I almost forgot to share this here but have mentioned it at the Workplace-Ministry blog and emailed some close friends and family members about it.

For several years now I have prepared my goals for the year in full colour using Powerpoint and then print them out, laminate them and stick them on the wall just above and behind my monitor so that whenever I’m looking at my monitor, the goals are also in view. It’s important to have our plans and goals constantly in our vision – if they’re out of sight, they are often out of mind, and the end of the year can come and we wonder what happened to our plans? It’s been important to me that I adopt a bible verse as well for my goals and I include that. The goals usually include business goals and personal goals with something that also relates to my ministry and/or my connection with my Christian faith.

Late in December 2006 the pastor from my church told us about the message he received from God for our church and the Year of the Green Lights. I added this information to my PPT poster and the verse he quoted, plus pictures of green traffic lights for emphasis and the word ‘Go’ in a big green circle.

Mid January 2007 I had set aside a day for planning the rest of my year and my focus for what I want to do. It’s not a co-incidence, but a God-incidence that at the very time I was writing and praying about my goals a Google Alert arrived in my email, with my name in it, promoting a speaking event in the US. It blew me away – almost like a confirmation that this year I will be doing a lot more speaking. I have already had several engagements booked this year – but haven’t yet done a lot to promote, other than change my website (kathiethomas.com) and my email signature block.

The Google Alert just lets me know whenever my name is published on a website so I can track what’s happening out there – only this time the kathie thomas wasn’t me. But just to see my name there with Lisa Bevere’s is an exiciting thought! And feels like an encouragement and confirmation.There is a speaker in the US with the same name as me and she will be sharing the stage with Lisa Bevere. That email so excited me and I copied and pasted it into the PPT poster before I printed it off.

You see, one of my goals for this year is to increase how much writing I do, publish a book and do more speaking engagements. This email which could have come anytime, arrived during the time of my planning session and prayer and I believe it to be a confirmation from God that he is directing my path. And already I’ve had several articles published, am writing a book based on one of my most successful blogs and have already had several speaking engagements.

There are probably things that happen on an almost daily basis that are God-incidences but we aren’t always aware of them.

Last Thursday I was down at my church, helping with a mailout and when it was time to go, went to say goodbye to Pastor Georgina but saw she was in the Senior Pastor’s office so decided not to interrupt her. I turned to go and both of them called out to me to come back. Both had been reading my articles online and wanted to encourage me as they felt the articles were good. We began chatting and I shared about some recent publishing successes I’d had – writing is one of my passions.

Recently Ps Georgina and I have been discussing which connect group my husband and I might lead this year and we still haven’t settled on anything yet but then Ps Rob said ‘why not a writer’s group?’ and Ps Georgina agreed. The three of us talked excitedly about it for a few minutes before I had to move on but my heart had quickened and the idea is indeed exciting. But the amazing thing is just that morning I was reading about setting up a Christian Writer’s Group at the FaithWriters.com website – I’d never looked at that before and I was wondering about it. So to have Ps Rob suggest it and Ps Georgina agree on the very same day I’d been considering it seemed to be another one of those God-incidents for me and I expect it is something that will now happen.

It might not seem a lot to you, but it is to me. You see, I’ve had a bit of a stressful day and have had to deal with some authorities about an ‘issue’ that has been troubling this household. It seemed like no-one wanted to help us at all, we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Then I was given one tiny little bit of advice today that I’ve acted upon and hopefully, over time it will bear fruit. But it left me feeling exhausted, teary, stressed and not able to focus as well as I normally do during my work day.

And then I got word late this afternoon that I have been nominated Member of the Month with the Christian Business Women’s Network online. Of course, the tears started again, but this time it was because God knew I needed lifting up and what a wonderful way for that to happen. So, I just thought I’d share it with you here.

Business Networking for Christian Women

The Christian Business Women’s Network is a faith filled business group hosted on Ryze. Our main focus is to pray, share, teach, learn and encourage one another in our business ventures. Read more of the CBWN Vision and Purpose here.

As Christian Business Women, we should be outshining the entire business community. We have the favor of God! As we build a successful business we are more and more able to build the Kingdom of God! Let’s stand by one another and seek the very best always. Submit your profile for the CBWN Directory now!

Pick up FREE, Networking Your Way To Success Tips Series, here!

Kathie Thomas	Kathie is our CBWN Featured Member for the Month of September 2006. Kathie loves to encourage and provide sound advice. Her presence on the network is a testimony of dedication and a selfless attitude for helping others! Kathie, thank you for being a blessing to the network and to the body of Christ.
Kathie, is the Owner of A Clayton’s Secretary, “the first Virtual Assistant Network in the Asia-Pacific region, second in the world so that makes us one of the longest running Virtual Assistant & Home Based Secretary Networks globally.”

If you are eligible (female) I encourage you to visit the Christian Business Women’s Network and see what is on offer there for you personally. Bless you, KMT

Sometimes it’s not always evident a God-incident has happened, until you have all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Recently Graham and I had another experience, that until last night, I wasn’t aware was another God-incident.

I listen to our local Christian radio station, LightFM, every single day. It’s on in the background with music playing, voices talking and has a positive input into my life as I work in my office, read, do housework, or whatever. I like having that background sound – it’s not intrusive but comforting. Whilst I very much enjoy being on my own whilst working I don’t like total silence and the radio station fills that void.

Anyway, LightFM is a listener supported station, very dependent upon donations and sponsors to keep it running – their paid advertising pretty much pay the staff, but that’s all. And so LightFM was advertising its inaugural Fundraising Dinner and I first saw it mentioned in their newsletter Light Reading. I was going to ring and book straight away for us to go but it mentioned going in groups if possible, they were wanting to fill tables of 10. So I contacted my church instead to find out if anyone else was going so we could be on a table with others from our church.

I was pleasantly surprised with an email from our Pastor’s secretary a short time later saying that he would like us to be his guests. This we felt to be an honour, we haven’t been there very long (just over a year) and are still getting to know people within this very large congregation. We also knew that Ps Rob Buckingham would have lots of other people he knows very well in the church so to ask us to join his table seemed very special indeed. Naturally we accepted and looked forward to going.

Well, the event was last night and it was great fun – with entertainment, well-known speaker Tim Costello who is head of World Vision here in Australia, some other quite well known faces in the audience, lots of humour, silent auctions and other things. Very good night.

At the end of the evening Ps Rob was saying goodbye to us when he shared that it was very timely to receive my email about going to the dinner (it had been forwarded to him by someone in the church office). Apparently he had just 2 seats left to fill on his table and was thinking about whom he would offer them to when my email arrived. Co-incidence? No way, God is building relationships and I’m very aware of that! KMT

world vision, tim costello, bayside church, rob buckingham, lightfm, god-incidence