Oh, Me of Little Faith by Tracy Crump

A new writers conference? It sounded nice—to have a conference right here in the Mid-South. But every time someone in our group brought up the subject, all I could focus on were the negatives. Our group was too small to facilitate a conference. We had no money to pay speakers or rent a venue. The economy was bad. Other conferences that had been around for years were seeing major drops in attendance. This was not a good idea.

Eventually, April Carpenter made an executive decision—“We’re going to hold a conference, and I’m going to direct it. I need volunteers.”

My hand went up of its own accord. I not only volunteered to lead a workshop but also act as registrar and coordinate the website construction. What was I thinking? My parents were in very poor health, and their demands on my time left me little occasion to write, much less work a conference.

Then Jeris Hamm came on board as marketing director. Her enthusiasm was contagious, but every time she expressed concerns about overflowing a room large enough to accommodate seventy attendees, my negative side resurfaced. I told her not to worry. We’d be lucky to have twenty-five. She finally had to tell me to stop. I was dampening her enthusiasm.

The day of the conference arrived, and everything was going beautifully. And yes, more people registered than I’d expected. Halfway through the first keynote address, Jeris came out to the registration table and asked how many attendees we had.

“Fifty-one.”

“Oh, my goodness!” she said. “When I signed on as marketing director, I prayed for fifty attendees.”

“Oh, my goodness!” I said. “One of the registrations was complimentary. We have exactly fifty paid attendees.”

My lack of faith never dampens God’s plans. He counters every no with a yes, every negative with a positive. He knew who needed to attend our conference, and He brought every writer who needed to hone skills, network with others, and be encouraged.

Now we’re doing it all over again. How about you? Is God calling you to develop your talents for His glory? Join us at the 2015 Mid-South Christian Writers Conference on March 7.

 Meet Tracy!

 

Tracy Crump has published articles in Focus on the Family, Mature Living, ParentLife, Light & Life, and other national magazines. A dozen of her stories have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and she has written numerous devotionals for publication. Tracy has served on staff at writers conferences and co-founded Write to Life workshops with Marylane Wade Koch. Together they present one-day workshops and webinars and co-edit The Write Life, a free monthly e-newsletter which includes story callouts. Visit Tracy at www.WriteLifeWorkshops.com.

Tracy's Workshop

Writers' Rights

First rights, reprint rights, all rights—what does it all mean, and what if I do something wrong? Learn about the different rights you sell on your work and how to retain as many rights as possible.
For more information, please visit the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference website.