I guess this isn't a job interview. It's not a "nice to meet you" to some stranger I'll never see again. It's not a "welcome to my home" or a "heeerrreee's Meghan!" debut. This is a subtle, yet intimate invitation to hear my very personal thoughts and feelings spelled out in the coming articles I contribute. Somehow, I don't think there's quite a cut-and-dry handshake and introduction that would suffice for this. "Hi, I'm Meghan, and you're about to hear me spill my guts out." How enticing does that sound? That's the honest truth, though, and I guess we'll just leave it at that! (Any other ideas for how to go about this whole introduction process would be warmly received!) But, the deed is done: you have been welcomed. Welcome to my words, my life, my heart, my story.

After an introduction normally follows a conversation. So, let's do just that. Now, I am aware that this cannot quite be deemed a "conversation." There's not the normal back-and-forth between parties. However, that is something I would like you to imagine as you read anything I write. It's very important to me that you never read something and feel as though you're being "talked at." I don't want my words to be credited as the final say, expert knowledge, or advice that cannot be questioned. How different would the world be if this disclaimer was attached to everyone's words? I think it would take some time to readjust, given how many people share their opinions on a daily basis: celebrities on magazine covers, athletes on a field, doctors on television, your next door neighbor's cousin's realtor, that Meghan kid at a computer. Everyone has an opinion. And that is perfectly fine. It's what makes life interesting and rich. However, I think it's when certain people get elevated and their opinions are etched into stone that we run into trouble. Not at all saying that we need to be skeptical of every word we read and hear, but I think measures of precaution need to be taken before we buy into what the evening gown model so-and-so says about federal taxation. Ah, but this is a whole other topic in itself. (Note: I am not a model, and I cannot guarantee I will ever touch on federal taxation in my articles, but you get the point!) My words and my opinions - they are just that: opinions. Whether they are opinions you've never heard before, ones you don't care to hear, or maybe ones you echo yourself, my hope is that something about them can impact you for the good. I want to be encouraging.

I cannot be encouraging on my own, however. It is only through the help of my Heavenly Father that I can ever hope to be a light to others. The light I want to shed? It's His! On my own, I'm an empty vessel. My words? Empty. My life? Empty. I am nothing without my God. So, another disclaimer: He is going to be in every word I type. I am reminded of a story I once heard in a sermon about the Knights of Templar. It was a custom of theirs to bring their swords along with them for their baptisms. Before being submerged in the water, they would hold up their swords, preventing them from going under the surface with their bodies. What a strong act of symbolism. Their bodies would emerge from that water under changed ownership, from the knights themselves to God, but those swords and what they were meant to do, remained under the same earthly ownership. As my pastor explained, this practice was a direct message to God, saying that He could have control of their whole lives except for what they did with those swords. They were unwilling to release that warring and killing part of their lives. These "conditions," if you will, that they placed on God, were not received well on God's end, I don't believe. You see, if God has the ability to completely revolutionize our lives, filling us to the very brim and molding us to be like His Son, He wants every fiber of our being. He wants all of our actions. He wants all of our words. He wants all of our gifts and talents and efforts. He made us. How could we not serve Him with everything in us? It's already His. So those opinions that I want to share? Maybe those should be His, too.

When I was in band back in high school, I used to listen to a certain song before almost every competition we participated in. It's a song by TobyMac, entitled "Steal My Show." (If you haven't heard it yet, you just have to pull it up!) Comparing our lives to a show or concert, Toby says that we make the decision to let God run things. We open the door for Him to speak through us. Before my performances, I would listen to this song and pray, "Lord, steal my show. Let others see You in what I perform for them today." Even though a couple songs played on a marimba seem somewhat trivial and mundane in the grand scheme of things, I knew the capabilities of my God. I knew that He could take something small and turn it into beauty for His kingdom. My mallets and sheet music were not held defiantly from the baptismal. I wanted Him to have all of me, so I offered up even this small opportunity. May that still be my attitude and prayer as I embark on this new writing journey. May I not hold up my laptop, my thoughts, my opinions from His changing waters. Lord, this is yours. May my words be yours.

I pray that your heart cries the same, no matter what adventure you currently find yourself on. May we all sit back in amazement as our God - whom I believe to be the greatest tour manager ever - runs our shows.