Let's Be Friends
We are just a few days shy of our two-year anniversary of launching Anchored Press! It feels much longer, but then again, in the “planner world” it’s technically our third season, as we are currently selling 2018 Planners. Our first year we totally showed up late to the game. Our 2016 Planners launched in mid October (most start selling in August!) and we had about 300 people following us on Instagram. So it would be super logical to expect that I would sell thousands of planners through social media with a few hundred people, right? Right! Because God does not work by logic, "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. Each planner belonged to Him and He knew who would be holding each one of them. In God’s sweet and sovereign way He answered my prayer that first year—that was to pay back our investment, nearly to the penny. I obviously learned to dream bigger when God is the CEO of your company. :-) (And, total side note, if you are a sitting on a dream and haven’t read Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker, stop reading this and click here to go buy it…but then come back here and finish this blog post :-))
So that first year of business I started getting really caught up on how many followers I had on Instagram. I would look at others on Instagram and think, 'what the heck?' Why are so many people following them (how mean is that? But the truth.)? Or I would see some gain a crazy following because they did a crazy giveaway of laptops and Louis Vuittons. But I knew deep in my soul that was not me, nor did God want me to go that route. I wanted a genuine community of women who wanted to hear the words behind the Anchored Press brand. The words God put on my heart. Then one day I was reading my Bible and noticed how many times Jesus helped just one. The times He helped just one felt more tender and meaningful and my desire for more followers started to slip away. I heard the Holy Spirit say, “If one more person draws closer to me it is enough for me.” I wanted my Instagram community to be tender and meaningful.
It’s been a journey to get to this point but God has been working on me (aren’t we just a work in progress after all?). Along this journey, I heard someone say, "can you imagine if God put you at a podium, in an auditorium of _______ (you insert your # of followers) . . . so for me, for now, it’s 5,000 people, and allowed you to speak His truth into them? I would likely be terrified; I mean 5,000 people is a lot of people! And forget 5,000, what about 100? That’s a serious amount of souls God is entrusting to you!
In typical God "fashion," the day we hit 5,000, He had me read Matthew 4:19 . . . “Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Yes!!! I shouted! That’s what I want Lord! I don’t want it to be about how many people follow me, but rather how many people follow you! Use me as YOUR fisherman. Use the Anchored Press Planner to draw women closer to YOU! Use Instagram to win more souls to YOU!
I dug a little deeper into Matthew 4:19 and read a few different versions, all pointing to my heart’s mission for Anchored Press . . .
NIV – “I will make you fishers of men.”
MSG –“I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.”
AMP – "I will make you fish for people (not a number!)"
TLB - "I will show you how to fish for the souls of men!"
I immediately changed my perspective on Instagram “followers,” the day I read this. The number doesn’t matter. What does matter is God can use me (and YOU!) if I had 1 follower or 1 million followers. It’s all up to Him and in His control. So don’t get caught up in the numbers like I did. Instead, picture yourself in that auditorium in front of all the people God has entrusted to you and go win more souls for Jesus!
This month's Lock Screen Wallpaper is Psalm 139. We are studying Psalm 139:14 this week in our Weekly Planner's with Liz Frandsen. She stops to remind us "we are not made to live to the standards of the world, but humbly know that we can find a secure identity in being daughters of a wonderful Creator." Do you believe this? Take some time to write down all the ways that God has "gifted and equipped" you so you don't have to settle for the standards of this world. 
