"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
- Walt Disney
I'd been thinking about the direction of this blog and what to do with it and what I wanted out of blogging when Sandra (one of my most favourite bloggers) wrote this post:
Do Yourself a Favor, which is a brilliant post, just pop over for a read.
She writes:
"So I'm making a conscious effort to maintain what my blog is about, to never change it, whether its look or the content of the posts, it doesn't matter. I want my readers who have been here from the very beginning in 2006 to feel like this is home, familiar, not like a completely different blog they stumbled upon."
This is why I love Sandra's blog. She is not ashamed of who she is, she writes beautifully and her love of her family and home are just so evident in her writing and photographs.
But for me, blogging has been a bit up and down over the years. Since I started blogging in 2005, I've had numerous blogs, off the top of my head they have been: Seeking His Glory, Faith, Hope and Love, A Bend in the Road, Another Bend in the Road, Verity Grace, Like Sunshine in the Home and this one now. I've been known as Mrs. Blythe (named after my favourite book character), Verity Grace and now my real name Sarah H. Sadly I've lost everything prior to September 2009 because of changing blogs so much, but I did import things from my last three blogs to this one.
Looking back I wondered why I changed blogs so much really. I think it's because I wanted to 'find myself' - perhaps thinking that the blog is always greener on the other side haha :D. Perhaps because I belonged to a crazy church that tried to mold me into what the leadership wanted me to be I was almost a split personality and couldn't settle on who I wanted to 'be' online because the church wanted me to be a perfect clone.
The funny thing is, every time I've changed my blog they've all morphed back into being very similar. A mix of devotional, day-to-day family life, homemaking, and occasional angst about something...oh and funny pictures of cats and my obsession with words and etymology.
I set up this blog in reaction to leaving that crazy cultish church. I think subconsciously I wanted to be like those spiritual abuse bloggers who help others in similar situations to escape the clutches of controlling and damaging churches. Perhaps I saw myself with a huge group of adoring followers and a book deal. Hahahaha. But of course this blog has done what all my other blogs have done, morphed back to type...and I have
very few followers. LOL.
I'm glad in a way. Of course I will still share my experiences and rants about struggling with church stuff, but I'm glad it's not
just about that. I don't want to dwell in perpetual victimhood. It's all about moving forward in my life and
enjoying it! I've lectured about spiritual abuse at our local bible college and people have been helped by it, so I
can use my experiences to help others. I don't want to name and shame, that's not what my blog's about, instead I want to document how I personally am moving forward. And, of course, continue to share my day-to-day life and thoughts about this, that and the other.
I've learned that
It's OK to Fail and it's OK just to be me. Not perfect. Not a clone.
I'm moving forward, but I'm still being me.
I started this post with a Walt Disney quote which is quoted in the film Meet the Robinsons. Here's another from this film:
- You failed!
- And it was awesome!
- Exceptional!
- Outstanding!
- I've seen better.
- From failing, you learn.
- From success, not so much.
Four lessons I've learned:
- You do learn from your mistakes.
- God does use messy people.
- You only find out who you are by moving away from who you're not.
- You can enjoy life while you're doing all this.
Let's hope that I stick with this blog from now on...but I can't guarantee it ;) hahaha
Big hugs and happy blogging!
