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Hi friends—

Stephanie & Me

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 —
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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,

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