As summer draws to a close I look forward to the next season. I like the change of seasons because sometimes they bring a much needed change of pace and always they have things to teach us. Today I share with you a woman who has experienced some seasons in her own life and uses her experiences to help and encourage others.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Alane Pearce. Talk about an inspirational woman with a heart for others! She started a non-profit, has written two books (so far), is a wife and a mother and uses her story to help encourage others in similar situations. Alane currently lives in Texas. What a blessing she is! I know you will enjoy reading what she has to say. I especially like what she says about "hope". (Thank you, Alane).
August Woman of Hope
What gives you the most hope? Laughter. It is honest and true and healing and it gives me hope that no matter how bad things get around us, we will still be okay if we can find something to laugh about.
Notes from the MarginsTell us about yourself. I am an Air Force wife and the mom of an 11 year-old who is a big gift to us through adoption; I love to cook, hate to clean and spend way too much time on the computer! I am a writer—for a long time just by passion, but now also by trade. I have written and published two books; Notes from theMargins: Healing Conversations with God and a companion Bible study called Comparing Notes. (Both are available on Amazon.com) I have recently started coaching new authors on writing, publishing and book promotion, which feels more like fun than a job. I also started a nonprofit that runs conferences for military spouses from which I learned many things including the fact that I am better one-on-one with people than I am in big groups. Unfortunately the economy has not been friendly to the start-up nonprofit so we will be closing that in the fall.
What do you consider your gifts? I am definitely an encourager; my friends always tell me they feel so good after they’ve been with me (which both humbles and thrills me). Hospitality is another gift; I love to have people over and treat them like they are so special. Unfortunately this makes some people feel uncomfortable or like they couldn’t reciprocate in the same way so I’m learning how to pull back a little to help people feel more comfortable. I think that is an important aspect of hospitality. I also have the gift of exhortation (which means to have wisdom and ability to give advice to point someone toward healthy choices).
You are an author and have conducted conferences for women whose spouses are in the military. What inspired you to do this (these)? In a way, the book I wrote, Notes from the Margins: Healing Conversations with God, and the military spouse conferences were both born out of the same desire to share my story to help others. It probably also stems from my spiritual gifts; especially the gift of exhortation which gives me the desire to challenge others toward a healthy relationship with Jesus and to make God-honoring, healthy choices.
I wrote the book because after losing 7 pregnancies (two of which were tubal pregnancies that ruptured and nearly killed me), and after losing our first-born son to a severe heart defect when he was just 15 days old, I couldn’t get help from anyone. I asked my doctors who told me to, “just get over my past,” and my family didn’t really know how to help me, so I went to God with my hard questions and noted them in the margins of my Bible. I wanted other people who have experienced loss to understand that even though it seems like God has abandoned you, he is still there working in ways you may never realize.
I started the military spouse conferences because there was a time (actually when I was writing Notes from the Margins), that my husband was deployed or gone so often that I only saw him for 120 days in the course of two years. I realized during that time how important it was to be with other military spouses who could understand what I was going through. My weekly coffee meetings with other military spouses were so healing and helpful for me that I wanted other women to experience it and understand the importance of camaraderie.
What do you do to relax? Relax? I’m not sure of the last time I relaxed! Between balancing writing, author coaching and conferences with household and family, it sometimes seems like I’m always doing something and late for something else! Camping with my family is relaxing. So is reading when I’m not too tired to do it!
What is your favorite saying or verse? Philippians 4:8-9 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
What color is hope for you? Green because it represents new life—new growth on trees and plants in the spring, cool green grass in the summer. It’s funny because my dad’s favorite color is green and everything we had growing up seemed to be green; our house, our car, his boat and his company logo. I swore I would never love green. And now I do! How’s that for a cosmic joke?!
What is hope to you? I read an article one time that explained the difference between hope and a wish that said something along the lines of: A wish is just a dream or a request; hope is a strong desire with the confidence that it will come to be. I think that it would be hard to have hope without having faith because it is faith that can give us the confidence that good will come.
Anything else you would like to add?
You can find out about my books and writing/publishing at AlanePearce.com
I am linking with Pink Saturday.
Blessings,
