#12 BIRTH OF FAITH WALK with Debbie
Welcome back! The greatest ministry door that God opened through this journey was Faith Walk with Debbie. I believe it was actually God ordained the way this ministry started. My pastor had told me I needed to write a book about my story. I hate to read and I don’t like to write. I was not thrilled about doing that, yet I did agree my story needed told.
On February 16, 2021 God intervened. I had my annual woman’s physical scheduled. We had a lot of snow the night before. As a result, a lot of appointments were canceled. I went to my appointment. Because the doctor was not busy due to all of the cancellations that day, after my examination she talked to me for about twenty minutes about my cancer journey and how God uses her as a doctor. She is a strong Christian. During the conversation, a couple times she emphasized that I needed to create a YouTube Channel. She said there is a lot out there about cancer but not how God helps people through it. As she talked, I thought that was an interesting idea that I had never considered. When we got done talking, she prayed with me which meant a lot.
For the next few days, I pondered the thought of creating my own YouTube Channel. I really did not know much about how to go about it. My son is a lead web developer. I discussed the idea with him. He liked it. He even expanded the idea and suggested I create my own website. The thought just blew my mind but excited me. I knew I could not accomplish this huge task without his help. He agreed to help.
Then I realized I needed to come up with a name. I thought and thought and asked people for suggestions. Initially I thought I wanted cancer somehow in the name. Then I realized this ministry could be bigger than my cancer journey. God had used me multiple times to share at my church. I realized once I shared about my cancer journey that I could use this platform to share on various topics. God could really use this ministry bigger than I ever dreamed, if he chose to.
The next day my son’s family visited. We were brain storming about a name. All of a sudden, my daughter-in-law mentioned Faith Walk. The instant I heard that I liked it. However, on line there were a lot of Faith Walk ministries. We had to figure out how to make it unique. That’s when I suggested Faith Walk with Debbie. My son checked YouTube and that was available. So that’s how this ministry name came into being. Then my son checked for a domain name. We shortened the name to faithwalkdebbie. It seemed surreal that I actually had my own web domain! What was even more amazing was that the domain just cost $1 for the first year. My son helped set up the website and connected it to YouTube. That may sound simple but it’s a lot more detailed than the common person realizes.
What is exciting to me is how God had been preparing me for this ministry for years! Years ago, I attended a church where I volunteered to help video edit their services. Even though it’s been almost ten years, I have remembered most of it. Over the years, little by little, God opened doors for me to teach and share at church. The more I did that, the more comfortable I became talking in front of people. I had a couple jobs several years ago where I learned some basics about marketing. I enjoyed creating bill boards, flyers and other creative marketing items. My previous experience gave me a foundation for this ministry. Therefore, it made it easier when I began to use new websites such as canvan.com and remove.bg to create the logo, wording and thumbnails used in my videos. It is just amazing for me to reflect on how God step by step knew his purpose for my life which led to this ministry. When I least expected it, during my annual medical exam, on a snowy day, he used my doctor to suggest the door He had been planning for many years to open.
Also, years ago God had given me a vision where I was speaking before a huge crowd of people. As a result of this ministry, I have realized this could be the avenue God will use for me to minister to crowds of people.
I thought it might be nice to add a pub table and chairs to the studio when I would interview someone. Typically, you only see me on one of the chairs. In the beginning my son let me borrow a microphone that attached to my smart phone which I attached to a tri pod and used to video. He also let me borrow one studio light. I have learned lighting can really make a difference which I have struggled to get it to look good at times. Eventually I bought my own microphone and two studio lights.
However, I realized I had too much to say in my videos that I could not remember all the details. At first, I printed an outline out and taped it to the tripod that my phone was on. Then I came up with a brilliant idea, I think. So, I am going to share my secret with you. I took the pub table and placed it in front of the tripod. I then put my laptop on top of a box directly below the camera. That way I can look at the laptop which has my outline on it. It appears I am looking at the camera but in reality I’m looking at my outline. I then have a clicker in my hand which I click as I go from page to page in my outline. Now you know my creative secret to remember all the details I share with you.
Thank you for joining me. I cannot say that I have enjoyed this journey of cancer but I can say I am beginning to see God’s purpose. This ministry could not have existed if I had not walked down the trial road towards the unknown. I honestly do not see the end of this journey. Because I am sure I will have to have tests for the rest of my life to make sure the cancer does not return, this journey will go on and on. Yet I can honestly say I thank God for this journey so that He can use me for His glory. May God bless this ministry and use it for His purpose!
The scripture encouragement I want to leave you with comes from Psalms 32:8 (NLT) “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” Be encouraged. If we let Him guide us, He will give us advise along the journey and watch over us. He may even surprise use with the plan He has for us and the ministry He wants to us us in!
Hope you join me next time as I will share how you can help those going through cancer.
