Celebrating Seven!

Celebrating here! [insert balloons]
—December marked seven years since I started my blog!

When I first began my blog, I had had it in my mind and heart a long time prior. At that time, I didn’t know if anyone would ever read it. I didn’t know if I wanted them to. I told very few people, let alone advertised it!

I was concerned about what people might think.

[Side note: I do better than I used to with this issue, but I truly want complete victory over this. Yes, I want to be considerate and thoughtful and understanding because of loving others, but that’s different than over-concerning myself with how others may view me, which can be a definite hindrance in becoming the person that God created me to be. That I can even share my posts/writings with others is progress!]

I truly thought people might think I was kind of crazy. Well, that may be true to a degree (wink, wink), but putting my thoughts out there for people to criticize and “confirm” those conclusions was scary to say the least! So, to combat this idea, I just knew that I needed my big break first! If my writing was discovered, that would confirm my efforts as a writer, and validate the worth of my time spent doing so. My husband encouraged me to write for me, but it seemed there was more purpose to my writing than that.

I had tried fiction writing somewhere in the midst of this, and determined that it just wasn’t me. It felt forced and lacked the detail that only a true story could spin for me to relate. It fell flat, and I moved on.

It took some time to determine, but as I very slowly began to put my writing out there so others would have the opportunity to read the words I chose to weave together into a story, the purpose(s) began to emerge. As I once wrote, it felt kind of like stepping on ice…you proceed very cautiously. What I found was that others reached out and said that my writing was benefitting them in one way or another. That was it. I began to find that my writer’s heart’s desire was being fulfilled…to encourage and uplift people. Although, there is a challenge aspect, I want to bring a smile to your face and encouragement to your heart…courage to keep moving forward toward our final destination in a world where there is confusion, chaos, and plenty to distract. I didn’t need the fame or the fortune to continue. I didn’t need that spotlight to validate what God had put in my heart. The scale He chooses to use you or me is totally up to Him; however, I did have to make myself available and use the gifts that He gave. Trust me, I read those scriptures about burying your talent (along with others related to writing and/or spreading the message). Was I talented and gifted in this? How was I to know in and of myself? Well, God has used a few people along my path to encourage me in this endeavor…especially Steve. I still question it at times, and try to follow His lead in what to write, post, and share.

I have thought quite a bit in the last few weeks about quenching (*see definitions that apply below) the Holy Spirit. If He is leading me down a certain path, I want to follow…regardless. I have told Him in my prayers on multiple occasions that in my humanness, I will fail. I may resist before I have hardly had time to process His request; but in my daily desire to surrender, I rely on Him to help me to also obey…because it is only in His power that I can succeed in being faithful.

I have many thoughts and ideas for my writing. I trust Him to help me to distinguish which ones to continue and which not, but I don’t want to simply resist altogether in this area or any other. How am I to know what awesome plans (or rewards/blessings) He has in store if I don’t follow His lead? And even above that, I have comfort in The Comforter. I do not want to resist, quench, or silence His voice in any way, shape, or form.

“Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

So, my beloved reader, when you take time to read any of my work, know that I am truly honored and thankful…and I hope you will walk away celebrating with me…and looking toward the Son.

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P.S…Especially at the beginning of each year, I like to take a close look at my site and see if I can make any fresh changes. I like the final few changes that I made this year (after almost messing it up!). I hope you’ll take a peek at the addition to the title and the new color scheme. The set-up is still the same because I couldn’t find one that worked any better for me than this format for the time being.

P.P.S…I have a desire to post more often and more regularly. I don’t like to force it, but I do have some pending ideas! I hope you’ll stay tuned to see where this journey leads. You can actually enter an email to receive the new posts “hot off the press!”

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*Quench: verb (used with object)

• to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).

• to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.

• to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell: to quench an uprising.
*Dictionary.com app