I thought it fitting that I share my first post on my new blog during the first week of the new year. I started my first blog back in July of 2012 and I was really excited about it, but too quickly I got caught up in the number of followers that I had or should I say, that I didn't have, and it started to bother me. I got so upset that I didn't have that many followers and I kept on trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, and how I could make my blog better (like all of the other awesome bloggers out there). Eventually, because of the birth of my son, I didn't really have time to write any more, so I stopped. Although, the real reason I stopped was because I was not doing it for the right reasons. I wasn't totally invested.
So, after some time off I have decided to try this again, but with a different perspective. I'm not going to worry about how pretty my blog is, or how many posts I write a week, or how many followers I have. I am just going to write what ever I feel. Whatever is on my heart, and I'll see how things go. I want to enjoy this and not fall into the comparison trap of why my blog isn't doing as well as Mary's or Martha's. I just want to write as I feel led. Of course, if I do end up with a follower or two, I want to have something to offer my followers down the road, but I will fill you all in on what that will be later.
For now, I leave you with the #beautyinthemidst challenge. During my Christmas break, I had some time to think about what I wanted to do differently this year. I came up with a few goals for 2015. Not too many though, because I knew I would get overwhelmed with trying to maintain all of them. One was to spend more time reading my bible and praying everyday. Along with that, I decided that I really wanted to focus on the positive side of things whenever I face a struggle or trial in the future. My hope is that by reading my bible and praying everyday, this should make it a little easier to do because I will be constantly filling my mind with encouragement. I realized, looking back on this year, that God was always there during my storms and trials. I was just too busy focusing on the negative, instead of looking for the beauty in the each situation. God's job is to make beauty out of ashes. He can take something that is bad and turn it into something good, but you have to be intentional in trying to find the positive/beauty or else you will miss it, and it's not easy.
What might this look like? I'll give you the perfect example. This past weekend, both my son and my husband were sick. Maybe this is not the biggest struggle or trial to you, but for any of you who have had a sick child/children, I am sure you can relate that it is not easy either. So, instead of letting the long nights with barely any sleep, the constant running around for my two boys, and an extremely fussy baby get to me, I tried to see the beauty in it all. A sick baby means a whole lot more cuddles. My husband is more grateful and appreciative of my care. I focus on the beauty of being a wife and a mother, which I am so blessed and grateful to be.
Won't you join me in doing this? I would love to see any pictures and read any posts you have related to finding beauty in the midst of your struggles and trials. For any pictures or posts that I have related to this topic, I will be using the hashtag #beautyinthemidst and I invite you to do the same.
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Update: Hashtag change! Read all about it in this post: #beautyinthemidstofitall
Many Blessings,
erin
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