Be BRAVE!

Sometimes I think this blog will forever plague me.  I think that I will never quite figure out how to blog regularly, or how to know exactly what would be good content for this little space of mine. So instead of writing something that isn’t good, I just don’t write at all.  And I’m a big fan of “Progress over Perfection”.  If you are struggling with something, that is the first thing I will tell you.  Yet for this instance, progress is never made because I feel like my writing isn’t good enough to be read.

At the beginning of the year, I decided to choose a word of the year.  I prayed over it and thought about what would be an appropriate word to describe what I was hoping for this year.  While singing in church one Sunday morning, I realized my word is BRAVE!  I want to be brave in all my actions.  Sending an email to someone I’d like to collaborate with, going to a bible study with no one that I know, getting an actual business license.   These things scare me to death.  And somehow, remembering my word has given me the courage to get it all started.

But I haven’t blogged about it.  I haven't done the thing that takes the most courage, and told the world what my word for 2015 will be. 

So here it this: THIS YEAR I AM GOING TO BE BRAVE!

What if I fail??  What if I’m not always brave in everything??  -- That will be ok. At least I had the courage to try something big and scary.  Something that sets my heart on fire and gets me excited about life. And now I’m taking the courage to tell the world about it. And I'm going to continue to give myself a LOT of grace and keep blogging.  Even if it is only once every 2 months. 

If you are struggling with not getting something done, I do suggest you always remember “Progress over Perfection”.  Sometimes it helps to get something out there, so you can improve it and move forward.  Don’t let the fear stop you.  Whatever it is you want to do in life, remember to be brave!  And if you ever need some encouragement, feel free to send me an email!  I’d love to send you something back with lots of exclamation points and excitement!

Thoughts on Blogging

I’m sure I've said this before on here, but blogging is HARD.  When I started this blog at the beginning of the year, I had big dreams and lots of ideas.  Or so I thought.  Then reality set in and life got busy.  It takes time to research, take good photos, find topics people care about, and write a post.  Working full time and running Faithfully Made on the side already takes a lot of time. What was I thinking when I thought I could also write 3 or 4 times a week??

And next, fear set in.  What do I have to say that other people want to read about?  What if so and so reads it and then they think differently of me??  I don’t want to offend anyone or say something that might upset someone else. My iphone pictures don’t look as nice as the photos on all of my favorite blogs.  How will I ever make this blog work for me??

The other day while driving home, I had the idea that at the beginning of the year I’d do better about blogging.  I decided to give myself grace and not worry about everything being perfect.   I would write what I wanted to remember and not worry about what other people thought.  I could use this blog as a “scrapbook” of life to place pictures and memories.  And if I have something to say about a book or life in general, I can use it for that too.  On that same drive home it hit me, why wait until January??  There is nothing special about January 1^st.  It is still just another day.  And while I do love January 1^st, and getting a fresh start every year, why not start today on this new blogging journey??  Grainy pictures and all. :-)

Then, today I read a post about blogging (you can find it here!) and the author said that I do have something to say and that I was capable of being a blog owner.  And I BELIEVED her! 

So, here I am!  Writing my first post in almost two months.  And the plan is to keep blogging regularly.  About random stuff until it turns into something not random.  Please feel free to join me, follow along, read about a little piece of my life and share some of yours with me in the comments.  I’d love to have you on this journey into blogging with me. Whatever that may look like in the future.

(Oh, and my next post is already being planned!  It will be about these awesome photos I had taken by J Overby Photography!)