The reason I blog....

I've been thinking a lot about why I blog. My previous blog on xanga was mostly like a personal diary to keep track of my pregnancies, and first experiences as a new mommy. For a quite a while, I was one of the top blogs over there. When Caleb was born, I had something like 200 comments on my post. Then life got busy. I made some great frienships over there that have now evolved into some real life friendships and some facebook friendships. I will not shut down my xanga. If I did, I would feel like a part of me was lost.

This blog is different. After I decided to fully submit to what God wanted in my life, I also felt a call to change almost every aspect of my life. My main purpose in my life is to honor the God I love. This means in the things I say, the way I interact with people, the way my family works, the way I worship. I've had to make some tough decisions about some relationships, and I've had to allow forgiveness to come to a complete forefront in others. I've had to have some big and not so fun conversations with my husband, and I've had to ask for forgiveness.

God has done some amazing things in my life. He has changed and stretched me in ways that I would have never though possible. Within the past 6 months, my life has been transformed.  All that being said, I want this blog to be my sounding board about all of the great things God has done. If my story could touch even one person's life who doesn't know Jesus or is struggling to keep faith, then this blog has done it's job.

That being said- there are a few things I want to make clear.

1. I am NOT perfect. I have my faults just like anyone else. I can be controlling, quick to judge, and have a mouth on me that gets me into big trouble. I am selfish, lazy, and often times gluttonous. No where near perfect. BUT that is the beauty in Christ. He sees past all of that and forgives and redeems.

2. This blog is going to be real. I am a raw person. I share details that often times others think are personal and should not be shared. Part of my fierceness and fiestyness is that I state the truth no matter what. I say what is on my mind- there will never be any question about where I stand with things. BUT this blog is a 2 way street. My desire is that my readers will be able to feel the same way. They will be able to disagree and question what I say and do. There was a comment just a few days ago that called me out- my immediate reaction was defensivness, but after thinking about it, it was the truth. Something that will stretch me and allow both me and my readers to grow outside our little "bubbles" that we are used to.

3. I want you (my readers and friends) to hold me accountable. I want my actions to align with my words and my words to align with my actions. I don't ever want my character to be questioned because of something I say or do. If you have questions, ask. Even if you think it could be considered offensive.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I'm excited to see where God is leading and how I/we will grow.