Authenticity.

“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.” John Keats

I’m getting ready to launch an official website/blog, but let’s just say this new blog contains a new name that isn’t yet mine to claim. Come May 9^th the name and the new blog will be mine and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Over the years I have submitted a number of my pieces to a few online magazines and not once have they been picked. (Yes that takes a lot of humility to admit) So like many people who fail at something I gave up, I quit trying because I assumed that I wasn’t good enough. The moment I quit trying was the moment encouragement flew to me. So I put on my big girl pants and tried again. And failed. Again.

No one wanted my stuff and I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. So I began analyzing blog after blog to figure out what they wanted. It was only then that I realized what they wanted wasn’t me.

They wanted lists “top 10 ways to overcome anxiety” or “5 ways to engage in prayer” on and on it went. And if they didn’t want lists they wanted articles that talked about all the things the Church had done wrong and how this generation was fighting against that.

So I moved on from the online magazines that wouldn’t hire me and I began looking to the independent bloggers. These bad boys were a whole new ball game.

Some of them (a lot of them) made lists too. “5 things I did this week that changed my life” or “3 ways to consolidate your closet”. But most of them blogged about their unattainably perfect lives! They had a craft tab, recipe tab and a stories tab where they wrote adorable stories about their husband or their cute little poodle.

So I sought out to conquer the independent blogging world with no arts and craft skills, no baking skills and no dog. It wasn’t long before I decided that wasn’t me either.

So what is me? Where do I fit in this world of writers and unlimited possibilities?

I don’t fit in, I’m not what the people want and that’s the problem. I don’t want to give you lists and I don’t want to be angry at the Church. I can’t give you advice about arts and crafts because Lord have mercy if I ever tried! But here’s what I can give you: AUTHENTICITY, and honestly I think that’s what you need.

Our online world gives us doses of fake worlds created by pictures and one time statuses. It’s enough to make a normal person go mad! Because the reality is that behind all of that is real people with real problems and real stories.

I want to give you stories. I want to tell you about how sometimes engagement is hard and Todd and I fight. But I also want to tell you about how madly in love with him I am and about how every once in a while we have a perfect weekend, but it isn’t every weekend.

I want to tell you about the time God went silent in my life and I had to keep walking, keep following even when I didn’t FEEL like it.

I want to tell you a story and I want you connect through that story. To know that you my friend are not alone and neither am I.

So I’m getting ready to launch a new blog, and if authenticity and stories are something you are interested in then please join me this May……..