I am often asked, “What does Visionwriters mean to you?”  In thinking about the spiritual impact that Visionwriters has had on my life, I come up with one simple sentence:  I cannot imagine my life without Visionwriters.

I grew up in a home, church, and community, where I was taught about God’s grace.  I accepted Christ as my personal Savior during middle school years as the Holy Spirit drew me into a personal relationship with Him.  I have been blessed by several revivals in my life:  as a high school student and in college.  I was also part of the Jesus Movement revival, and then experienced the outpouring of His Spirit during the Charismatic movement.  Home Bible studies have been part of my life since high school. But still, I cannot imagine my life today without Visionwriters.

At just the time I needed it the most, the Lord provided the opportunity for me to  become involved in my first Visionwriters class in Abilene, Kansas.  I  had recently gone through a traumatic experience in my life…an unexpected and unwanted late-in-life divorce.  Shortly after, I moved to Abilene, Kansas, in order to be close to family.  At that time, I was introduced to Visionwriters.  Through Visionwriters, He gently and lovingly pulled me into His Arms and filled me with His Peace and His Truth.  My first classes in Visionwriters were like spiritual therapeutic counseling sessions for me, where His Truth renewed my mind. He brought healing to me through the discipline, accountability, relationship, and community that the Visionwriters’ structure offers.

I remember the very first journalizing assignment that I did.  I can envision exactly where I was sitting when the Lord spoke to me as I wrote, with tears flowing down my face.  (There were many tears during those first classes…just ask anyone I was in community with at the time.  Those were tears of healing and grace.) The first journalizing assignment that I ever did was based on Hebrews 11:6  “And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.”  This verse was very familiar to me.  I had memorized it, and read and studied it many times.  But as I began to write, the Lord brought His Living Word to me:

Father,

I feel like I have failed You in my marriage.  I feel like I have failed my Christian witness by my marriage ending in divorce.  I feel like I have failed in my faith and have failed You. Then, with sweet, yet powerful words, He spoke back to me:

Wilma,

You have not failed me.  I am pleased by your faith during this difficult time.  Well done, my good and faithful daughter. Your faith has pleased me.

Since that moment, my relationship with the Lord has deepened and the sense of “failure” has lifted.  As I have continued to take classes and have become a Visionkeeper, He has revealed Himself more and more.  Joy and freedom have increased in my life.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8: 32

Since then, I have remarried and the Lord has blessed me with a husband whose heart is tender toward the Lord and toward our Visionwriters ministry.  I continue to facilitate local classes with seekers whom the Lord has brought into our lives.  It is such a joy to see others begin to hear His voice and follow Him more intimately.

As I said, I cannot imagine my life without all I have learned through Visionwriters.  I am so thankful that we can hear God’s voice, and that we can personally recognize His voice. “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to His Voice.  He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out…and His sheep follow Him, for they know His Voice.”  John 10: 3,4

I am so grateful that I have learned the truth of Christ in me, as me, through me.

Wilma Bartell started her visionwriting journey in 2012, and became a Visionkeeper in 2013.  She lives in Hesston, Kansas, with her husband Mark.  Both retired, Wilma and Mark have been called by God to a “ministry of availability” ~ being present for their family and their friends and the acquaintances that God brings into their lives.  They have 5 children, 4 more children by marriage, and 11 grandchildren.