Christy-Award winning author, Jill Williamson knows all about dreaming big. . .and about changing plans midstream for another big dreams.
Go big, or go home. Why not shoot for the stars and let God work His amazing will out in your life?
Christy-Award winning author, Jill Williamson knows all about dreaming big. . .and about changing plans midstream for another big dreams.
Go big, or go home. Why not shoot for the stars and let God work His amazing will out in your life?
Brad volunteered with teens at our church in California. We had our first son, Luke, moved to a house, I left the fashion industry (woo hoo!), and Brad became a minister and full-time youth pastor (double woo hoo!). I learned God is good. All the time.
I started writing a book. I wanted to write fun stories that were clean but real. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and it sure beat watching TV all day. I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into. All I knew was that it was totally fun. Until I tried to get published. A few more years of torture passed.
It took me four years until I got my first book contract. So now I write… everywhere. At home, in the car, at church (only notes, I promise!), in line at the grocery store, at the park, while walking, in the shower… (TMI?) And I love it. Writing is something I adore. Writing is something I could do forever, if God allows it. (Please, God? Pretty please?)
My biggest dream is that He will do with me whatever pleases Him. 
When I was little, I wanted to be famous. I thought if I could be famous, I would matter.
Once I grew up and came to know Jesus, that dream faded away, and I really wanted to be influential. I wanted to make a difference in my world, leave a legacy behind that inspired people long after I was gone.
But now that I’ve lived life for a while, I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter if I’m on the cover of a magazine or if I have enough money to build wells in Africa. That stuff isn’t bad. And people in those positions can do good things, if they choose. What matters is how I treat the people I come into contact with each day, in person or online—how I love others.
And that changes the way I behave in regards to my dream.
Because living for fame alone is really living in fear of being forgotten. And living for influence alone is really living to prove how many good works I can accomplish. But living for love impacts people every day with the face of Jesus.
How cool is that?
I recently heard a Ukrainian woman speak about significance at the Oasis Church in Los Angeles.… continue reading
Once I’d officially given up my pursuit of being a fashion designer, I started thinking about what God wanted me to be when I “grew up.” I wanted to serve him in a big way. I wanted to change people, and I became convinced that I was supposed to do that by being a speaker. I had an interesting childhood, I made a ton of mistakes, and I wasn’t afraid to talk about it.
I started researching how people become speakers at teen events and schools, and I discovered that oftentimes people are invited to speak after someone has read an article they wrote in a magazine.
Well, how hard could that be, right? So I wrote some articles, submitted them, and discovered that writing articles was a lot harder than I thought. Each magazine had specific needs and formats. I had to craft a different idea for each one, and there was no guarantee that they’d even use it! But I kept at it, determined that I was doing something worthwhile and necessary.
Around that time a debate sprang up in our church about the Harry Potter books and whether they were “safe” for Christians to read.… continue reading
I’m the oldest of five. I grew up in Alaska. My dad built our house bit by bit as the bank account allowed. We didn’t have electricity. We didn’t have TV. Every time we went into town, I checked out a bag of library books. When I wasn’t reading, I was daydreaming.
Most my daydreams centered on becoming rich and famous, which I figured would bring true happiness. I dreamed I was a rock star, an actress, a movie director, a writer, and a fashion designer. 
The fashion design dream—that was the one that stuck. My mom did our back-to-school shopping at thrift stores. So I remodeled all my “new” clothes. And when someone complimented me on my outfit, I’d say, “I made this!” The positive reactions of my peers fueled my dream. I sewed clothes from scratch, sewed my homecoming and prom dresses, and joined the FCLA and sewed for competition.
When I started looking at fashion design colleges, my parents wanted me to get a teaching degree to fall back on. It wasn’t bad advice, really, but it felt like they were saying I’d fail at fashion design. And a few people actually told me I’d fail.
No way was I going to let that happen.… continue reading
Jill’s column is coming shortly! Look for the first post to go live on 3/2.… continue reading
Melany wrote: This question is mainly for Nicole. I’d like to do something really special for my mom since she works so hard and has been a single mom for a long time. She loves me and my brother and never yells at us. I know she’s tired and wishes things could be different. How can I let her … [read more]
One night, just as I was going to bed, I went to check my e-mail on Yahoo and they had posted a photo of an all black penguin on their news page. It was one of the top stories of the day. A story of a penguin made the top stories list. Why? Apparently it’s a very rare penguin. One in a zill… [read more]
Let me begin by clarifying one simple thing: prayer is cool. It’s about the coolest, most effective thing we can do this side of heaven. Yeah, it’s a bit of work. And hard sometimes. Dry. Dare I say boring on occasion? But so are many other cool things in life. How many of you play a sport?… [read more]
Slider by webdesign
