ONE HUNDRETH POST

Okay, technically this is 101, but don't judge me. I never claimed to be perfect. Life got away from me there for a second and 100 passed by before I could publish this little gem of a post. Kind of an introduction of sorts to the new blog look. Here we go.

May 10, 2010. The date of my first ever blog post. I didn't know what I was doing. & I sure didn't expect this little blog to become such an important part of my life.

Since 2010, the purpose of this blog has definitely changed a few times. It started out as a way to keep family & friends updated on my travels in Ukraine when I spent the summer there as a BSU missionary. I enjoyed writing/updating on the blog, but it didn't really stick at first.

It wasn't until July 21, 2011 that God gave me a vision for where He wanted this blog to go and how He wanted to use it for His glory. That was the day that this blog turned into a place where things get real. There's no sugar-coating. no pretending. no faking it here. I began bearing my soul and God's pursuit of my heart & life right here for all the world to see ... okay. maybe not the whole world. like twenty people. but still. I knew that in order to be effective for God's purposes, I had to be open & honest about my struggles, my victories, my emotions, my hurts, my joys. literally my everything. It was scary. This blog is more than a place to just type words on a page. It is more about God speaking to the hearts of those who need to hear these words {especially me}. When I feel the most inadequate to do this, God reminds me that He uses it for His purposes not mine. Just as I finish what feels like the most scatterbrained post ever, someone sends me a message telling me God spoke to them through it. Reminds me of the verse that I will boast all the more in weakness because through Him my weakness are made strong.

Summer of 2011, God was wrecking my heart & life over my attitude toward my singleness. I have/had so many friends in this boat with me. I sincerely doubt they were as bad off as I was/am, but I knew God had something to say to single Christians that He wanted to say through me. I was hurting so badly that I was willing to do anything to allow God to overhaul my heart & life in order to empty it of my dreams. my plans. my desires. In order to replace them with His dreams. His plans. & His desires. Since then I have gone back and reread those posts from that time, & I don't recognize the words. It wasn't me writing. It was God speaking directly to my heart. Every time I write on here, I publish the post and go back to read it one last time {usually to proofread}, but as I read, it's like I'm reading it for the first time. It is so clear that God is working here on this simple little blog of mine. I praise God for that.

Singleness was the only focus for awhile on here, but soon God started impressing other topics on my heart. The blog again morphed into a forum for me sharing what God is teaching me. He continually teaches me through the words on this page. He speaks so much truth into my life from this place.

Just a few posts that have so radically changed my heart & provided such powerful clarity are linked below:

Keep You Safe

My Alabaster Box

Where's My Storybook Ending?

Learning to be the Light
Millions of Faces
Love Story in the Making
Turn Your Eyes
The Story Behind the Peacock
It's a Diet, It's a New Year's Resolution, NO ...

As I step out on this crazy new journey in NOLA, I am thrilled to be stretching & expanding my faith & trust in God. My life is nothing without Him, and at the end of the day, I choose Him. I choose Him. I choose Him over earthly things such as comfort, happiness, possessions, relationships. In Him, I find the greatest comfort, more than happiness ... joy, treasures in heaven, & the greatest love of all time. Oh how He fills the deepest longings of my heart & soul.

Documenting my life {without borders} here should be an adventure that you won't want to miss.

I'm stepping out. Who's coming with me?

God's calling you to step out. Trust Him. Put your faith in Him.

Here's to one hundred more posts glorifying the Creator of the universe, the Lover of my soul, & the God who calls us out onto the water where our faith will be made stronger.

Here's to {Without Borders: A Life Documented}.