Hope Behind the Scenes
~Guest Post

Posted by guest blogger on August 24th, 2010 in Blog | 5 Comments

Four years ago, Michelle Stimpson quit her full-time job as an educational consultant to follow her God-given desire to write. Though she had a publisher, Michelle understood that writing contracts do not always equal viable income. “Leaving my job was a huge step of faith,” she recalls. “But I knew there was no way I could keep juggling work, motherhood, church service, and writing. Something had to give.” With little more than her unused vacation pay, Michelle took the leap.

Two weeks into her self-imposed resignation, fear and anxiety began to weaken Michelle’s resolve and she found herself on the Internet trying to find another job. “It’s one thing to step out on the water, it’s another thing to keep standing,” she laughs now with reference to Matthew 14. When the job search didn’t yield results, Michelle found herself desperately seeking encouragement.

In her quiet time alone with the Lord, Michelle took note of His promises for her life. “Since I didn’t have a job to go to every day, my time with God became my lifeline,” she admits with a smile. Michelle copied Scriptures onto index cards and frequently spoke God’s Words out loud. Soon, her faith rallied and she witnessed God open amazing opportunities.

Michelle has subsequently learned to lean on Scripture to deal with weight issues, business decisions, even the trials of raising teenagers. Keeping the Scriptures in view became both an obsession and a dilemma. The index cards were good, but fishing them out of her purse sometimes was an inconvenience. Michelle endeavored to devise a way to keep God’s Word, literally, at hand.

She experimented with several different bracelet prototypes, using paper, plastic, and vinyl mediums. She finally settled on a design with flat, round beads for the Scriptures and a variety of smaller accent beads to add a feminine touch. She soon began giving bracelets to friends and acquaintances who needed encouragement as well. “I wanted them to experience the power of keeping the Word in view and on their lips,” Michelle declares. “God’s Word is life-changing!”

WordWatch.net launched in 2010 with the goal of encouraging women through Scripture. “Most of our orders are from people organizing women’s events at churches,” she says. The entire Stimpson clan helps create the hand-crafted bracelets and recognizes the importance of the testimony behind WordWatch.

As for her writing career, Michelle is now looking forward to the release of her sixth book (Last Temptation – Kensington Books) and plans to create a WordWatch to complement the novel’s message. She stands in awe of how the novels and bracelets complement the good news of Christ. Michelle adds, “God’s plan is always bigger and better than anything we can imagine.”

***Michelle has donated several of her gorgeous bracelets to be given away as part of our upcoming twitter party-
come by Thursday for details!