Debbie Hannah Skinner

Wisdom In Watercolor

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Wisdom From Wimbledon

July 7, 2014 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

July 4th means watching Wimbledon tennis at our house. Something wise was seen in this match. . .

July 4th means watching Wimbledon tennis at our house. Something wise was seen in this match. . .

Roger Federer did it again last Sunday.

He showed why he’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time with an amazing performance at Wimbledon. Although he didn’t win the Gentlemen’s Singles this year, he proved once again he is a fantastic competitor through his magnificent match play and classy sportsmanship.

I believe a powerful secret to Roger’s success and longevity as a player was not just reflected on the court, but a few feet off the court as well. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: For Leaders

What I Told An Aspiring Speaker This Week

November 14, 2013 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

SpeakMostPowerfullyShe asked about how to get started in speaking.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: For Creatives, For Leaders, Recommendations, Speaker Resources, Speaking Tagged With: aspiring speaker, speaking

Strangest (and Cleanest) Book Review Ever

October 22, 2013 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

(Special thanks to my washing machine for prompting this book review. . .)

I felt sick when I saw this. Poor little book!

I felt sick when I saw this. Poor little book!

As I reached in to grab the wet sheets out of my washer this morning, I quickly realized that more than sheets had been bundled in the load. Not only were tiny bits of paper stuck to the linens, they also dotted the interior of the machine like spit wads. 

It reminded me of my days as a middle school teacher- only these were slung into place by centrifugal force. 

At first I thought I was finding the remains of a disintegrated receipt or paper towel, but when I pulled out a giant, mushy blob I realized what happened. My new book had been swept into the washer with the sheets.

The shredded, water-soaked casualty? The Wall Around Your Heart by Mary DeMuth

Mary is one of my favorite writers these days. We’ve had “friends of friends” connections for years since we are both represented by Christian Speakers Services and travel in speaker/writer circles. 

(Believe me, Mary is light years beyond me in both categories. She is the kind of writer/speaker I aspire to be one day.)

We got to meet in person at The Declare Conference in Dallas back in August. Her words have been so moving to my heart for years that it made me teary eyed to stick out my hand to shake hers. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness.

She was kind enough to pose for a picture with me…

MaryDeMuth

 Time is at a premium these days, I am very, very, very selective of where I spend my reading time. I’m picky about my prose. With that said, Mary’s book grabbed me by the heart from the first chapter and I did not want to put it down.

 (Although I obviously did put it down- on the bed- in the sheets.) 

 As I read Mary’s words, I wondered how she knew about some of my recent hurts and what I was struggling with these days. Her words spoke to places in my heart I didn’t even realize were walled up. 

More importantly, Mary’s writing was giving me a new way to look at the Lord’s Prayer. Her insights gave me hope for a way of escape through shifting my perspective to a heavenly view of my tough circumstances. The Wall Around Your Heart was helping me focus on what God was doing in my heart (instead of wallowing in what was being done to me by others). 

Along with my Bible, The Wall Around Your Heart was the only book I took along on my day of listening in a monastery last month. For me, that says a lot about the impact it was having. (I’ll write about that day in a future post.)

I hadn’t even finished the book when I found it’s remains in the washer this morning, so when saw it’s smushy, crumpled lump of remains, I was sad- but just for a moment.

You see, when Mary introduced the release of The Wall Around Your Heart at The Declare Conference, she very generously gave copies to all the conference attendees. (She’s not just a gifted writer, but a generous one.) I ended up with two copies (Hooray!)

If I didn’t, I would be headed lickedy split to a book store or logging onto Amazon to pick up another copy. 

I won’t do that for many books, but this one was doing deep work in my heart- tearing down ugly walls. Because I’m an avid underliner, I was sad to lose all my colorful marks and dog-ears in my first copy of the book. Now, I plan to start over at the beginning and highlight at will. 

I’ll also be more careful so that I don’t send this copy of the book through the wash. 🙂

You might want to pick up a copy of The Wall Around Your Heart and read it, too. Maybe it will help you see and pull down some walls that have been built up around your heart as well. 

Oh, and just in case you wanted to know, here’s what came out of my lint filter once my sheets passed through the dryer… 

I never knew a book could do this! Looks pretty fluffy, huh???

I never knew a book could do this! Looks pretty fluffy, huh???

Debbie-Sig 

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Filed Under: For Bible Study, For Home, For Leaders Tagged With: book review, The Wall Around Your Heart

The Perfect Picture of Women’s Ministry

July 17, 2013 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

Last Saturday, I joined the women of Jersey Village Baptist Church in Houston for a time of sweet fellowship, good food, and encouragement from Scripture at their “Black and White with a Splash of Color!” luncheon. Penny Ward and her team did a fabulous job with the event!

I like the way their logo reflected the theme of the luncheon!

I like the way their logo reflected the theme of the luncheon!

Our theme Scripture was Psalm 90:12  “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

I loved the way each table hostess interpreted the verse visually through her table-scape! It’s a gentle way of reinforcing the Scripture without words. Beginning with basic black and white, every hostess added at least one additional color to her table. Here are two of my favorites:

The Green table with an open Bible turned to the Psalm 90…

I loved the simple white rose on the open Bible and the white hydrangea with gorgeous green leaves.

I loved the simple white rose on the open Bible and the white hydrangea with gorgeous green leaves.

Here’s a playful pink table…

I liked how this hostess framed our theme verse in a hot pink frame! I'm also glad the little doll was there because this was in intergenerational event and the younger girls could relate to the doll.

I liked how this hostess framed our theme verse in a hot pink frame! I’m also glad the little doll was there because this was an intergenerational event and the younger girls could relate to the doll.

But this NEXT picture is the one that stole my heart. If you know me well, you know I have a “thing” for turquoise. (I even have a Pinterest board devoted to turquoise!)

I stopped to take this picture because the sparkly turquoise accents looked so great to me against the black and white on the table. I was focused on the table-scape at the moment I snapped the picture.

But when I got home and looked at my photos, this one took my breath away. Look at it, then I’ll tell you why…

JVBChugMy attention was on the lovely turquoise table, but the way these two gals in the background were so glad to see each other reminded me of why I do what I do.

I remembered how they greeted each other by throwing up their arms and saying, “I have not seen you in so long!” and “I’ve missed you!! How are you?” They hugged and hugged, rocking side to side like long lost sisters.

This picture helps me remember why I do what I do.

As much as I love lovely decorated tables- especially ones with sparkly turquoise accents- it’s not about the pretty table-scapes.

As much as I love to travel to new places and paint while I’m teaching from the Bible. It’s not about that.

Seeing women have a few minutes to relax, reengage with Scripture, and reenergize relationships for the race of life is what it’s all about. An opportunity to see and hug a girlfriend you have not seen in forever (as these two women did). A few moments for a girl to stop, take a deep breath, and look at life from a heavenly perspective when the world has her in a choke hold.

That’s what I love about women’s ministry events!

I hear a lot about photobombs these days- where someone gets in the background of your photo (intentionally or by accident) and ruins the picture. 

I had to smile when I saw this picture because it was not a photobomb, but a perfect illustration of why I love working in women’s ministry so much. 

Debbie-Sig

 

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Filed Under: For Leaders

3 Things I Love About AuthorMedia

March 19, 2012 by Debbie Hannah Skinner 3 Comments

For the past year, I’ve worked with AuthorMedia of Austin to revamp my website and learn how to blog and make the best use of social media to minister to women around the country. Working with them is one of the best ministry decisions I’ve ever made!

Here’s my unsolicited advice about why you might want to consider working with the experts at AuthorMedia. As they have patiently helped me grow and learn and stretch my skills this year, I’ve noticed three consistent themes I love about this company:

1- Spiritually Grounded and Media Savvy

In 1 Chronicles 12, groups of warriors from the 12 tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him. The group that was smallest in number was from the tribe of Issachar, but they were described in a profound way:

1 Chronicles 12:32 says these men, “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”

AuthorMedia understands the times. They grasp what’s going on in the online communication culture. Even though they are a small company (like Issachar was a small tribe), they are experts in the wise use of the internet for ministry. They also know what to do- how to use techniques and tools of social media for big kingdom impact.

I’ve deeply appreciated how, in addition to their media savvy, I’ve experienced nothing but Christ-honoring, spiritually grounded attitudes and professional competence in my interactions with the staff. They “get it” that what I am doing (and what they are doing) is much more than a business- it’s a ministry. That’s a beautiful (and rare) thing to find these days.

2- Superb Follow Up

My website had been launched and I was operating it on my own. Some days felt great, but most days, I was just flailing around cyberspace. . . or not doing anything at all because social media still felt so intimidating to me. (I’m not over that feeling yet, but things are getting better by the day!)

On one particularly discouraging day, Caitlin, AuthorMedia’s social media expert, contacted me for follow up to see if I needed anything. Boy, oh, boy did I! The gold package I purchased enabled me to get ongoing support that’s been a life saver.

As my ministry has evolved, I’ve had 3 websites over a 13 year period. As excellent as the previous designs were, this was the first time someone followed up to ask me how things were going and how they could help me succeed. Why? That’s part of AuthorMedia’s overall approach to helping author/speakers. I really appreciate their extra mile service of “let us help you until you can grasp this and operate it on your own” as opposed to “here’s your pretty balloon- go fly it.”

And did I mention how patient they are in working with techie wanna be’s like me?

(My advice to you is to bite the bullet and “go for the gold.” I started with a lower, less expensive package of development, but soon discovered the multiple benefits of the gold package. It is the absolute best and I’m so glad I did that!)

3- Super-dooper Staff

I first met AuthorMedia founder, Thomas Umstattd, at a Christian writer’s conference in New Mexico. His insightful answers to media and technology issues discussed in a workshop absolutely amazed me. About 18 months after that meeting, I signed on with AuthorMedia. He personally helped me get started, then passed me on to his resident experts to help with site development and design, social media, and blog development.

I can’t name all of Thomas’ AuthorMedia staff, but here are a few you’ve just got to know about:

Samantha Fagan is a delight to work with as she turns ministry dreams in to webpages. The time we spent targeting the audience for my website was amazing. Her insightful questions opened my eyes to clarify my mission and ministry and target my site to specific groups of women.

Caitlin Muir is a social media expert who makes things understandable and reachable for a speaker like me who isn’t a “techie” but is hungry to learn. We’re just starting to work together, but after our first session I’ve learned a lot- like how to make a monthly “editorial map” to schedule my media posts.

I could go on and on about others on the AuthorMedia staff I’ve worked with directly like- Hannah, Leah, Hilary, and Katherine. Just know I highly recommend this talented bunch of young people to authors and speakers who are searching for help with their web presence.

This video I captured in a local park illustrates how I feel about the web-based part of my ministry now as a result of what I’ve learned via AuthorMedia:

 

AuthorMedia understands the times. . . and they know how to help you know what to do to help your ministry dreams take off and fly.

Debbie-Sig

 

 

P.S. I just realized that, one year ago, I could not have written this post. AuthorMedia taught me how to use WordPress, resize photos for the web, insert images into a post, create my own Wisdom In Watercolor channel on youtube, upload a video to youtube, insert a youtube video into a post, and create an overall cleaner blog post. I’m so grateful!

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Filed Under: For Leaders, Recommendations Tagged With: AuthorMedia, Authors, Speakers, Website development

Flowers For You Today!

February 28, 2012 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

Whenever I see flowers, they remind me of God’s love.  

Their fragrance and their beauty are gifts from up above.

When’ere I see or smell them, such joy they bring my heart… 

So I thought today I’d share with you God’s lovely work of art. 

Photo & Poem                   ©Debbie Hannah Skinner, 2012

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Filed Under: For Leaders Tagged With: beauty, flowers, poem

Cultivate Connections: Surprise Supper!

December 6, 2011 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

“How can we help busy women form meaningful, Christ-centered connections with one another?”

That was the question several women’s ministry leaders pondered together at a leadership lunch last week. As we talked about creative ways to set the stage for women to build supportive relationships with one another, it reminded me of the seed of a great idea I’d seen at a church in Austin, TX. It may be something that your women’s group might want to try as you plan for the upcoming year.

Connection Event: Surprise Suppers

Here’s how it works: Several hostesses are enlisted to prepare and serve a simple supper for 5 to 7 women. It’s held in the hostess’ home on a designated evening that’s Surprise Supper night.

Attendees sign up in advance to participate in Surprise Supper night, with a registration deadline several days prior to the evening so that an adequate number of hostess homes are prepared. (If a woman is reluctant to attend alone or wants to bring a guest, the option of signing up with a friend to take part in the evening can be helpful. Those who sign up together go to the same host home for dinner.)

Women meet at the church at 6:00 on the evening of the event to receive instructions, including directions to the home where they’re going for dinner.

Supper groups may be determined by either randomly drawing names the evening of the event or pre-assigning women to a home. (Pre-assignments may be shared with hostesses or may be kept as a surprise to both the hostess and her guests.)

When participants gather at the church at 6:00, attendees receive a card that says something like this:  Welcome to Surprise Supper! You are going to 123 Smithton Street (map included). The phone number is 123-4567 if you need additional instructions. Supper starts at 6:30. See you there!

  • Women going to the same location may want the option to carpool from the church to the host home.
  • This event may be free or a small donation for the hostess (to defray the cost of the food) may be requested.  
  • There’s no agenda other than sharing a meal and having conversation that builds connections between women. 

Romans 12:13b simply says: “Practice hospitality.”

Surprise Supper is a creative approach to help women practice and participate in the gift of hospitality. In the process, they get to experience meaningful, Christ-centered connections in an intimate, in-home setting.

I’d love to hear if your group gives this a try. . . and of any creative twists you add to the event!

Debbie-Sig

 

 

 

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Filed Under: For Leaders

T.I.P. Assignments

November 3, 2011 by Debbie Hannah Skinner Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that any women’s ministry get together you’re planning typically requires “before, during, and after” work to make it run smoothly for the women who are participating. Like selecting the next color you want to add to a painting, a creative filter you can use to decide role assignments is in terms of something I call T.I.P. (things, info, people).

As you look at your ministry team, you’ve probably notice that you’ve got lots of “colors” to work with because women are gifted in different ways. Try thinking about them through the lens of these three areas of giftedness…

Things– gifted in dealing with objects or equipment like decorating tables, putting printed programs or notebooks together, creating artful room arrangements, doing projects that require use of the hands

Information– gifted in handling numbers, letters, and information like designing and mailing postcards and newsletters, editing, performing cost analysis, budgets and bookkeeping, maintaining a database, writing bylaws

People– gifted in interacting with people in large or small group settings like making announcements, phone calls, social media campaigns, generating enthusiasm among a group, serving as greeters

Most women are multi-talented when it comes to T.I.P. but we all tend to be stronger in one or two areas.

Here’s how this gift analysis may be helpful. . .

Let’s say your next women’s retreat includes a book table full of helpful resources available for purchase at the event. A gifted Info woman often makes a great table attendant because she keeps up with required bookkeeping tasks at hand. On the other hand, a gifted People woman in this position may get so carried away in visiting with all the people who come by the table that she doesn’t attend to the sales and record keeping at hand.

Likewise, a gifted People woman may makes a terrific greeter or table hostess, while a gifted Things woman may be much more comfortable and competent to set up and take down decor, tables, chairs, etc.

So how do you determine what T.I.P. gifts are in your group?

  1. Pray, asking the Lord to show you where He has gifted your women and who fits best what role.
  2. Explain T.I.P. to your team and ask team members to tell you where they see themselves and feel most comfortable. Women often intuitively know their T.I.P. strengths and weaknesses.
  3. Spend time asking your team to identify gifts they see in each other. They often come away blessed by the experience as they hear their T.I.P. gifts affirmed through other people and you’ll have a clearer picture of who fits best in what role.

Yes, there are times when team members must step out of their comfort zones and do things outside our natural giftings to get a job done, but it can be a big help to consider the T.I.P. skills in the group when your next women’s ministry event comes along.

(In future articles, we’ll talk about other things to consider among your team members as well- spiritual gifts, personality, experience, education/training, etc.)

Question- What other areas of giftedness do you think need to be considered in role assignments?

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Filed Under: For Leaders Tagged With: leadership, T.I.P., womens ministry

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Debbie Hannah Skinner

Debbie Hannah Skinner

Debbie’s water media paintings, presentations, and prints inspire women to savor, study, and share God’s word with people they love. Learn about her story and painting-based speaking presentations here…

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