Monday, September 19, 2011

Welcome to my Blog!

I love reading blogs.  I've always wanted to have my own, and I've started out a couple of times.  And, I've fizzled out every time.  It's always been a haphazard attempt, with no real plan as to what to write about, when to write about it, or why I was writing about it.  If you know me well, you know that sounds exactly like me.  However, no more!  I do have a plan; I know what I want to write, when I want to write about it, and why I'm writing about it.  Go me!  So, here's the details, in case you're wondering:

What I'm Writing About: 

"They" say you should always write about what you're passionate about.  If you try to write about something you're not passionate about, you will fail.  So, for me, that thing is my home and family.  I love homemaking and raising a family.  Please, please, please notice that I did not say that I'm good at it, just that I'm passionate about it.  I've pretty much realized that I'm a failure at a lot of things, but it is by the grace of our living Creator that I can get through the day.  However, I believe in the Proverbs 31 woman, and that with God's help every day I get a little bit closer to actually being that woman. For me, it's not just a checklist of things I have to do to be the model wife/mother/Christian/etc.  It's a lifestyle, a mindset.  That being said, you'll hear a lot about our meals, how I'm trying to change our diets for the better, my 3 wonderful step-sons and my amazing husband, my quest to take better care of our home, our parties that I love to plan, and how we are raising our kids and how I'm dealing with not so much strength or dignity with my husband's ex-wife.  I'll try to limit the latter.  I'm not here to bad mouth anyone, but it is a huge part of our life, and I want so desperately to handle it gracefully, but I know I fall short.  

When I'm Writing:

I plan to write a little something each day.  That shouldn't be too hard, right?  But, to give it some structure, here's what you'll find each day of the week (including, but not limited to):

  • Monday is Menu Plan Monday!  So exciting, right?  Today you'll find our menu for the week, with link ups to any recipes.  I'll talk more about this on our first Menu Plan Monday and about why this is so important for me, and about the fact that I really do loathe making a menu plan.
  • Tuesday will be Gratituesday.  A cross between gratitude and Tuesday.  Get it?  I first heard about this on one of my all-time favorite blogs, Heavenly Homemakers.  It's just a chance to reflect on what we are grateful for, in a world where it is so easy to caught up in the negatives.  And, I'd love for you to come and comment and share what you are grateful for or link up to your own blog.
  • Wednesdays will be all about our finances.  My husband and I would love to get out of debt.  We're not necessarily doing the best job about doing the right things to make that happen, but a little online accountability never hurt anyone, right?  
  • Thursday will be my day to share with you if I've done any freezer cooking for the week, what I made, how long it took, recipes, successes and failures (the many that I'm sure to have!).  I love cooking and freezing food to have on hand.  I've normally done just breakfast items or bread, but I'd really like to expand.  I'd also like to do it once a week, even if just for an hour (a la Crystal at Money Saving Mom).
  • Fridays I'll share specifically about how my relationship with God is going.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  What I"m doing for devotions, and books I'm reading, inspirational articles, struggles I'm having, what I hear God saying to me, etc.  
  • Over the weekends I don't plan on doing a whole lot of blogging.  This is family time, time to recharge for the week, go out and have fun, reconnect with my hubby, and head to church.  I will, one day over the weekend, share with you my goals for the coming week, and you can share yours with me!
Of course, this is not all I will write about.  I can't wait to share with you all about my amazing family, for starters!   But, it will give you an idea about what to expect.

Why I'm Writing:
I've gained a lot of knowledge, insight, and inspiration from other people's blogs.  I hope to be able to do the same thing for other people.  I'm a pretty transparent person, and so you'll learn a lot about who I am from this blog.  You'll hear about my successes and my failures.  You'll probably hear more about my failures than my successes!  I firmly believe in the Word of God, and I love the story of Esther, and I love Esther 4:14:
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
We've all got a reason for being where we are, when we are there.  I believe that God put me in my life  and the lives of those around me for a specific reason.  I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.  You are exactly where you're meant to be.  Sometimes, though, it's easy to loose sight of that and to grow weary.  I know I have.  We can all be an encouragement to one another, holding us up when we feel too weak to go it alone.

Like I said earlier, I am striving to become the Proverbs 31 wife.  I know there are a lot of other women out there who are striving for the same thing. We all come in different shapes and sizes, different backgrounds, different living situations, different husbands, different expectations.  What works for you, may not work for me and what works for me may not work for you.  This is a place to come get ideas, picking and choosing what works for you, and leaving the rest.  This is my story, so don't feel like you have to fit into a certain mold to be following the will of God in your life.
I hope that everyone can learn a lot from this blog, even if you don't have a relationship with Christ.  You'll hear a lot about that, but the lessons you'll learn about cooking, eating well, housekeeping, budgeting can be applied no matter what your beliefs. 

So, friends, that is about it!  I'm fairly new at this, so I hope you'll stick with me while I try this out.  I hope that you'll learn a lot of new things, and I know that I can learn a lot from you, too!

2 comments:

  1. Sounds great! I just started a blog too, sometimes it stresses me out, but I am having a lot of fun with it, and hopefully encouraging other women with my posts. Welcome to blogging!

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  2. Hi Jennifer, thanks for stopping by and commenting! I popped over to your blog and quickly looked around...it looks great! I can't wait to get a chance this evening to look over it some more :)

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