So, I have this blog. You’ve probably read it a time or two (hopefully more), and bonus points if you’ve shared it and double bonus points if you aren’t related to me. I thought I might take a minute and share why I have this particular blog because it seems like everyone and their mother has a blog right now, yes?

“Everyone and their mother has a blog right now, yes?”

I have always written off and on, as far back as I can remember, I journaled or scribbled notes that I sometimes kept and sometimes trashed. Everything from random thoughts, or important things to remember, perhaps a sort of cheat sheet to study from. Just to study – I assure any of my former teachers reading this I never cheated. (Probably.) The point is – I always wrote something. I wasn’t really good at it and didn’t think it would ever be a “thing”.

But then…

We lost our son. You’ve heard me discuss this before. Maybe you’re tired of hearing about it. That’s not what this post is about – so hang tight. It is what shifted my writing for the first time. It became therapeutic. Writing it out. Getting all the mush of emotions on paper (well, and computer, eventually). It made sense of the senseless for a moment. My original posts were mostly for me because I wanted everyone to know about John Karl and I wanted him to live forever even if it was just on the interweb in digital print somewhere. I wanted him never forgotten in some of my first blogs. I needed folks to know him, know what happened mostly for me.

“It made sense of the senseless for a moment.”

But then…

Others read it and shared it and read it some more. I heard from women that I’d never met who connected with our story and our pain. Women who were thankful I shared. And I felt God nudge me to do more. So I did. I kept writing. Sometimes about my grief and then about our joy in a rainbow. Sometimes I write a funny work-from-home-mom story or the quintessential first day of school post and then I share the occasional book review. Let’s not forget divulging my deepest, darkest fear during a writing challenge to the millions of readers (ok, more like 30, but a girl can dream).

And now…

I feel God nudging again. To do more. Write more. Share more. Tell more. Encourage more.  I have this book (maybe you know) on my heart that I’d love to publish. It combines my love of office supplies (anyone with me?) and my love of Jesus and spurs from a simple thing I did for my roomates in college – leaving little sticky notes for them with scripture all the while praying God would leave a note for me – preferably with some kind of specific direction on what to do with my life.

But then…

I learned God did leave that note and a few hundred others. I just wasn’t looking in the right place. There are answers to all of my questions in Scripture. So here I am, twenty-ish (cough cough) years later no longer waiting for sticky notes but seeking and finding them and learning to apply them to my life. You want in? Follow along.

Here’s something fun! This month, I’m doing some giveaways. I’ve got books and CDs and jewelry you can win by following along my writing and social media accounts. Super easy, right. Here is what to do:

1. Subscribe to follow my blog. Click the link to the left to “Follow” my blog and enter your email address. This will be confirmed to enter you into the give away.
2. Follow me on social media. I’m on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,and Pinterest. 
3. Comment on a blog. Any of them. This one, another one you read. Doesn’t matter. Just prove you exist and you’re really reading. 😉

Can’t wait! Follow my social media to see the first give away item this week. Yay!