Where Do I Begin? Start While You're Still Learning

There is a question I hear from Christian women all the time. Honestly, it is a question I still ask myself sometimes.

Where do I begin?

Where do I begin writing the book God has placed on my heart? Where do I begin building the business? Where do I begin sharing my testimony? Where do I begin growing the ministry? Where do I begin when there are approximately 47 tabs open in my brain, everyone on the internet seems to know more than I do, and I still have so much to learn?

Maybe you have been asking that question too. And I want to gently challenge the assumption hiding underneath it: What if you don't have to know everything before you begin?

I Thought I Should Have Figured It Out By Now

Recently, I was talking with my friend and teammate, Heather. Heather handles marketing for Marilyn Jeanne Designs and owns her own marketing company, so we spend a LOT of time talking about marketing, systems, clients, ideas, what is working, what isn't working....

Basically all the glamorous behind-the-scenes stuff nobody puts in the Instagram Reel.

And I admitted something to her, "I feel like I'm failing." She immediately told me, "You're not failing. We just have our hands full as moms."

But that wasn't quite enough to silence the little voice in my head. So I told her, "I know, but I feel like we should have had a system already figured out." And Heather responded, "We are still learning and that's okay."

Whew. I NEEDED that.

Because somewhere along the way, I had decided that being called to something meant I should already know exactly how to do it. But I'm learning that calling and mastery are NOT the same thing.

We Are Still Learning

I want to be especially honest about this because I never want Marilyn Jeanne Designs to become a company that stands on the internet pretending we have discovered the secret formula for everything.

We haven't.

We're still learning. We're refining systems. We're figuring out better ways to communicate. We're paying attention to what's working and what's not. We're listening to the women we serve. We're making changes when something could be done better.

And yes, sometime we're realizing that the brilliant system we thought would solve everything needs another system to make the first system actually work.

Business ownership is fun like that. But I've realized something: Needing to grow doesn't mean you're failing.

It means you're growing. And that applies to so much more than business.

Maybe "Where Do I Begin?" Isn't Really Your Question

Maybe you've been saying, "I want to write a book. Where do I start?" But underneath that question is another one, "Who am I to write it?"

Maybe you're thinking about starting a ministry, but underneath, "Where do I begin?" is: "What if I'm not spiritually mature enough?"

Maybe you want to start a business, teach something, create a resource, host a podcast, or share what you've learned.

But then you look around.

Someone has a bigger platform. Someone has more credentials. Someone has been doing it louder. Someone has a prettier website. Someone knows more Scripture. Someone has more followers. Someone appears to have the entire thing figured out.

So you decide you'll begin when you know more.

When you're more confident. When the kids are older. When you have more money. When you've read another book. When you finish another course. When you finally feel qualified.

Friend...

There will probably always be something else you can learn. That doesn't automatically mean God is asking you to wait.

Still Learning Doesn't Mean You Have Nothing to Give

There's an important distinction here. I am NOT telling you to pretend you're an expert when you're not.

Please do NOT do that.

There is tremendous integrity in saying, "I don't know." There is wisdom in asking questions. There is maturity in receiving correction.

There are absolutely situations where we need education, professional training, pastoral counsel, mentorship, or experience before we should teach someone else. But humility and hiding are not the same thing.

You don't have to know everything to faithfully share what God has already taught you. You don't have to have the biggest business to help the woman who is three steps behind you. You don't have to have a theology degree to share your testimony. You don't have to have 100,000 followers to encourage one person. And you don't have to have your entire book mapped out before you write the first paragraph.

You can be a student and a servant at the same time. Actually, I hope we always are.

Ask God for What You Don't Know

James 1:5 (KJV) says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

I love that Scripture doesn't shame us for lacking wisdom. It tells us what to do when we lack it.

Ask.

That's different from pretending. It also different from refusing to move until we understand everything.

We can pray. We can study Scripture. We can learn. We can seek wise counsel. We can hire someone who knows what we don't. We can take a course. We can ask questions. We can try something, realize it doesn't work, adjust, and try again.

Learning isn't something we graduate from before God can use us. Learning is part of stewardship.

In an AI World, Your Humanity Matters

We're also building, writing, and ministering in a very strange time. Artificial intelligence can help us brainstorm ideas, organize information, draft content, generate images, analyze data, and do things that would've taken significantly longer just a few years ago.

Technology is moving FAST. Platforms change. Algorithms change. Features appear. Features disappear. The strategy someone swore was absolutely essential six months ago might be irrelevant six months from now. And because information is becoming easier and easier to generate, I think something else is becoming even more valuable:

Truth.

Your actual story. Your lived experience. Your convictions. Your testimony. Your discernment. Your willingness to look another woman in the eye and say: "I don't know everything. But here's what God has taught me so far."

AI can help us use tools. It cannot live our testimony for us. It cannot obey God for us. And it cannot replace the responsibility we have to steward what He has entrusted to us.

Your Calling Doesn't Require a Perfect Platform

This has become something we talk about often at MJD: God isn't asking you to build a platform. He's asking you to steward your calling.

A platform can be useful. Social media can be useful. A book can be useful. A podcast can be useful. A business can be useful. A ministry can be useful.

But they're tools. They're not the calling. And that means you don't have to wait until the tool is perfect before you obey the One who gave you the assignment.

Maybe your first post gets twelve views. Maybe your first manuscript is messy (It will be. That's why editors exist.😉). Maybe your first business idea changes. Maybe your ministry looks completely different three years from now. Maybe you start something and God uses the process to show you that He was actually leading you somewhere else.

That's okay. You are still learning.

Faithful Is He

1 Thessalonians 5:24 (KJV) says: "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."

I've been sitting with those words lately. Because I have a tendency to make everything depend on me.

If God called me to it, then I need to figure it out. I need the system. I need the plan. I need the answer. I need to make sure it succeeds.

But Scripture points our attention somewhere else.

Faithful is HE.

God's faithfulness isn't dependent upon my perfection. And neither is yours.

That doesn't give us permission to be careless with our calling. Quite the opposite. It gives us freedom to steward it diligently without pretending we're sovereign over the outcome.

We work. We study. We improve. We seek wisdom. We repent when necessary. We receive correction. We keep learning. We keep showing up. And we trust God with what we cannot control.

So...Where Do I Begin?

Maybe much smaller than you thought.

Pray about the book. Then write 500 words. Research the business. Then take one concrete step.

Ask the ministry question. Then talk to someone wiser than you.

Share the testimony. Help the one woman who needs what God has already taught you.

You don't need the next twenty steps today. You need enough wisdom for the step God is asking you to take now.

And when you don't know what that is? Ask Him. Then keep learning.

You Don't Need Another Place to Perform

If you're reading this thinking: "Okay, Gina...but I really DO need help figuring some of this out."

I get it. That's one of the reasons we have our FREE Marilyn Jeanne Designs Facebook community. It isn't supposed to be another corner of the internet where Christian women feel like they need to impress everyone.

I don't want that.

I want it to be a place where Christian authors, ministry leaders, creatives, and business owners can learn. Ask questions. Share wins. Admit when something is hard. Receive Biblical encouragement. Learn practical publishing and business strategies. And grow alongside women who are figuring things out too.

Because I don't think you need another place to perform. You need a place to grow.

So if you've been asking..."Where do I begin?" Maybe your first step doesn't have to be buying something. Maybe it's simply finding people who will encourage you to keep learning, keep growing, and keep faithfully stewarding whatever God has placed in your hands.

We'd love to have you join us. Because we're still learning too.

And that's okay. 🤍