Bloglovin' and a Few Blog Thoughts

So now that the smoke it starting to clear about the whole Google Reader being dropped thing - I have gotten with it and made a profile on bloglovin'.  If you previously used Google Reader, bloglovin' makes it super easy to import all of the blogs you follow.  Seriously, it was just a click of a button.

I feel like this week has been a huge learning experience for me when it comes to blogging.  I'm talking about the back-side of blogging, not the pretty pictures and fun project side.  The part where you have freak outs and meltdowns when you are trying to replace html in your code. Or, the part where you learn that you had no clue how the comments section worked on your blog and you feel like an idiot when you realize what you have been doing wrong.  Yeah, that was me this week.

I'm kind of thinking about doing a basic blogging series soon.  I feel like I have finally "gotten" some things this week after feeling in the dark and blindly doing the blog stuff for a while now.  I am at no means an expert but when you learn something I feel like you should share.  So if you are like me and feel like a newbie blogger, are wondering why everyone seems like an expert blogger but you or just need the comfort in knowing that you are not the only one who hasn't got a clue - then come follow me!  We will work through this blogging thing together.

If you ever have a blogging question, please just ask me!  I may not be able to answer it - but I might and I would love to help if I could.  I have learned a lot from other bloggers and I am so thankful for their willingness to share and help me through.  I love the blogging community and I would love for this blog to just be an extension of that.

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend! 

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State of the Blog Address

In starting this blog, almost a year ago, my intentions were to use it as a means to keep people posted on some of the diy house things we were working on, share some crafty stuff and any other home type things that might come up.  It's given me a much needed creative outlet and something I can take ownership of - now that I'm a stay at home mom.  The thing is - this home remodel stuff is such a small part of our lives.  We enjoy it, but it's totally not who we are as a family.  Honestly, we don't live for diy, we aren't searching for the best and biggest deal on shoe storage every week and we don't have time to be on top of all of the latest housing trends.  Our lives are much fuller than all of that.   We aren't in a constant state of diy, we actually struggle to find time to fit it all in sometimes but we are in a constant state of ministry, and we like it that way.

First and foremost, we love Jesus.  He is the Lord of our life, our home, our hearts and future.  Second, we are married - meaning our marriage is the most important covenant outside of our relationship with Christ.  We work hard on our marriage, take time out for each other and serve alongside of each other the way God has commanded.  Third, we are parents.  We have an amazing little 15 month old who keeps us b-u-s-y and laughing and fills our hearts with so much joy.  We feel so blessed to be his mom and dad.  And fourth, we are student leaders.  Justin is a youth pastor, I'm a youth pastor's wife - but don't let that fool you I'm as much committed as he is.  We love youth ministry, love our amazing church and the students who make up our youth group and desire to see this generation fall totally in love with Jesus.

So, with all of that being said - there might be a shift in the way this blog is headed.  I still want to totally share all of the diy home stuff we do but I also want to share some other things that God has laid upon my heart.

Recently God has been putting a burden on my heart to specifically focus on girls ministry (within our own student ministry) and to really begin to call attention to some of the more girl related issues that are facing this generation today.  Our teenage girls are under a lot of pressure and are struggling with all sorts of crazy things - and these crazy things need to be addressed.  I'm hoping that sharing some of the ideas and things we are working on in our youth group will help other youth leaders out there - especially women, to help come up with new ideas and inspiration who work with teenage girls.  I know I have looked all over the place for good resources on girls ministry, and to be honest, there just aren't a whole lot out there.  I will definitely be sharing some of my favorite resources soon - so stay tuned for that.  Tomorrow I will be sharing some of the details from our first big girls event that we held last weekend.  It was an amazing and special time and I'm so excited to see where God is taking this whole thing.  

Thanks so much for hanging in there with me and coming along this whole blog adventure as I figure out where it's all heading!  You guys have all been awesome!