#encouragements

i'm doing this thing right now where i'm one of like ten people competing to see who can fundraiser the most money for one of the community theaters i'm involved with. one of my fundraising things is i'm hosting a themed trivia night and planned on making/selling crafts and art there as an extra way of making money. i have been making some art, but with everything else i have to do i realized it wouldn't be a lot, so i reached out to a (very) casual friend of mine who is a great artist/craftsman to ask if they would donate some art to sell. they didn't respond for a couple days, so i figured the answer was no and accepted that, but then they responded yes! and i'm going to have some great art to sell!

also since the fundraiser is a trivia night, i'm making prize baskets for the top two teams. i reached out to a couple local restaurant franchise managers to see if they'd be willing to donate some coupons for the baskets. one said i'll do you one better! how about some giftcards! this is a person i've NEVER met by the way. and the other? said no (gASP HORROR but actually it's fine, and he bought a ticket to attend trivia. the worst thing they can say is no)

i got to choreograph my first musical because the choreographer dropped out and they were like "hey we need someone who can do this" and i was like hey. i've never done this before. but i can do it. and i did and have since gotten to choreograph EIGHT other musicals and find a real passion. i got to speak on a panel at the first convention i ever went to, moderated by someone i'm a HUGE fan of, because i applied on a whim, thinking "the worst they can say is no." i just took on the presidency of a club at school that i wasn't even a member of because i put myself out there and applied

and i have lots of examples of putting myself out there, and getting rejected. i just can't think of any right now, because those aren't what stick in my head. it's the successes i focus on, because i'm so grateful, and also because i consider "what if i hadn't asked? what if i hadn't tried?"

Tell me God isn’t playful.

Today, I woke up feeling really low. I tried cleaning my apartment, watching something funny—anything to lift my mood—but nothing seemed to make my smile stay. So tonight, before I started working, I prayed. I asked God for encouragement, for even a small boost to get me through.

Then the first meeting of my shift happened… and it made me cry tears of joy.

I received the highest rating possible for last year’s performance. After everything I struggled with, I honestly thought I’d receive a mid rating. And even though my supervisor and I didn’t always see eye to eye, she still chose to recognize my work, my effort, and my heart to serve. I couldn’t fully wrap my head around it. I thought all my efforts would end up unnoticed—but they didn’t. God even wrapped it all with a little “cash” surprise.

Encouragements

Is there something you have been waiting on God for for a really long time? Are you at the end of your rope and about to give up because nothing seems to be happening? You have prayed, you have waited and waited and waited and still nothing. But I want to encourage you to hold on a little bit longer, to wait a little bit longer. There is something I have been praying about for a really long…