God-sized Dreams

Where Dreams Set Sail

  • Home
  • The Dream
    • The Beginning
    • Videos
  • Meet The Sailors
  • Resources
  • Contact
    • Guest Post Submissions
  • Shop

When All of a Not So Suddenly, Our Dreams Come True

February 23, 2015 By Elise Daly Parker 9 Comments

Sunset

[pinit count=”horizontal”]

On Saturday, January 31, one of my deepest desires and greatest dreams came true. It’s the day we took Circles Of Faith offline and had our first Live event. It was perfect!

I am filled to overflowing with the goodness of the Lord.

Last month, I talked a little here about the journey to and through CirclesOfFaith.org. At times it has been hard to persevere. Thankfully, I work with a team who holds one another up and gives and receives encouragement as the need arises.

A few months ago, Wodline joined our team. She’s a wedding and event planner. We knew we wanted to have live in-person events, so we were grateful to have her on board. And she was ready to jump in. We started meeting, planning, praying together. We scouted out a few locations, weighed our options for food, worked out timing, and put together our agenda. We came up with a name we liked too – Women of Influence.

Our vision for Circles of Faith – Women of Influence was to:

  • Enjoy Fellowship
  • Build Bridges
  •  Share Stories
  • Break Bread Together
  • Grow
  • Learn
  • Share Our Faith, Our Lives with one another to influence others for Christ.

As we hit Send on the evite, we were excited, but we were also nervous.

What if no one responded?

We were prepared to launch a social media campaign with the usual suspects – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our site. But first, we sent an invitation to everyone on our mailing list to test the waters. Oh it was so much fun to watch one response, then another, and another, and another pop up in our email inbox…within four days, we were sold out!

Trust me when I tell you this is not what we anticipated. Just wild. We were so grateful!

That was back in early December.

January 31, was the big day. We were as prepared as we could be. There were a few minor snaffus…speaking notes disappearing off a computer, 13-degree weather, no printed name tags… Live and learn.

We began our time by praying with our amazing team – worship leaders, registration volunteers, speakers, Circles of Faith team members, photographer. We prayed that everyone who was supposed to come would be able to overcome any obstacles. You know, we have an enemy, and he certainly wanted to destroy this event. No such luck, devil!

We heard a few stories…

  • The sister whose husband unexpectedly needed the car. Not to be stopped, she used public transportation.
  • Another woman told me her friend called to say it was just too cold. No way, that would not stop her!

I’m sure there were others who had a moment’s hesitation.

However, as 9 a.m. neared and it was almost time to begin, the women came. Soon the room was full to capacity. I was out at the registration table checking on a few things and as I approached the conference room, I was blown away by the noise level.

Conversation flowed, laughter sailed through the air.

You would’ve thought everyone in the room had been longtime friends. In fact, many if not most of them had never met each other.

Oh I tell you…The room was brimming with love, fellowship, and joy.

Our agenda was simple – prayer, worship, Minutes to Mingle (kind of like speed dating), breakfast, sharing about Circles of Faith and the Power of Story, and a few prizes too.

We closed our time together by forming a huge circle around the room, holding hands, and praying thanks and blessing over all.

Jesus was there, right there in the center of our circle, in the center of our fellowship, in the center of our stories, in the center of our hearts. <====Click to Tweet

I left our event full and thankful. As is His way, God did more than we asked or imagined.

Our fervent prayers ensured that we were following His plan. And the result was perfect – His event. His guests. His Words flowing through our hearts and spilling out of our mouths. His love showered over all.

Thank you Lord…You are the One who makes our dreams come true. To you be all glory! <====Click to Tweet

I know sometimes our dreams can get very frustrating. It can seem like they will never come true. But if you sense God gently tugging you forward, obey. He will fulfill your dreams at the proper time, in the perfect way…and He will get all the glory.

Shared By: Elise Daly Parker

Related

Filed Under: Dreaming Big, When Your Dream Comes True

[sharethis]

Elise Daly Parker

About Elise Daly Parker

Elise’s latest dream set sail with the launch of her community site, Circles of Faith, Where Faith, Life, and Community Intersect. Through Circles, Elise lives out her passion for sharing stories that inspire, equip, and connect. She believes everyone has a story that matters, that God forms our dreams, and He will make them come true! Anchored in writing and editing for over 30 years, Elise is a freelance writer and editor, speaker, writing coach, and MOPS Mentor Mom. She is newly navigating life at home without kids and with a wonderful husband. Her future itinerary includes a grandbaby. She looks forward to dropping anchor here and getting to know you! Elise blogs at Our Stories, God's Glory and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Comments

  1. AvatarSabra Penley says

    February 23, 2015 at 9:54 am

    This is so exciting, Elise. I wish I could have been a part of it all. So thankful our Lord takes our dreams (which of course HE places in our hearts) and, in His perfect time and perfect way, wows us! Thank you for faithfully following His dream and encouraging us to do the same.

    Reply
    • AvatarElise Daly Parker says

      February 23, 2015 at 12:28 pm

      Thanks for your encouragement Sabra! Yes…it can be so hard to trust in the waiting. So easy to second-guess. But if we stay close to God, He proves over and over again, He is There in our dreams and He is working even when it doesn’t feel that way!

      Reply
  2. AvatarAlecia says

    February 23, 2015 at 11:15 am

    If I lived closer I would have come in a hot minute!

    Reply
    • AvatarElise Daly Parker says

      February 23, 2015 at 12:29 pm

      Well I wish you did live closer…cuz I’d love to spend more time with you. I tell you Alecia, it was a blessed day. So thankful!!

      Reply
  3. AvatarMeredith Bernard says

    February 23, 2015 at 2:06 pm

    I just love your story Elise! It’s such a great reminder that nothing is too hard or too big for God…and when He inspires it, He will always deliver it. So excited for you and your ministry and God obviously has BIG plans. GodSized plans, no doubt. 😉 xo

    Reply
    • AvatarElise Daly Parker says

      February 23, 2015 at 5:22 pm

      Thanks so much, Meredith! Nope…God can do anything and will in His time. But man, sometimes you have to hang in there despite disappointment. We are very excited about what God has in story for Circles in the future. Looking forward to more gatherings in person. If you’re in the area, join us!

      Reply
  4. AvatarDolly@Soulstops says

    February 24, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    Elise,
    So delighted for you …wish I could have been there 🙂 How sweet the fruit of your perseverance and prayer 🙂

    Reply
  5. AvatarJen says

    February 25, 2015 at 9:17 am

    Elise

    I just checked out the Circles of Faith website and love it. I have subscribed to upcoming features. Thanks for all that you do. I cannot was to explore more.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. » When All of a Not So Suddenly, Our Dreams Come True says:
    February 23, 2015 at 7:30 am

    […] On Saturday, January 31, one of my deepest desires and greatest dreams came true. It’s the day we took Circles …read more       […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow on Facebook Follow on Twitter Follow on Pinterest

Set Sail With Us

Have God-Sized Dreams delivered to your inbox.


Categories

Fistbump Media University Learning Center

The Book

God-Sized-Dreams-by-Holley-Gerth-cover-662x1024
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

Popular Posts

What To Do When We’re Called to Wait

The Do What You Can Plan

Get Over Yourself, Already…

When We Dream With God

Copyright © 2022 God-Sized Dreams

Site Design by The Copper Anchor, New Season Design & Design by Insight