31 Days of Writing - The Case for Writing Prompts

31 Days of Writing - Day 10

The Case for Writing Prompts

Scenes from last year's Allume Conference

Here I am with the beautiful Holley Gerth.
She's real, loving, and the ultimate encourager!

Some of the God-Sized Dream Girls at Allume
That's my hair on the left!!

Circles of Faith CoFounder and Managing Editor Kimberly Amici 
with the beautiful generous Ann Voskamp.

I'm going to the Allume Conference - a writers/bloggers/communicators conference soon. And I'm really excited. This will be my third year attending. I love it! It's a place to learn, connect, exchange information, friendship, and fellowship. 

I'm also working on Writing for 31 Days and when I saw Allume was doing a LinkUp that invited us to either share our About page or 10 Top Things My Roommates Should Know About Me, well I considered this a good writing challenge for today. I am finding that if nothing else, this 31 Days of Writing journey is indeed teaching me things about writing. 

So my personal writing lesson from today:

Writing Prompts Can Help You Write

So here are some things my Allume roommates should know about me:

1. I am a party girl. And by that, in this case, I mean I love being with other girls in a room, having a sleepover party. I love those sleepy whispers exchanged from our beds into the stillness of the night. (This might come from the fact that every night until my oldest sister left (me!) for college, we would go into one another's room and chat until we sleepwalked back into our own rooms.)
2. Don't worry, my party girl ways won't keep you up at night. Though I love to chat, I know Allume can tire a girl out. All that talking and visiting and writing and listening. And besides, I love my sleep.
3. I love getting to know you. While I love people and enjoy meeting new friends...I definitely like to engage a little more deeply. So if you have time, I'd really like to know more about you. What's your sweet spot? What's your passion? What do you struggle with? Let's talk!
4. I'm a praying gal. Do you have a prayer request? A prayer need? Something that's heavy on your heart? I would love to pray with you. I have been praying in a group for my kids as part of the ministry of Moms In Prayer International for over 20 years. And now I guest post on their blog, which I love!
5. I am a writer, editor, writing coach, and I love to speak too! What do you like to do? How do you most like to communicate? Let's inspire one another. Let's talk through some of our goals. I'm sure there are things we can learn from each other.
6. I am an official MOPs Mentor Mom. The first time I went to Allume two years ago in Harrisburg, PA, I had a funny feeling that I couldn't place. And then it dawned on me...I was about 20 years older than the average Allume attendee. I didn't like that at first. However, I can now say I have fully embraced where I am in life. I am over 50, married for 30 years November 10, have four grown children, a son-in-love, and a precious grandbaby who is heading toward one year old!! And I have learned a lot from life!
7.  I am the Executive Editor and CoFounder of CirclesOfFaith.org - Where Faith, Life, and Community Intersect - But since for the most part, I am rooming with the other CoFounder Kimberly Amici, well you already know that! We are a team of 19 women who are passionate about sharing stories that Inspire, Empower, and Connect. We would love you to join our community...and we welcome you to share your story too!
8. I am also a part of the God-sized Dreams Community - Where Dreams Set Sail - What a blessing! This was a book launch group for Holley Gerth's You're Made for a God-Sized Dream. It's turned into a community of support and encouragement amongst women who are somewhere on the journey of pursuing their God-sized dreams. Join us there...because YOU are made for a God-sized dream!
9. I have many stories yet to write. Some big stories, some just moments in time. How about you? I have a big story about how God met me in some deep and heavy places. How He showed up when I needed Him most. How His love shone through the challenges of losing twins when I was five months pregnant, parenting my tweenage stepdaughter when I was having babies...and was so ill-equipped, and my husband's very serious accident that left him with severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Bits of the story have been shared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries and Heavenly Company: Entertaining Angels Unaware. Some day, I would love to share the whole story in a book and through speaking. I'd like to do both with my husband, who is a living breathing miracle! 
10. I love your story! You have one...and it matters to me, to God, to others. Stories are so powerful. They provide an opportunity to grow, learn, deepen our faith. When we exchange them, I believe they inform, reform, and transform. I've seen this time and time again. So please share your story with me! I'd love to hear it. I know we will both be impacted by the telling and the hearing!

Roomies and non-Roomies alike, I'm looking forward to getting to know you better at Allume. 

P.S. I know this post is full of a crazy amount of links...but just wanted to make it convenient in case you wanted to check out the things/people/places I mention.

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