to pray with me if I asked. When you are there, you know that God is real. You can see him beaming through every women on stage and all of them in the crowd. Most women had a list of great ideas and projects to start once they got home...but I started to forget after only a few days back in the real world.

I know that this happens to other women who attended She Speaks but I haven't seen any blog posts about it. Within only a few days...I was back in reality and pretty consumed with earthly concerns. A doctors appointment on Tuesday gave me plenty to worry and obsess about. I misunderstanding of our credit card statement consumed me for days as I worried about money and bills. My job is wonderful and exciting but it can mentally drain me by the end of the week. To top off the week, an intense request from family that we will need to decline. I found myself shocked at how quickly I forgot the feeling of She Speaks. How quickly I felt like I was alone in this world and that my "God sized" dream was more of a fantasy that would never come true...when would I have time? This world is trying to suck me dry of any energy and ambition so I have nothing left to put toward this calling God has given me.

I am making a stand today...to not forget. I will keep my eyes fixed on You and I know that God will finish what he started. Distractions will be part of my everyday life but they don't need to derail me. 

Here are some highlights of She Speaks and thank you to so many of your who prayed and contributed to my scholarship fund. It was an amazing experience that I can't even begin to explain with words.

Most of your know the impact the Lysa Terkeurst's book Made to Crave had on my life. At this conference I had the chance to get to meet her and show her the progress I have made in the past 18 months. She was just as sweet and encouraging as I imagined. I can see Christ through her and she is an obedient women of God that I truly admire. She actually wanted a picture with me! It was so exciting!

This is a shot of the beautiful stage they had set up. Everything at this conference is done so beautifully by Proverbs 31 Ministries and the conference director LeAnn Rice.

There is a prayer room that gives you a quiet place to go set with Jesus. The P31 women pray over all of our names and then they place our name on one of the names of God. This was what my name was attached to.

There were a few women that I kept bumping into (out of 650 women total) and this was my friend Wendy Saxton. She speaks and writes about forgiveness and healing. She was always a smiling face and we kept encouraging each other all weekend. I wish I would have taken more pictures!

My beautiful roommate, Jen Buckner has a blog about being a mom, woman of God and how wonderful His grace is. I would love if you would check out her blog. She write beautifully and from the heart. She is one of the sweetest women I have ever met and I pray so many blessings on her!

Thank your again to everyone that showed support, encouragement, prayer and financial help to bring me to this conference. I am truly blessed to have such a supportive group of people around me!


This picture was taken just before I got to meet Lysa...can you tell that I am excited? :o) 

We are not hypocrites, we're human

I have spent the past few weeks preparing to speak at the She Speaks Conference in North Carolina this weekend. As I am writing and rewriting my story and trying to inspire others to see what God can do in there life...I feel an imbalance. I want to show how strong God is but at the same time...I also need to show how weak I am.

Usually, professional speakers are asked to speak about their expertise that show an incredible list of credentials. I feel that this type of speaking,  isn't the same style. I am actually planning to show my speaking group the worst picture of my entire life...maybe the least flattering picture ever taken in the history of women. You may think I am exaggerating but I'm not. It is 50x worse than the one I posted on here before. That is how I am starting my speech...literally I will say "look how bad it got" but that won't be the end of it...I also feel the need to admit that it is still hard!

Sometimes I feel like I am marketing a difficult product.

1. Trust in God for your food issues
2. Then deal with the stuff you have been eating to forget
3. It will be extremely hard and you will succeed and fail, many times
4. It is absolutely 100% worth it
5. You should listen to me because I lost 80 pounds...but Jesus shows me everyday that I still need him to help me from putting the pounds back on.

Worst commercial pitch ever, right? Maybe not. I am not a hypocrite...I am human. If I said it was easy, no one would believe me. God did a miracle in my life that changed me in every way. My relationship with Him has reached a whole new level...why would he let that relationship fade by healing me completely?

I once prayed a "scary prayer" and I call it that because it is scary to say it because it might come true. I prayed "Lord, I hope I never conquer my issues with food because those issues have brought me closer to you." I felt like I was praying to stay sick...that is scary but not as scary as falling away from Christ. 

In a few days I will share my story with many women about how completely weak I am and how strong God has been in my life. Humbling myself seems like and understatement but I am willing to look weak to give the glory to my God.

God specializes in the weak and broken so I will continue to boast about my weaknesses to show his amazing power.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" Therefor I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake. I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecution, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Michelle is a real woman on a mission to share her story of
 losing 80 pounds through the grace and power of Jesus Christ. 

She lives in a quiet suburb in Minnesota

with her husband, Ben and their dog, Drew. 

To learn more about Michelle, click on "My Story"at the top of the page.