Blogging 2018

I used to blog to document our lives and update friends/family on the kiddos and on our lives. 

As life gets busier and social media becomes more popular and saturated, you can see what we're up to on Facebook or Instagram and I don't have to spend time uploading photos here and writing content. 

That being said, I still love to write and I always feel like I have all these thoughts or things that I want to tell people about but I don't always want to flood everyone's Facebook feed with these things. 

I want to try and spend some time each week listing a few things I want you to know. I also would love for this to be a place where I could process thoughts and feelings. 

So, to start. Here are the FIVE things I want you to know this week. 

1. Podcasts.  I prefer the interview styles and I prefer it to be someone I know of but every once in awhile I stumble on someone I don't know yet and I fall in love with their story! Sometimes there is a topic they are discussing that I can relate/connect to. Sometimes there's a topic I don't know much about or something I'm learning about. I just love to hear what other's lives are like. One of the things I plan to start doing on the blog is list some of my favorite episodes I've listened to and what I learned from them or what stood out to me. 

Some of my favorite Podcasts currently are: 

That Sounds Fun with Annie Downs

The BigBoo Cast with Sophie Hudson & Melanie Shankle

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey 

Typology Podcast with Ian Cron. 

2. Reading! I have discovered reading again the last two years and I can't get enough. I can't wait to get caught up in a good book. I have read a few fun fiction books and a few helpful self help books, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE a good biography. 

3. The Enneagram. I have done the deep dive into all things Enneagram. I am a Type 9 with a slight 1 wing. I feel like the more I learn about the Enneagram and the different types of people and personalities the more I understand others. I feel like it's transformed how I interact with co-workers, clients, friends, and most importantly my husband. I love learning more about myself. It's like free therapy. I will try and share some of things on the blog that I've learned about myself through the lens of the Enneagram.

4. Church. There was a season in our lives, not very long ago, when I would have told you that having a church family was not super important. I would have told you that you can hear/learn/dive into God's word in many other ways and that as long as you have Christian friends in your life, you have community. While, I do think that there are seasons in your life where that has to be enough, I have never been a bigger fan than the capital "C" church (meaning the concept as a whole). We didn't realize that we were really lacking true, authentic, vulnerable community. I also think that until you realize what you're lacking and find a church family that really fits your family's needs you don't see this. We have recently found exactly what we needed and we didn't realize how badly we needed it until we found it.

5. Humor. Find things each day to laugh about. Life is hard. Really hard, sometimes. We are surrounded by negative news. There are sad things happening all around us. Cancer is on the rise. Our parents are having to care for their elderly parents. Some of our friends (MY AGE) are losing parents. We have lost friends. We have difficult jobs and kids. It is easy to be consumed by the negative everywhere you look. You have to find ways to laugh. Things to enjoy. People that lift you up (both in prayer and in your mood). Don't allow yourself to get sucked into the negative media or social media battles. Watch the funny animal videos. Watch the laughing babies. Engage with a toddler that thinks everything is funny (preferably one you know, or this could be weird). Find ways to to see and focus on some light and airy things when you can.

I look forward to sharing more of my heart here again. It's good to get all the things floating around in my head, written out.