New Year, New Intentions
I haven’t written a new post in several months. I could fill pages with excuses as to why. I could go on about how busy I am with other things, how the holidays take up so much of my time, how my job keeps me too busy , but the truth is, I don’t think I’ve had anything particularly interesting to talk about. For a time, I considered just giving it up. If I didn’t have anything I felt worthy of sharing, then why bother? Why make myself crazy trying to come up with new content, and quietly beating myself up because I don’t? I also found myself getting increasingly more beat down by all the “crap” I was seeing in the news and on social media. I just decided I would let it simmer for a few months.
Sometime around the first of the year my thoughts started to shift. I realize that I actually love the idea of having this outlet available. I love the idea of creating and sharing and the potential that this platform offers. The thing I really had to ask myself was how it would be different now? How would I turn this into something I felt proud of working on, and not just another website taking up internet space? How do I keep it from getting lost in timelines filled with political posts and rants against whatever it is we are supposed to be offended by today? Well, let me tell you a little story about the way God works.
A couple months ago I was watching “The Voice”, and one of the contestants sang a song from an artist named Lauren Daigle. It was insignificant at the time. I had never heard of her or the song, but somewhere in the back of my mind, her name remained. Life went on, and a few weeks later I was flipping through Instagram and Joanna Gaines shared a story from, of all things, a Lauren Daigle concert. Now, I’m curious. A quick search of Amazon Music and I find her newest album. A Christian album. I listened to it a few times. I like the music, I like her voice, but, in the beginning, I’m not really listening to the words. I add it to the music rotation and listen to it from time to time as I’m cleaning the house or getting ready for work in the morning.
Something you wouldn’t know about me, is that in the morning when I’m getting ready for work, there are at least 2 televisions on, as well as music of some sort (the electric company loves me). In addition to the tv and music, my morning routine involves coffee (well duh), newspaper, a quick check of email and social media. Well, it doesn’t take an ivy league scholar to know that in today’s world, reading the newspaper, watching the news and looking through your social media feed can really bring you down. It could have been any morning, bad news, fighting, divisiveness, lack of empathy or understanding, suffering, etc, etc,. You get the picture. I was thinking about how I get so frustrated with people in general, and especially with people I know, who seem to lack a decency when they’re hitting “share” on their social media posts. Is that what you really believe? Is what you’re posting even true? Did you take a minute to check? I get that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I also know that trying to combat it with arguments gets us nowhere, so I never engage in those arguments. I just huff off even more disgusted. What could I do about it? Well, just as the groundwork was being laid for me to discover this new Lauren Daigle album, I finally heard the message in the words…LOOK. UP. CHILD.
So, about now, you’re asking yourself what the heck all this has to do with this blog? Well, just like in the song, God is there if you just look up, so too is the good in the world, if you just look for it. So, what became clear to me, is that if I quit writing blog posts and sharing recipes and designs and stories about my life, then I’m leaving a space for someone else to spread more bad news. In a world, where we sometime feel helpless to do anything, we often do nothing. I want to do something, even if it’s a tiny insignificant blog post about the best brownie I ever ate, just to remind people that while we are in turbulent times, there are simple, good things to remind us how good life is. I want to share things that celebrate, uplift and inspire.
Going forward, I don’t know exactly how it all falls into place, but at least I feel like I’m doing a little something to spread good. I hope you’ll join me.
New Year, New Intentions….everything good. Here’s hoping your new year is starting off great!
Look Up Child
