Rachel Olsen from Proverbs 31 has agreed to answer a few questions on this subject!
1. Rachel, THANK YOU so much for joining me. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
My pleasure, Tricia. I am a wife of 15 years, a mother of two, a national women’s speaker, a university teacher, and senior editor of an online daily devotional and a devotional book called God’s Purpose for Every Woman. All that to say, basically, I’m a word-geek!
2. I know that as a mom, writer, speaker, editor, teacher — we must be filled up before we can pour out? How do you do this “filling up” in your ordinary daily life?
The main way that I fill up spiritually is by regularly taking time to connect with God through His Word and prayer. Sounds like a “pat answer,” but it is true. In fact, in October I wrote some about how I do that on my blog. Another thing that also does it for me is to immerse myself in the beauty of His creation – like walking at the nearby beach or through the woods – with my thoughts on Him and all I’m grateful for.
Creatively, I have to get away from my computer long enough to live my life and engage with the people around me. To go to the park with my kids, to strike up a conversation with a stranger at the bakery, to volunteer to help out in my church; or just to people-watch at a café or coffee shop. All this helps fuels my mind for writing. If I’m too busy writing to live my life, something is out of alignment.
3. There are a lot of people who talk about writing and/or speaking — How did you get started? What encouragement do you have for others?
Well, the short version is that one day I heard a radio show by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Afterward, I went to their website and discovered they were holding a conference called She Speaks the very next day for aspiring speakers and writers. It was calling my name. So I talked with my husband and we prayed, and then I called the ministry. The next morning I was on the road to attend that conference, and it forever altered the course of my life.
The longer version of that story would include details like a bachelors’ degree in journalism, and a master’s in communication. Also, I’d been freelancing for a couple of years, and had a monthly column in a local paper here. I’d been teaching public speaking at the university and doing a little speaking whenever the opportunity presented itself. And most significantly, I’ve prayed a lot for God to use me. He had seared a verse into my heart during one of those prayer times that I now see as my “calling.” Jeremiah 15:19: “If you repent, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak worthy and not worthless words, you will be my spokesman.”
Now, every year at the She Speaks conference I get to hear various women’s stories of how God has placed them on their path to becoming His spokesman – and each one is unique! So I would say to others: Don’t get sidetracked by comparing your path to another writer/speaker’s. Move out in faith, but never force it. Follow Him with a pure heart, and bathe each step in prayer for His will and not yours to be done.
4. What is one organizational tip that helps you to balance your life?
Gulp — organization is not my strong suit. A good filing system on my laptop and in my email program is essential. I also have to have physical file folders in my desk because I’m forever jotting thoughts down on napkins or tearing articles out of the newspaper, and I need a place to corral those scraps. I bought a minivan that has this cool voice recorder built into the driver’s side sun visor so that I can capture any ideas I get while driving. But as far as bringing balance to my overall life, that would be maintaining a growing relationship with God. When I let my connection with Him grow weak, my clarity grows dim. You only asked for one thing, but I got sidetracked — told you organization is not my thing!
5. You mentioned that you are the editor for Proverbs 31 Ministries’ online devotional Encouragement for Today which reaches 180,000+ people. Tell me about that and how can my readers sign up?
These devotions for women were launched by the team of speakers and writers at P31 a few years ago and they have been wildly popular. It’s absolutely free to subscribe, and each day’s devotion is emailed to you every morning, Monday through Friday. The topics mostly deal with a woman’s relationship with God, but can also cover marriage and parenting issues, friendship and mentoring issues, and money and ministry issues. I like to say, “Just try it for a week and if you don’t like it, hit unsubscribe!” We get emails all the time – every single week – telling us that these devotions have changed lives, saved marriages, taught people to pray, or ushered them closer to God.
To subscribe, click Encouragement for Today. If you like them, be sure and drop me a note as it encourages me to see how God works through my writing and through the words of the team at P31. It’s such an honor to be able to string together letters to form words, and words to form sentences, and all the while God infuses them with His power and purpose to affect lives for His glory! See, I told you I’m just a word-geek — who has fallen in love with God.
Thank you for having me, Tricia. Blessings on your family and ministry! ~ Rachel
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