Category: Blogging

A Dry Spell

I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell with regards to writing recently. I’m not exactly sure why, although I have been struggling more than normal with my depression and anxiety the past week or so. I knew that writing would help me – help me to work through my difficulties, help me to be grateful – but I just couldn’t bring myself to start a post.

Actually, I should clarify that. I did begin several posts, but I couldn’t finish them. Either because of time constraints, lack of energy, or my perfectionism…I ended up not hitting that “publish” button.

And right now, as I sit here in front of my computer, I feel stuck. Stuck regarding writing…I want to write, but I just don’t know what to write about. And stuck regarding how I’m feeling…I feel like I’m in a deep, dark, and muddy pit. Have you ever felt this way?

I talked to my Mom about it, and she said that this can happen to a lot of writers. Your inspiration dries up for a bit. But it’s a process…and I should be able to learn and even grow through it. I just wish I could skip to the learning and growing part!

But I know she’s right. God has me where He wants me at this point in time. And I need to trust Him – trust His heart of love. And trust that He has a purpose in this. I need to get back to taking those baby steps, and to focusing on things to be grateful for. And my Father will carry me through.

I just wanted to say thank you to my readers – I really appreciate you, and I hope you are doing well. Thanks for reading even when I don’t have much to share. You give me a reason to keep trying! ❤

“Writing about a writer’s block is better than not writing at all.”
― Charles Bukowski, The Last Night of the Earth Poems

Photo Credit: Joshua Sortino

Feeling Honored

I would like to thank Pastor Chris Jordan of New Life for nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award. I truly feel honored! Thank you so much for thinking of me, and I am very glad that I have been able to be a blessing to you in at least some small way. 🙂

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Here are the Rules for the Liebster Blog Award:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the questions given by the nominator.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers, who have less than 200 followers and link to them.* (*Note – in some places where I have seen the Liebster Blog Award posted, they have stipulated less than 3,000 followers, and I am going with that one).
4. Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer.
5. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs.

The following are my nominees for this award. They share their hearts in their blogs through writing and/or photography regarding their thoughts, dreams, ideas, and more. I think the thing that draws me to them the most is their openness and authenticity. I decided to pair things down a little and nominate 5 blogs and ask 5 questions. 🙂

  1. Wild Call of the Soul
  2. * Life Amplified *
  3. Pens and Journals
  4. Philos / Theo / Sophia
  5. Paths to Adventure and Praise

Questions for the nominees:

  1. What is your favorite thing to write about and/or photograph, and why?
  2. Tell us about an experience in your life that greatly affected you, in a positive way.
  3. What is a goal that you have for yourself in the next year or so?
  4. Share with us about a person in your life who has been very influential.
  5. What is a funny/interesting fact about yourself?

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Here are my answers to the questions that Chris gave to me:

  1. What motivated you to start writing or blogging? I think the biggest thing that motivated me to start blogging were the difficulties I was encountering in my life at the time, and needing to “work through them” somehow. I found that by writing about my struggles, and how those struggles related to my faith, it helped me to process what I was going through so that I could take steps forward and make positive progress.
  2. What is one of your favourite books (or authors), and why? One of my favorite books is called “Streams in the Desert,” by L.B. Cowman. It is a book of 366 Daily Devotional Readings that focus on the topic of trials and how they can be used in a Christian’s life for good. I read this book almost every night before I go to bed, and many times God uses it to speak to me regarding whatever situation I am in. Even though I’ve read the book over and over, the Lord continues to use it in my life in new ways.
  3. What is one of the items on your bucket list – something you would like to do before you die? It may sound silly, but I have this dream to visit every continent before I die. I’ve visited South America and Asia (along with North America, of course) so far, and I would like to go to Europe next. I love to travel, and I think it would be so neat to be able to have this type of experience. World, here I come! 😀
  4. Who is your favourite Bible hero, and why? This is a difficult question! There are so many men and women in the Bible who give us wonderful examples that it is very hard to choose. I guess I would have to say Abraham – because of his faith. He obeyed God when He was told to go to a different country, without knowing what he would face or how things would turn out. He also trusted God enough to offer his only son as a sacrifice, just because God asked him to. He didn’t understand. I’m sure everything in his heart and mind and body cried out against doing this – but he obeyed, and God blessed his faith by delivering his son (Isaac) and growing his faith even more.
  5. Who is one of the most influential people in your journey of faith? My Mother. 🙂 She has been one of my biggest supporters since I began my life’s journey. She listens to me, tries her best to understand, offers wise advice that she has learned from situations in her own life, and PRAYS for me. I really don’t know what I would do without her, and I’m so grateful to God for putting her in my life!
  6. Do you prefer coffee or tea? That’s actually a funny question for me right now. 🙂 I had always preferred coffee, and I still enjoy it. However, I just recently started a loose leaf tea business, and have come to really enjoy the taste and health benefits of this beverage. I guess I’d have to say that I enjoy both!
  7. Share one other interesting anecdotal fact about yourself! I have been sponsoring a young girl named Perla through Compassion International for about 7 years now. I have found it to be such an uplifting experience! Not only am I able to help a child who is less fortunate than I am, but I have the opportunity to communicate with her through mail and get to know her and her family. It has definitely been a blessing! ❤

The Dynamics of Blogging

Relationships. No, I’m not talking about THOSE [romantic] kind of relationships…although I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and I thank God for him. I am talking about a different, unique type of relationship: relationships on the blogosphere.

When I first started this blog many moons ago (*cough* okay, so it’s only been since the middle of last year), I never would have imagined the types of relationships that being a part of a blogging community would expose me to. I have “met” so many fun and interesting people, and I have learned a thing or two [or more! ;-)] from each one of them.

But the thing is, meeting all of these awesome people on the web and getting to see snapshots of their lives through viewing their blogs—only makes me want to learn MORE about them. I want to know who they are, what they enjoy, what makes them tick, what they’re passionate about–and I want to be a part of that.

So if you’ve read this far, I’d like to propose that you participate in a little exercise with me. In the comment section of this post, leave THREE WORDS that describe you. Now don’t think too much about this–I would probably just go with the first things that pop into your head. But I believe that this could be a good way that I could get to know each of you better…and hey, maybe we can all learn something new about each other!

To get things started, I’ll go first: Spiritual. Emotional. Artistic.

Now it’s YOUR turn. Go! 😀