Hi friends—
Stephanie & Me
Welcome to the #SheSpeaks16 Blog Hop!
(If you missed the instructions, check them out here)
In case we didn’t meet at She Speaks, please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Cindy Bultema. I had the joy of teaching Blogging with Purpose—among other workshops— at #SheSpeaks16.
I love the She Speaks Conference. I’ve been attending since 2010, and always leave with a full heart and tired feet. 🙂
One year Renee Swope warned us we may experience a “Holy Hangover” after the conference—and boy was she right! That totally describes how I feel! You too?
Note: a “Holy Hangover” is when you’re exhausted after much HOLY fun. Please don’t get that confused with an alcoholic hangover. Y’all know after my rebellious past, I live alcohol free these days. Just sayin’, please don’t misread or misinterpret. 🙂
Before I share my favorite #SheSpeaks16 moment, first some backstory.
This was my first year to be invited as a Workshop presenter. Y’all, my anxiety was over-the-top. It was a constant battle to rip down the lies:
Who do you think you are? You’re not a Proverbs 31 speaker. No one will want to hear from you.
With your background of addiction? I can’t believe you think you can do this.
You’d better try to be like the Southern women, or you’ll never get invited again.
Just keeping it real. That’s what we do here on my blog *She Sparkles*
BUT I made a predetermined decision if I was going to teach at She Speaks, I was going to walk in the Truth of who God says that I am.
Accepted
Chosen
Called
Forgiven
Unique
And the same is true for you, sweet friend!
For my first workshop, I brought along my favorite teaching prop—confetti.
I’ll confess, I was weak-kneed to use it though.
What if the women thought I was a freak?
What if it didn’t go as planned?
What if I never get invited back to She Speaks again?
I tucked my confetti wand in my “toolbox” just in case, and asked God to give me the courage to follow His voice completely, focus on serving the beautiful women 100%, and forget about trying to fit into a false “mold” the enemy was taunting me with, and just be me.
All of that to say, here is my favorite moment from #SheSpeaks16 —
She Speaks 2016 with my new friend Tina
Y’all, I could cry! This photo represents: freedom, celebration, sisterhood, and complete joy!
Lesson learned: Just be a first class you. Everyone else is taken. Go forward in courage and God-confidence, trusting God with the results. Don’t worry what everyone else thinks. Maybe some will think you are a weirdo, but it’s better to be a confetti-wielding weirdo, than stuck on the sidelines missing the chance to walk in freedom. Can I get a Woo Hoo?
Overall, it was a HUGE joy and humble privilege to serve at the She Speaks Conference! You can check out more of my photo recap here!
Let’s stay in touch! Get more *She Sparkles* by signing up on the right hand side of my blog, or receive my seasonal confetti-filled newsletter here:
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Want to read more encouraging stories about #SheSpeaks16? Check out the amazing blog posts linked up below!
Sweet blessings,
A Holy Hangover!!! I LOVE IT! Haha. Congrats on your first year of being a workshop presenter. So exciting to see how God is using you to help out fellow sisters. Thank you for this post and the chance to linkup, Cindy. 🙂 I hope you are enjoying being home!
Thanks so much, Lauren! Isn’t it fun to hear how God spoke personally and specifically to all our She Speaks sisters! I loved reading your post too! Thanks for linking up! 🙂
Cindy, I adore the confetti photo! She Speaks really impressed upon me the freedom of who we are in Christ, each one of us, and that Christ has unique paths set for all of us. I love that you used the confetti! Keep sparkling, sister!
Awww, thanks, Julie! You are so sweet! I love your She Speaks impression. My thoughts exactly! God’s richest blessings to you! 🙂
Cindy, thanks for sharing the joy…in every way! Your session was fantastic, with so many practical tips for beginners like me. May you never run out of confetti!
Thanks, Betsy! Your encouragement means a lot. And I agree with you — may my confetti supply always overflow!
Cindy, thanks so much for hosting the blog hop. I can’t wait to read everyone’s recaps and am honored to be a part of it!
Hi Courtney! My pleasure. Thank YOU for participating! 🙂
Cindy, I am exceedingly new to blogging and I entered the URL for picture in the field for the link to the blogpost. Any way I can change it?
Hi Felicia 🙂
Yes! Why don’t you repost with the correct link you would like. When you are finished, I’ll go in and delete your first entry. Does that make sense? I’m happy to help! 🙂
Done! Thank you!
Done, Felicia 🙂
So glad you decided to go with the confetti. That was my favorite photo of the ones I saw from #shespeaks this year. You are a blessing to everyone who meets you, being exactly who God created you to be!
Hi Cindy- thank you so much for the opportunity to do the blog hop. I’ve really enjoyed reading everyones takeaways so far. I want to let you know I bought your DVD with your testimony and was so moved. Moved to tears in many places, just in awe of your resiliency and what a beautiful story you have because of allowing the Lord to work in and through you. Thank you.
On a quick technical note- I’m very new at this and have two things I can’t figure out- first, my title must be too long to show itself fully and it looks silly on here now- haha! #51…is there a way to fix that? And second, I’ve tried to add both your blog hop “button” and the 2016 She Speaks button to my own blog with no luck. I was able to get your in the post itself but not on my actual blog. I am using WordPress.com- does that have anything to do with it? Thank you!
Cindy, I didn’t take your workshop at She Speaks this year, but I wish I had! I found you on twitter and wanted to thank you for hosting the blog hop. Hands down, the highlight of my day is reading through everyone’s recap of the conference. I can feel your pure joy radiating through the screen and I know God will use your story to draw so many others close to Him. Thank you for encouraging us!
Thank you so much for organizing the hop! I’m so enjoying reading a few each day and getting to know others as they process the weekend!
You are so authentic in your sharing and speaking — a real blessing!
I remarked to several…YOU my friend led the only session that I attended that began and ended in prayer. Eyes up and hearts open 🙂