When blogging first came out blogs were mostly online journals where people shared their lives. I really loved reading blogs and “met” some great people along the way. I used to have a blog that is now completely “vintage”! Oh, my how fast the online world changes. If you want to check out my old blog feel free to hop over to “Choosing Simplicity” (I haven’t really kept it up since before our son was sick with leukemia).
ANYWAY… now blogs are very polished, fancy and much like online magazines. Everyone is an “expert” and sharing their knowledge with us. I enjoy learning and I enjoy teaching so this current style of blogging can work for me, too. However, I MISS getting to “know” bloggers since fewer and fewer share their real life. While I want to learn….. I also want to connect with a blogger. I miss the VINTAGE blog style.
When I was working (both is social work and as a teacher) my professional motto was “No one cares what I know until they KNOW that I CARE”! I think this holds true in personal life and in blog life. I want you to know me and know I care about you. I don’t just want to blog to create an online name or presence for myself…. I want to be an encouragement, a light, a living example that Jesus is our savior and that God is BIG (and wants to be BIG in our every day life)! I want you to know that I care…. I want to be real and transparent. I know life is HARD, I know that life is a struggle and I know that through all this hard life in Christ is Victorious.
Every week I want to write a “VINTAGE” Style blog post that is personal and more old school blogging online journal style. Share some real life living! Life is messy…. not all picture perfect…. but that is OK! Life is good, not perfect!!
Soooo….. What is going on in my life this week???
I am feeling so much better as I recover from the flu I had last week. Wow, did that knock me on my tush for a few days! I literally spent 2 days in bed. Thankfully, Wes (our oldest son who is a leukemia survivor) did not get it! His body is still re-building from the second bone marrow transplant he had last fall. He landed in the hospital this summer with the Para Influenza #3! We want NO repeats!!
While I was down with the flu I did get some of the fall pictures I took of our kids edited. I also got Wes and Robyn’s senior pictures edited. I have loved taking pictures of the kids every fall and this year we just took some extra for senior pictures. It has been bittersweet. I am THRILLED that they will be graduating and moving on in the next season of their life. We are especially thrilled that Wes is ALIVE and here with us to do all these things. Before leukemia changed Wes’ life he was a year ahead of Robyn in school, but now they will graduate together. However, it was tinged with sadness for this Mama Heart knowing that this is the LAST fall I will take pictures with all my kids still living at home. Transitions can be hard on a mama heart! Can you relate to that??
Here are my four kiddos: From Right to Left: Robyn (17), Nate (12), Ethan (13) and Wes (19)
Now that I am feeling all better I have been in a CLEANING frenzy! I know that a lot of this is the mama bear in me coming out to destroy any germs in our house! I also have been feeling like our house is too cluttered and needs not only a deep cleaning be some stuff purging. So far I have deep cleaned and purged the Master Bedroom, Master Bath and the living room. I cleaned from top to bottom. Curtains washed, walls wiped down, everything cleaned, stuff purged! Ahhhh it feels SO good! I will continue tackling one room each day until the whole house is done! Just in time for the Holidays.
Tuesday started the month of November. Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday. I love food and I love being thankful (so much power in a thankful heart)…. I also love that there are no HUGE expectations that surround the holiday…. so we can just ENJOY family, friends and food! I came across a Scripture Writing resource to be used during the month of November. I posted it on my personal Facebook a week ago asking if anyone wanted to join me. As of today there are 50 people doing this with me!! How BIG is our GOD??? So BIG!! This month we are coming together to focus on developing a heart of thanksgiving and praise! We would LOVE to have you join us and jump in!! (see picture below for the daily verses) My middle son, Ethan, is also joining me…. Perks of being the only home schooled kid!
What am I reading right now?? I always have 2 books going. I have a fun fiction book and I keep a non fiction (spiritual or personal growth focused) book going. Right now I am reading “A Home in Drayton Valley” by Kim Vogel Sawyer as my “fun” book. I’m over half done and am really enjoying it. The characters have both captured my heart and the story line is keeping me reading.
I am reading “Driven By Eternity” by John Bevere as my growth book. I just started it this week and it won’t be a book I move through quickly. I am reading a few pages at a time with my Bible by my side. I read, and then I have to take time to meditate and let it really sink deep into my Spirit. I don’t just want to read a book to check it off my goal list…. I want books to be tools that help me GROW in Christ! Speed is not the issue, growth is my goal.
This week marks another “First” for our youngest son, Nate. He is in 6th grade and is playing on a “real” basketball team for the first time. He LOVES basketball and has been practicing hard. This week he will have his first game. One EXCITED kid!! I have been fully enjoying having 2 older kids with driver’s license. They have been helping me with transportation to and from practices. One more thing I will miss when Wes and Robyn go off to college next year.
Speaking of college…. Robyn submitted her application to Purdue last night and Wes is finishing his. Tonight we go to Ivy Tech to learn more about their community college option. They have both been working on scholarships and we filed the FAFSA form. It is a big job (LOTS of hours) to get all this stuff done! I’m kind of glad we are doing it all for 2 at once! We are working as a team helping each other!
Well…. I think that sums up my week and hopefully gives you a peek into my life and helps you to get to know me better. I’ll be back next week with another “Vintage style, old-school” Blog post!
Last week I shared with you the “BLESSINGS” acronym I use to pray for my husband, Chris. Prayer is SO POWERFUL!!! I hope you find this acronym as helpful as I have. I’m praying some BIG things right now for Chris and for the kids and for others. To help you pray using scripture I have put together a simple e-book full of Bible verses that go along with each of the letters in BLESSSINGS. Praying the WORD of God is the most powerful prayers you can pray. GOD’S word is always lined up with God’s will!!! Have you seen the movie War Room?? If not, I highly recommend it! It will inspire you to pray the word of God!!
(Note: some links in this post are affiliate links. I will earn a small percentage if purchase through the links)
Yeah, I miss the good ol’ days of blogging almost daily; meeting and actually getting to know other people — like yourself! These days, I just don’t have time to sit and blog anymore, and truthfully, even before I started working outside the home, my postings had already dwindled down to only occasionally. I really debated just quitting altogether, but I can’t quite bring myself to do that either! I still enjoy reading blogs ~ and maintaining my feed is one of the biggest reasons I haven’t shut down my blog (I know there are other ways of not missing my favourite bloggers’ new posts, but I prefer the feed in my sidebar) ~ but I’ve just run out of blogging inspiration. So nice to see yours returning with a passion though!!