My True Passion...

...is writing. Yes, I am also passionate about glorifying God and loving my family but I also believe I've been created with a passion to write.

While growing up, my favorite toy was an old black typewriter in a case. I inherited this treasure from a relative who had upgraded to an electric one. Many afternoons and Saturdays, I would pull out that magic box, set up my typewriter and be happy to create stories for hours on end. I set up an office in my closet and still have fond memories of my time spent in there. The typewriter, my paper, and white correction strips were lined up on a shelf and I could sit and type away in privacy.

Before moving into the house with my very own private office, I would write stories wherever I could hide with a notebook and pencil. I often pretended to be Harriet the Spy and filled notebook upon notebook with important information about my neighbors and any passerby who happened to be walking their dog down Doud Drive.

With the gift of my treasured typewriter, my stories got longer since I could type almost as fast as I could think. The family pets were my favorite characters to write about. There was the great story about how Sneaky the hamster saved the day when a burglar tried to rob our family and I continued to make up stories about our new neighbors. For awhile, I convinced my sister and friend Amber to make a daily newspaper filled with articles I wrote along with their contributions of the weather and comics.

Today, I have upgraded from a black typewriter in a box to a keyboard and flat screen computer. The subjects of my writings have evolved, but I have not lost my love for writing. By day, I write about the financial services world and the changing marketplace, and at home I get to write letters to my little boy and tales of motherhood. I would love to someday merge my daytime writings and my homelife into one.

Which leads to the reason for this post.

SheSpeaks is a Christian speaking, writing, and leadership conference that I just discovered on one of my friend's blogs (thanks Megan!). Its held in June and provides an opportunity to learn how to take these types of passions to the next level. It sounds like it would be a great time to grow as a writer and I would love to attend! This could be my chance. Lysa TerKeurst is offering a fantastic chance to earn a scholarship to this conference through her blog.

It would be great to attend and learn more about the writing and publishing world, so if I win that would be amazing, but regardless, I will continue to write and pray for the opportunity to take my passion to the next level!