this is part of my series on brandy walker’s eBook saving the world. check out the rest of the posts here. 

i first saw the video posted on facebook. at first, you’re not sure what you’re watching. i’ve heard of these windows in amsterdam. i’ve heard of the women beckoning men through the glass, scantily clad, promising a good time.

i also knew the implications of these brothels and trafficking.

it’s less than two minutes, but it only took two minutes to completely break me. the girls break into a flash mob dance, the men looking on in hunger. once the dance ends, you hear whistles and clapping and hollering…until a sign above the girls lights up and reveals truth.

every year, girls are promised a dancing career but end up here. stop the traffick.

and then there’s silence.

complete

silence.

the first time i watched it, i crawled into our bathtub and wept. the situation was all too real to me – the injustice blatantly in front of me.

i knew i’d just intersected with my purpose.

in dan allender’s book to be told, he says that our greatest pain within the story God’s written for us will point to our greatest purpose in life. i’ve known this for awhile. i’ve even experienced it. there’s nothing that gets me more ruffled than hearing of girls or women taken advantage of…

but this video? it did something. it rooted deep and rearranged all i had organized in my heart. knocked a few “important” things off the list in order to settle in nice and snug toward the top. it snuck in so quickly and unobtrusively that it’s been weeks for me to even be able to find words to describe the experience.

what i know is this :: our purpose, our dreams, they aren’t meant for us alone. we didn’t find ourselves in this moment so we could be self-serving. our passions, our talents, our leanings, they all point to Him.

we have been reconciled so we can turn around and be reconcilers. 

think of your gifts. think of what angers you – where you find you just can’t stay silent.

where are you called to reconcile? 

this is part of my series on brandy walker’s eBook saving the world. check out the rest of the posts here. 

where do you want to be one year from today? 

people ask this question a lot when you start talking about dreams and goals. it’s a good question. forces you to think, narrows your focus, makes you set reasonable benchmarks to get where you want to go.

it’s difficult for me to think that far in advance, though.

don’t get me wrong – i have a picture in my head of where i would like to be on may 2, 2013. i think the difficulty lies dormant in the speaking out of this dream. like, once i say it, people know it and some may even hold me accountable…

…or, now i’ve said it and people know so i’ll seem a failure if i don’t make it.

this is why i created my 50 before 30 bucket list. i have a little under three months to complete quite a few of those goals, but the most important thing?

i never would have completed any of them had i not written them down.

by writing them down, i declared myself willing and able. writing them down provided a space for me to think and pray and dream, allowing some of those dreams to morph into something bigger than i ever anticipated. when i started, i wanted to finish my novel. i did. as i began to work through that process, i knew i wanted to get it published. it will. when i first started talking with rhizome, they mentioned it would be sold as an ePub, through nook and kindle and iPad. if it sold over 500 copies, they’d consider paperback.

in editing, we decided to scratch that idea and go straight to paperback as well as nook, kindle and iPad.

i’ve also completed a 5k, shared my writing in an unexpected place, gone dancing, got another tattoo (or two), and spent time spoiling myself with massages. by the time i turn 30 in july, there are quite a few others i expect to have marked off the list, things  i never anticipated being able to accomplish.

i wanted to write an eBook. i did. i wanted to take the leap and publish it. it’s on amazon. i promise you. this time last year, i never would imagine i’d be where i’m at today. ever.

and it’s because i’ve taken to the notion of declaring yourself worthy of fulfilling dreams. there in us for a reason, you know.

so this time next year? i plan on having a child – i imagine we’ll be placed long before may of 2013. i’ll be in the throes of writing and editing my next novel. i’d have published my book of short stories, come alive will be out and {hopefully} still selling, and i’ll be preparing for the next stage in the adventure our little family has embraced {how’s that for vague}. by that time, what’s most exciting is that i’ll hopefully have planned and executed my next big project :: an eBook on why story is so important and why you should share your own.

and this is just the beginning.

you’ll find that once you start, there’s really no stopping you. ideas will suddenly come and you’ll wonder why you haven’t taken the step needed to complete that goal. and it will seem really, really easy to go ahead and make that step now.

so…think about it.

where do you want to be in a year? 

let me know in the comments. i’d love to hear from you.