Featured Member: Alyssa Avant

Don’t do it!

Everything in me said “don’t do it,” but somehow I knew I was supposed to. Nothing made sense about it, yet I knew it was from God.

I was about to take a leap of faith. Though it was hard to rationalize, understand or see clearly, I knew I had to take it. I had to “step out of my comfort zone and into God’s hands”. I had to release my life into God’s hands.

Stepping out on faith is never easy but it is definitely worth the step, the leap, the anxiety. We may hear a still small voice, feel that invisible push, and somehow we just know. God calls. He prods. He waits for us to take the leap.

Since taking my “giant leap of faith” over 4 years ago, I have seen God’s hands working in my life more than ever. He took over right where I let go. Not a beat was missed, no stone left unturned; everything was put into place as He saw fit.

Was it easy every minute of the last four years? Of course not, but it sure was worth it. The experiences have been life-changing, fulfilling and meaningful. Would I go back to the way my life was before? No way.

My “faith leap” involved stepping out of my comfortable job in a local church ministry. It was comfortable, secure, and did not require me to put a great deal of faith in God on a daily basis. I had done the job well for several years and it came easy for me. I felt secure in the position I held and in my abilities to perform it well.

In those days of working part-time in ministry, I knew exactly how much income was coming into our home each month. I could calculate it to the penny. It provided for me financial security. Francis Chan says it like this in his work, Crazy Love, “We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what hope God will provide.”

I would not be in business today if not for the fact that God nudged me, urged me and maybe even pushed me into my faith leap. I resigned from my comfortable ministry and pursued my calling. Much like Peter, God called me to step out of the boat, my comfort zone, into a different life.

Before taking my leap of faith I did not realize the faith I had. Sure, I trusted God from day to day, but I did not focus on His provision and presence in my everyday life as much as I could have. Four years later, there is not a day that goes by that I do not see the tiny details God intricately works in each day to make my life and business what it is.

I rely on God monthly for us to make ends meet. Many times I’d rather just do something drastic to find a way to make things work rather than waiting on God. I cannot begin to tell you how many times the thought crossed my mind, “Why not just get a job?” The anxiety and fear have often been unbearable, as I stare at my computer screen or out the window wondering how? But, I have story after story of how God met and exceeded my needs every time. It always happens.
My faith forces me to rely on God to daily work in the details of my life and business. An important part is the time I spend with God on a daily basis.

Each morning before turning on my computer or checking my email, I open my Bible and my journal to spend some time talking with and listening to God. Journaling has been a part of my life for years, stretching back into my teens. As a result, I have stacks of journals that showcase the prayers I have prayed to my Lord about my life and how He has, in His divine power, worked out all the details.

God has brought inspiring, successful women into my life to encourage, inspire and teach me more about Him as well as more about the business He has me in today.

Without God’s hand in my daily life and business, I do not feel I would have experienced success at this level. Since 2007, I developed my online business as well as become a professional author, speaker, trainer and workshop facilitator. In 2008, a year after resigning from my position in ministry, I published Christian Charm School Workbooks for teen and tween girls to learn about modesty, etiquette and beauty from a Biblical perspective.

I currently teach others how to develop their own information products and train them in the various technical tasks of business. I also help develop websites for clients to showcase their talent with my Website in a Week Program. In addition to these successes, I continue to raise my three beautiful children and be a wife to my supportive husband.

Alyssa Avant is a professional author, speaker, trainer, and workshop facilitator. She is an avid social media marketer, loves Coca Cola Classic, her husband and three precious children (not in that order). She lives with her family in Carrollton, MS. Find out more about Alyssa here.