Anyone Still Out There?

*tap-tap-tap* … is this thing on? check-check … 1… 2… 3 …

Holy stink it has been a LONG time since the start of my blog break! 8 weeks to be exact. And I want to thank you for allowing me this time to take a break from my regular blogging duties–to truly reflect on what God wants me to do – and where He wants me to do it. Much has happened in the last 2 months. Unwrapping everything for you will take some time but I wanted to (semi)briefly touch on one thing in particular today.

But you’ll need a little back story…

Before I decided to take this break, I could sum up how I was feeling in one word:

RESTLESS

Over the last 2 years I have felt God preparing me for more. He’d begun to show me that even though I love my job immensely, He was preparing my heart, my mind and my faith… for more…

18 months ago I began intentionally helping women through sexual addiction. Then, in early 2009, He laid on my heart yet another crazy idea… to write a book for women porn addicts. I had an amazing outpouring: including hundreds of surveys taken by women struggling, further proving the point that such a book was needed. I’ve even had a couple of speaking engagements.

Yet, this wasn’t becoming a fulltime gig nor did I see that happening any time soon. Even writing the book was proving to be difficult and almost painfully slow. So, I remained restless… confused by God’s plan… and in much need of figuring this whole thing out.

That is where this 8-week blogging break came in. It took these 8 weeks of quiet stillness before God the Father to hear these few simple words:

“Crystal, meet the immediate need…”

God has revealed to me the bigger picture. That this was all so much bigger than a counseling group or about writing a book, but instead, this was the beginning of a ministry to women across the nation and around the world. And after a lot of prayer and considering all things that have happened to get me to this point, I am honored to officially launch:

Dirty Girls Ministries

Just as Paul was a tentmaker, but was called to preach the gospel anywhere and everywhere God led him – his job as a tentmaker and the aid of other Christians (1 Cor. 9:14) made his ministry financially possible.

And that’s where I am. There’s a purpose in my still working full-time in communications and why He still has me there. It isn’t about one or the other. It is about both and how they work together to fulfill His purpose. To help financially support what I now see as God’s plan – that He’s been refining me for over the last 2 years.

If this whole Dirty Girls Ministries thing grows to the point where I don’t need the other job, then so be it. But as of right now, I am content. And those are 3 words I honestly haven’t been able to say in over 2 years.

I am so excited to share this with you because you have all been a HUGE part of this whole process of learning, growing, listening and obeying. Even knowing this blog was my first opportunity to help people is an extraordinarily humbling reality. And if you are reading this now it means you came back to my blog even though I left it behind so abruptly 8 weeks ago. Something I was fearful wouldn’t happen. Further proving your unwavering support.

And I’ve missed you!

This brief first post back has now become not brief. There is much more to share (including the rolling out of my vision for the future of my blog), but I am going to stop now and save it for the next posts to come.

I am truly humbled.
And we’re just getting started.
~Crystal~

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Everything you could possibly wanna know about Dirty Girls Ministries (including online recovery groups, resources, donation options and promotional pieces) can be found on DIRTYGIRLSMINISTRIES.COM