Carving a New Niche

For the past several weeks, I’ve been recounting the incredible ways God moved in my life at the She Speaks conference this year. If you’re a new reader, can I just say how thrilled I am that you’ve chosen to follow the GEMS Ministry blog? And if you’re a behind the scenes beauty who secretly stops by, can I ask you to hit the grey follow button on the right hand side of the screen and let me see your pretty face?

Here’s why. If you’re reading this blog, you matter to me. I’d love to hear your heart, to interact with you, to get to know you. And you just may be a part of history in the making.

History in the making? Yes, you read that right. Because a part of what was so incredibly amazing at the conference this year was that both publishers I met with requested my proposal for Grafted into Godliness, the first of five Bible studies in the GEMS curriculum. In fact, when I went to leave my last publisher interview, the editor said, “You sit down!” She then ran to her briefcase, whipped out her company’s submission guidelines, and scratched her email at the bottom of one of the pages. She looked at me with intensity and said, “Don’t follow any of the directions on this sheet. If you do, your manuscript will end up in a pile on a desk somewhere and I’ll never see it. I want you to send everything you have to my personal email address. I need to look at this immediately. There’s nothing like this out there!” And then she leaned forward, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, “And just so you know, this never happens.”

To say I floated out of that interview would be a grave understatement. Although the Lord had given me such clarity during my interview, I couldn’t form a coherent sentence while speaking with my husband a few minutes later. My hand quivered as I held my phone to my mouth, and my words tumbled out in a jumbled mess as I screamed into the phone.

You see, the editor I met with was right on the money. There’s no other Bible study currently on the market that even remotely resembles GEMS. So I’m basically carving a new niche. And I’ll admit sometimes it’s a little scary. I’m like the Little Engine That Could going straight uphill saying, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” I’m an unknown girl in this industry but known in my innermost being by my Heavenly Father. My name is inscribed upon the palm of His hand. I’ve got a God-sized vision for women that only He can bring to fruition.

So I’m asking- will you pick up your chisel and carve this niche with me? Will you come along on this journey that will likely expose every one of my fears and perhaps a few failures along the way? I hope you’ll come. Cause I’d never want to do it without a single one of you!