Faith & FamilySimplicity and Abundance January 19, 2017 Happy 2017, y’all! Yes, I realize I’m more than a little late to be ringing in the New Year. As y’all may have seen, as soon as we got home from our long holiday week away, our family came down with the worst sickness we’ve faced yet. I was sick for awhile and never remember feeling so bad! Then of course, Rosie got a doozy of it and I spent nearly all of my time these last two weeks doing just what you see above…holding my very unhappy girl. I didn’t plan to have that kind of a break. In fact, I came home from our time away with family so excited for the New Year and ready to hit the ground running! But our plans don’t always pan out and it was all we could do each day to survive. I kept thinking, “Tomorrow, it’ll be better and I’ll do a quick post or atleast say hey on Instagram!” And as you know, that took much longer than I expected to happen. But sometimes, God knows what we need. Not that we needed sickness, but the forced downtime to reflect over 2016 and really look ahead to this year was a blessing, even if it came in a strange package. There’s so much I want to say about this last year. It was a hugely defining one for our family. And there’s a ton to say about what’s ahead. Instead of writing it all out, I decided to do a little video chat for y’all where I can share it all. Video is something I’ve been planning to add to the blog since I started it and yes, it took me nearly three years to get around to doing it! My background is actually in video and I LOVE video. My very favorite bloggers are those who do videos because I just connect so much better with people when I can see them chatting and feeling like we’re sitting down face to face. So y’all will be seeing more of that. Some videos will be a bit more formal like our gender reveal video. Some will be a casual chat like this. They definitely won’t take the place of traditional written blog posts, but you’ll see them popping up from time to time. So, let’s pretend for the next ten minutes that we’re two girlfriends headed out for a cup of coffee. We’re here to share hearts, share God’s revealings, and just to connect. 2016 was huge for us because God used it to teach us so much and to really vision cast what’s next. We can already feel that 2017 will be a HUGE year for our family, in many ways…we’re on the cusp of something…of change in all the best ways and I can’t wait to share each development with you! A huge thanks to you guys not only for your patience while I was away, but also for your sweet e-mails and comments. Hearing that y’all noticed I was away and were praying for our family because you just knew something was up was so great. Love y’all so much!
Denise says January 20, 2017 at 8:56 am Love the video and your vision! Glad you guys are feeling better! What a yucky few weeks that must have been. Thank you for sharing your story and how God has been a big part of it! Can’t wait to hear more! Reply
Rachel Winchester says January 20, 2017 at 11:34 am Yes! I love the video + excited for more to come! Been thinking I want to do some on my own blog too. Also, totally resonate with what you said about the blog toward the end. That’s so great to accept what you can truly take on + do work that aligns with your purpose. Here’s to 2017! Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2017 at 9:06 pm Thanks so much, Rachel!!! You totally should! It’s so fun to me π Reply
AmandaKB says January 20, 2017 at 7:29 pm Glad to see you’re back and feeling better! I’m looking forward to following along as you share the blessings God has in store for you and your sweet family in 2017 π Reply
Ann J says January 21, 2017 at 8:27 am Good for you, Lindsay! Thanks so much for your transparent sharing and I’m excited to see how God guides you and your sweet family in the coming months. Love the subtle shift in you running the blog rather than the blog running you…I always love seeing your new post in my inbox and now knowing that it’s on YOUR timeline for what fits with what God’s doing in you and your family, it’s even more special… Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2017 at 8:57 pm Oh Ann, you made my day! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that! Reply
Austin says January 23, 2017 at 12:34 pm Oh, I just love you, girl! Thank you for taking the time and sharing your heart. The video actually reminded me a little of Emily’s “Coffee Chats” from Jones Design Company, which I absolutely love. Can’t wait to hear more about your personal story and follow along in this big year! π Reply
Sarah says January 24, 2017 at 9:55 am Sounds good. I think with blogging…or any sort of social media… it can become less about real life and more stressful because ads and sponsors come in, deadlines, design challenges, etc… and I’ve seen many bloggers kind of lose who THEY are as they become a big advertisement for a company. At the end of our lives, those things will count for nothing. Its what we’ve done for Gods kingdom that counts. And how we live our personal lives is how we work toward that. I’m excited to follow along with your journey π Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2017 at 9:05 pm Amen to everything you said, Sarah! Love all of that! I think it’s so easy to get away from what you originally intended and it’s so good to redirect and get back on track! Excited to get rid of all the pressure and just have fun with it again! Reply
Val says January 24, 2017 at 11:49 pm Looking forward to following along with you guys in your journey! Your personal posts are always so inspirational. Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2017 at 9:03 pm Thanks so much, Val! That means so much and I am so glad you’re here! Personal posts about people’s journeys are always my favorite on other blogs, so I love sharing mine too. I think that’s how we all connect! π Reply
Nicki Hammon says January 25, 2017 at 1:25 pm So glad to hear y’all are feeling better! Take care??? Reply
Tina I says January 26, 2017 at 9:42 am Glad everyone is on the mend. Love videos as they seem more personal, but I will say, my only available time to check in with blogs is the first few minutes of my work day, so alas…..can’t watch videos:-( Reply
Lindsay says January 26, 2017 at 8:56 pm OH sad Tina! Well there will still be blog posts, don’t worry! Most videos I do will just go along with a post, but some will be a chat like this. But most posts will still just be text π So you won’t miss too much! Reply