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What’s new: Speaking, writing, and Marmalade’s home

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged here at BethJones.net so I thought I’d share about what’s new.  One of the most exciting things is that I just graduated from Robyn Dystra’s 8-week Christian Speakers Bootcamp. The best part was having access to Robyn live on a weekly Zoom meeting, where she shared the wealth of her years of experience speaking and answered our questions about speaking. 

This is my digital certificate from the class, and Robyn is mailing all of us a paper certificate, too. Isn’t it cool?!

Christian Speakers Bootcamp digital certificate

Second, Robyn assigned a speech coach to everyone in the training. Mine was Lisa Betz, an award-winning novelist.  She was great and helped me to greatly improve and polish my Cinderella signature talk

My signature talk is about Cinderella's story and her glass slipper: The right shoes can take you to exciting places!

My signature talk is about Cinderella’s story & her glass slippers: The right shoes can take you to exciting places!

We also got a practice and prayer partner, to help us practice our “elevator pitch” (what you say when you meet someone new and he or she says, “What do you do?”). Our speech coach worked with us on this, too. Here’s mine:

Me in denim dress recently on a trip with Ray to Columbia, Missouri

Me in denim dress recently on a trip with Ray to Columbia, Missouri

“I’m Beth Jones, an International Speaker and Author of 30 books. I believe we should dream BIG because we serve a BIG GOD! I help women to step out of fear into faith in Jesus Christ, by sharing my story and the Bible about how much God loves us and the freedom we have in Jesus.”

What do you think?

If you’re an event planner or know someone who is who needs a speaker for their women’s conference, event, or workshop, please contact me here.

If you have never heard me share my story, you can read it in my memoir, Promises in the Dark: One Woman’s Search for Authentic Love, available at Amazon here.

 

Promises in the Dark graphic

Promises in the Dark: One Woman’s Search for Authentic Love graphic

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Blog, Books, Business, Faith, Family, Friendship, prayer, Speaking, Spiritual Gifts, Travel, Writing

Goals and dreams for the new year 2024

2024Image source: BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

2024
Image source: BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” ~ Melody Beattie

We’re nearing the end of 2023 and the new year 2024 is around the corner, as of this post’s writing. I hope you had a great Christmas with your family and your friends, and have a wonderful, new year overflowing with God’s blessings.

I usually do several things at the end of each year and before the start of the new one:

  • Reflect over the past year and pray about the coming new year. I set aside a quiet time alone to seek God to ask His forgiveness for any sins I may have committed in the past year, and to ask for His direction, wisdom, guidance, and protection for me and my family. I no longer do new year’s resolutions (breaking them too fast). For the last several years, I’ve asked for a “one word” and a Scripture as an anchor for the coming year. The one word has worked much better, and it serves as a theme for the year. I really liked this video on resetting your life and just “dreaming” about the coming year and writing down what comes to mind (although I still think goals are a great and wise idea!). My motto is “Dream big because we serve a big God!” God makes dreams come true, as my life is living proof!
Palm trees & beachImage source: Maarten van den Heuvel

Palm trees & beach
Image source: Maarten van den Heuvel

  • Declutter, organize, and clean. Marie Kondo said, “Tidying is the act of confronting yourself.” So true! Have you ever just really LOOKED at your house, rooms, closets, drawers, yard, garage, and car and thought, “What IS all this crap? Why on earth do I have it?” (Or you wonder why your spouse or kids do!) Decluttering and organizing is an endless task, but such a necessary one. I try to do this several times a year, but especially at the end of the year, to have a fresh new start. It’s SO freeing to give away, throw away, or sell things. You just feel a weight lifted off you, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  “When home feels out of control, no matter what the reason, unsettledness and anxiety can seep in, and then the chaos becomes internal as well as external.” (Myquillyn Smith)
ClutterImage source: Ashim D’Silva

Clutter
Image source: Ashim D’Silva

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Are you making 2nd quarter goals? Hope, health, & happiness.

Image source: Katie Harp @ Unsplash

Image source: Katie Harp @ Unsplash

Yesterday I met with our CPA to file our 2022 taxes. So. Not. Fun!

My husband Ray and I now owe even more taxes than the year before. I’m looking to Jehovah Jireh our Provider. 

God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice to God instead of his beloved, precious son Isaac. God told Abraham to kill Isaac to test Abraham’s faith in Him. When God saw that Abraham was going to obey, not even withholding from God his son who he waited years into his old age to have and who he greatly loved, God stopped Abraham.

“Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.” (Genesis 22:13, NKJV)

I’m also praying for a payment plan with the IRS to pay the taxes that we owe. Now that we’re into the second quarter of 2023, I’m making other goals as well. Are you?

To summarize them, my new goals are hope, health, and happiness. 

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