"The Girl Behind the Blog" VLOG announcement!!

Have y'all participated in the "Girl Behind the Blog" VLOG link up

over at 5ohwifey?!

If not, you NEED to!!

and guess what?

I am SO excited and honored to be this month's co-host with Ashley!!

AND, Im super excited about this month's prompt:

*HOW HAS BLOGGING CHANGED YOU?*

I know for me personally, it has changed how I think about some things, how I value community, how I reflect in my heart, and (obviously) I take more pictures! hehe.

It has added to my life in a way I had NO idea it would!!!

I love me some "Ashley 5ohwifey" (that's how her name is in my phone) :)

She is one of the most open and real bloggers I have met.

She is not afraid to share her heart about anything, and is such an amazing example of just working through her faith and life with the Lord... as a Mommy and as a Cop's wife.

I don't even remember how I found her blog, but she's one that I keep up with consistently and always look forward to.

We became friends on the bird (thats what I like to twitter),

and have built a friendship over the last several months.

I am so thankful for her heart and for the tool God is using her as through her blog.

(isnt she beautiful?)

Several months back, she started a monthly link up called "The Girl Behind the Blog".

which is where bloggers can make a VLOG, yes that's a Video-Log, so that your readers and bloggy friends can get to know you on a new level.

A face-to-face level. :)

If you have never vlogged, or are nervous to....be comforted that most everyone is.

Or look at it as a good opportunity to laugh at yourself and how many times you say "um".

jk.

no but really...

it is SO fun!!!!

I have enjoyed it so much when I have linked up

(you can watch that here and here and here)

and i LOVE watching other friends on their vlogs.

You really do feel connected in a different way.

convinced now?

So, here is the prompt for this month's Vlog...

Hope to SEE you!!!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, Wednesday, August 29, 2012... one week from today... we invite YOU to tell us what you love about this blogging community and how it has changed you. And maybe make a few new friends. All you have to do is follow both of our blogs, post a button anywhere on your blog, and post a short vlog answering the following questions. You'll only have to link up on one of the host's blogs because our links will be interlinked. We really hope you join us. You can grab a button below to put up on your blog. Spread the word and lets get to know each other a little better! Here are the deets... feel free to make your video your own but please try to stick to these prompts and the time limit.

The Girl Behind The Blog- How Blogging Has Changed You

Time limit: Vlogs should be 2-3 minutes long

Introduce yourself and your blog

What is one of the main ways blogging has changed you?

How has blogging changed the way you reflect on issues that you wouldn't have before?

At the end of the day, how are you empowered and encouraged by blogging- by your own and by others?

How do you think you could add to your blog being a blessing to yourself and others?

<a href="http://www.5ohwifey.com/search/label/TGBTB" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc416/5ohwifey/Blog%20Tools/NEWtgbtb.jpg" alt="5ohwifey" width="200" height="200" /></a>

pwetty pwease?! I wanna see your vlog!!

I am seriously rich.

"Sarah, I love you so much.

I love our life together.

I love our girls.

I love our family.

I am so thankful to be so rich in love."

That was an out-of-the-blue text I got from my precious Parker yesterday.

In the middle of trying to meet a crazy deadline at work,

throwing himself into it full force as the Lord's tool to provide for our family,

In the midst of worries about money and debt and bills and time

and a million things that need to be done

and just wondering what season is next for us,

he stopped to realize (and remind ME)...

that WE ARE RICH.

"Rich":

Having high value or quality.

Having abundance.

Being well-supplied or endowed.

Magnificently Impressive.

Vivid and Deep.

Having a strong fragrance.

Highly productive.

Meaningful, Significant.

Pure.

(definitions from Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Those words, those descriptions of what it means to be rich

DO something to my soul.

like really, they move me, and evoke emotions.

And it evokes gratitude too.

Thankfulness that the Lord has bestowed HIS richness on me.

On my family.

On ALL His children.

Some things that being RICH means to me:

The knowledge that no matter what, He is GOOD.

A precious husband and an ever-growing marriage.

Grace that I don't deserve but for Jesus.

All 4 of us snuggled together in Abigail's twin bed.

Seeing a beautiful face appear after hours of labor.

Sitting and talking about faith with my family.

Building community and relationship with new friends.

Having friends who understand and encourage our radical faith.

Getting random heartfelt texts, like above, from my husband.

Witnessing a baby discover her hands and feet.

Watching as her hair blows in the breeze of the ceiling fan while she sleeps.

Hearing my two year old pray for healing.

Remembering the ways He has delivered me and freed me from bondages.

Staying up way too late talking and dreaming with Parker.

Knowing that no matter what the number in the bank account is,

God will always meet our needs.

I just want to take in the "vividness", the "depth, the "abundance".

Literally breath in the "strong fragrance" of my life.

I am seriously rich, y'all.

And i have a feeling you are too.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

linking up with my lovely girl, Jami...

go be blessed.

recent happenings in pics

oh, hey there...just some pics to share from our happenings lately.

Be blessed today friends!!

B's first time swinging. ohmycuteness.

sissy swinging! ohmycutenessagain.

SO glad it was cool enough today for some playground time!

being abundantly blessed by going through Proverbs with the #SheReadsTruth community.

Visiting Steve's (Parker's Dad) bench at the cemetery when we were there for his Grandmom's funeral last week.

This is a special bench, and a place to reflect and remember.

roadtrippin.

HELLO GAP?!?!

Do you need a new model?!?!

out to eat with my sisters, Alex and Danielle.

B's first time to see "the fountain" at Northpark Mall //

Abigail climbing on the planters there...kindof a right of passage as a Dallas kid.

After the funeral, Parker and His cousin Jenks (with his son here) tried to dig up a

"time capsule" they buried in his Grandmom's yard when they were kids, only to remember that they dug it up like 10 years ago.

my gift to Parker for our 9 year anniversary...

Since I recently started drinking coffee, now we can share in our love for it!

{get these cute mugs here!!}

painting suncatchers and hanging out.

working hard, my beautiful girl.

Hope y'all had a great week and weekend!!

i wanna blog, but...

... but I don't want to.

I don't want to ever feel pressure to blog.

to post. to comment. to read.

And the thing is, there's been so much talk I've seen going around lately about what a blog should be, what it should have been,

how it should be different, yadda yadda.

And honestly, while there are some very good and true points I agree with,

I also believe that each person's blog is just that:

it is THEIR blog.

So while I don't have much to actually say about this right now, I will say this:

I love this blog.

I love the opportunity it has opened for me to be a part of something huge that God is doing in His church and in His people,

particularly in women.

I am honored to be a part of the community it has given to me,

the women who I walk daily with and have never even met.

I love that my blog is a place for ME. My outlet, my space to process in.

My way to document life.

My way to meet new friends.

My "written legacy" that I can give to my children someday.

I love that my blog is a place where I can share as the Lord leads.

And that I can NOT share when He doesn't lead me to.

And while there is freedom in blogging,

THERE IS FREEDOM IN NOT BLOGGING too.

So if I don't blog for a while, or if I don't have a "deep" post for a while,

it. is. okay.

because it is my space here and it is something that I am responsible for.

But days or seasons of life may lead me elsewhere.

And since I feel like the Lord led me to it...

I am responsible to Him and His Voice in leading me in this blogging adventure.

does that make any sense?

Anyways.

I just feel like I want to say this:

Bloggers,

BE FREE.

Free to do with your blog what you want to do.

charge money. dont charge money. host giveaways. dont host giveaways. have a business.

post about the Lord in every post. Post random pics from your iphone in every post.

Dont use pictures at all, or have posts of nothing but pics.

or do all of the above.

Just do it for YOU.

and if HE is the one who led you to this, and you believe that He is asking you to use it for His glory...

then do that too.

And in my heart and mind, being free to experience a blessing God has given me, like this blog,

is something that I don't ever want to feel pressure about.

From myself or others.

Just be free, okay?

{thats all. love yall!}

cuteness overload

enough said. :)