Thankful for My InScribe Family - Tracy Krauss

Friend and fellow member Sheila Webster texted me shortly after Fall Conference with these four questions:
1. What are three takeaways from conference?
2. What is one thing you wish you'd said or done?
3. Who were you happy to see?
4. What are you inspired to write for the Kingdom?

I had to ponder these questions for awhile. My mind (and heart) were so full that I couldn't process my thoughts, let alone articulate them. 

Initially, I wrote (and this is me being brutally honest): "I am unequal to the task of being president!" and, "There is still so much I need to learn!" but I knew in my spirit that this was my exhaustion talking. Fortunately, my third takeaway, "I love my InScribe family!" helped me refocus on God's goodness and resonated with me into the next morning. 

As I continued to ponder, I realized that the most important thing about the weekend for me was something that I had shared with Dayna Mazzuca, another friend and member, on her way out the door at the end of conference. I was excited to share my 'revelation' with her, since she was instrumental a few years ago in helping the executive zero in on who we are as an organization so that we could write our mission and purpose statements. In case you missed it, the shortened state of our purpose is:

We minister to writers, so they can minister to others. That's a bold and powerful statement. (Credited to Sheila Webster?)

Anyway, I managed to convey to Dayna how grateful I felt for her skill in helping us define who we are, because... We fulfilled our PURPOSE at conference because PEOPLE WERE MINISTERED TO! 

I've been reading through the post conference evaluations and over and over again this same theme keeps coming up. People were moved by the worship; touched during the morning devotional times. (Thanks to Ron, Charity and of course, the Holy Spirit!) People loved the connectedness, the personal nature of the open space concept, the powerful doxology that was sung at the last gathering, and the feeling that God was present. In short, those that attended kept relaying that same message: they had been MINISTERED TO. 

Yes, there was also some wonderful teaching and I came away with a lot of new information. As always, a highlight for me was seeing my InScribe family in person. I truly love and appreciate the deep relationships I have gained over the years. You truly feel like FAMILY to me, and because of that I know I can lay aside any sense of inadequacy because the grace of Christ dwells among us. Yet, the wonder of God's Almighty presence is what struck me most about this year's conference. It literally permeated the air. 

I finally settled on these three takeaways:
1. We fulfilled out purpose in that we ministered to the writers who were present.
2. God's presence was felt in a powerful way - from the worship, to the devotionals, to the doxology, and everything in between.
3. Even the skeptics left with a sense that God did something new at FC this year. 

As for the rest of my answers, well, perhaps that is for another time.

Tracy Krauss writes from her home in northern BC. 
As InScribe's current president, she is well aware of her shortcomings, but is thankful that God still uses "cracked pots." Visit her website: tracykrauss.com  -fiction on the edge without crossing the line-