The Right Order

Hello, and welcome!

Here in this space, my hope is for you to find a place to belong, to be encouraged, and to lift your gaze and remember that the Lord is with you and loves you. I cannot promise you perfection, thoughtfully-curated emotional depth, or even a great recipe. Sorry ahead of time. Thanks for taking a chance.

Prepping for speaking at my first women’s retreat has been top-of-mind this past week, and honestly, I have loved it. I’m planning to talk about discipleship—my favorite thing. Bible study, women’s discipleship groups, family Bible time…discipleship has been a high priority in my life for a while. It was super encouraging to meet up with my Bible teacher and chat about it as I prepare. Seeking the wisdom of my church mothers is something I practice as much as possible, and honestly, something I cannot recommend highly enough. If you are trying something new…get thee to your church mother!

That said, something I am learning in this particular season is the value of going in the right order. Vacuuming the floor before putting away the Christmas tree is a fool’s errand, you know? Same with brushing your teeth before you finish your coffee, and putting on mascara before eyeliner. Don’t do it.

I love listening to Dr. Sarita Lyons. She posted a clip on Instagram, and I watched it, probably four times, when I came upon it last week. She talked about figuring out our spiritual gifts, and how that is good, but it is not the best place to start. She used Exodus 31 to make her point, and I am still chewing on this: When God called Bezalel and Oholiab to build the pieces for the tabernacle, He didn’t start by giving them the ability/gift to do it. First He gave them His Spirit. Then he gave them wisdom, then understanding, knowledge….AND THEN He equipped them with the skills, or gifts, to actually do the work.

So much talk around “identity” has centered on figuring out your gifts and going from there. In thinking about applying our gifts to the call Jesus put on ALL our lives, to go and make disciples, I have spent a lot of time thinking about my “bucket of gifts” and what to do with them. I can see now that I was going in the wrong order. It makes sense that using my gifts well starts with His Spirit. Getting to know Him. Letting His Word press on me and shape me. So much prayer! Then there will be time to pray about a need I can help fill, a person I can love, a ministry I can serve. It might take time to learn how that need/person/ministry works before I dive in, and that training is wisdom.

Looking back, I think this process is something a lot of us experienced when we were younger, and that was how we figured out our gifts earlier in life. But people change over time. God may be bearing new gifts in you, for new and different work. It’s not going backward to go in the right order. So slow down, take your time. Pray. Seek the Lord in His Word and let His Spirit fill you, growing you in wisdom and knowledge before He equips. Hold it with an open hand, and ask God to be with you every step of the way. He’s the best! The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it! (1 Thes. 5:24)

Thank you for bearing with me! I hope these scattered thoughts make sense. I am hoping to do a better job at consistency with this newsletter.

Book update: I am currently writing Book #3 in the A Work in Progress series! Yay! Chelsea Calvert Graham, Youth Guy Chris’ sister, is the main character. She is six years post-divorce, raising her twins, and teaching in a local elementary school. She’s in her forties now, so please don’t be surprised when she dances in the grocery store to songs she loved in her teen years! Falling in love with anyone is not on her radar, much less a mouthy firefighter, so I’ve got my work cut out for me. T’s and P’s appreciated!

Book Events: I am still in the planning stages, but I have a couple of book events coming up, and I will definitely update when we nail down the date and times! So exciting!

Speaking update: I am so excited for my first multi-session women’s retreat! Please pray for me to be faithful, to have clarity from the Lord, and to serve the women well. The imposter syndrome is real, but the Lord has been shepherding my heart so sweetly through the prep, I know He is working in it all. My goal for speaking in a semester is twice, and this retreat is two sessions plus a q+a, so technically, I am meeting my goal with a single event! I would love to have more speaking opportunities, so if you need a speaker to encourage your group, I’d love to be there!

Podcasts: Does this count as a different kind of speaking? The Because Fiction podcast is my most recent episode, and it dropped a few weeks ago. Before that, I got to chat with Jessica on A Baker’s Perspective, which was so fun! I am planning to be on a couple more podcasts this semester, so be on the lookout. Yay!

Contact: The best ways to reach out to me are via Instagram @kelli.a.galyean, or on my website, www.kelligalyean.com.

Thank you so much for reading, and for all your support and encouragement! I hope the new year is treating you and yours well so far. Have a great week!

Kelli