Finally!  A fresh look for the blog…

It’s taken longer than I anticipated and there’s still much to be tweaked.  But alas, a fresh start.  I hope you like the new look.  At the risk of sounding like I just accepted an Oscar, I’d like to thank a few people.  It’s as big to me as an Oscar anyway. 

Donna at Thirsty?  (bundymum.blogspot.com) made a contribution all the way from Australia towards the new look of insert grace here.  As it turns out, we both considered the same beach scene for our runner’s up list.  Great minds think alike, Donna.  Donna has become someone special to me.  Through email and the blogosphere I feel like we’ve known each other for years.  I hope you’ll stop by her blog for a visit.  You’ll be glad you did.  Thanks a million, Donna! 

Jo-Lynne at DCR Design is responsible for the new blog duds.  I did some searching and she took care of the technical work.  In other words…the hard part.  You can also visit her at Musings of a Housewife.  You rock, Jo-Lynne.  I think it’s “purty”, too.  If you’re considering a new look stop by her site and browse a while.

Cathy at Desperately Seeking WordPress took on the installation of the header and new theme as well as the switch from WordPress.com.  Cathy has been a lifesaver over the past few weeks and even invited me to my first ever online conference.  I highly recommend her for all things WordPress.  Thanks Cathy!  I  hope you liked the Sugar-free Mississippi Mud recipe.  I’ll have to post that recipe one day.  For more recipes, you can also visit Cathy at Strawberries are Gluten Free. 

So what’s been happening?

You may have missed mine and Ginger’s Daily Mercies posts the past couple of weeks.  We’ll be posting them again soon.  Stay tuned for a post by our friend Laura at I Have to Believe…coming soon.

I’ve missed blogging terribly over the past few weeks.  Since my mishap with my images (heavy sigh) I have been sidetracked not only from posting but from reading my favorite blogs as well.  During this time, the Lord spoke to me.  I struggled tremendously with getting my blog “fixed”.  It may seem ridiculous, but the frustration of my images being deleted by my own hand was overwhelming.  I wanted it fixed and I wanted it NOW!  The mishap along with my strong desire for a change and a fresh look had me “blogged down”. 

But God used that time to teach me.  I willingly stepped away from the blog and waited.  Those images still bug me but that will take time.  But now I have a fresh new look as well as a fresh start. 
 

God’s timing is perfect.  A precious woman of God and new friend of mine, Daneyel, recently shared a story with me that painted such a beautiful picture of what God has been teaching me over the past few weeks.

Daneyel shared, “He reminded me of something that I had heard a long time ago and had forgotten.  That is that we try to juggle many balls in our life, often times way too many.  They all seem important so we continue, exhausting ourselves.  When we stop and examine these balls, some of them are rubber and they will bounce if we drop them.  But some of them are glass and they will shatter if dropped.  My relationships with Christ, my husband and my children are glass balls that will shatter and I have come close to dropping them too many times to count.  All of the other “important”, “good things” are balls made of rubber and they will bounce and God will cause someone else to catch them.”

What a lesson!  I’m so thankful that He allows things in our lives to slow us down and give us an opportunity to prioritize.  I love blogging!  I cannot say enough how grateful I am that He has opened doors for me to meet such wonderful women.  I love to write.  I love sharing the daily happenings of my life and what He teaches me.  And I look forward to sharing some of those happenings soon.  But I want to be sure to allow my blog to reflect my life, not consume my life.  Now I’m not saying that my daily blogging was consuming my life, but after deleting my pictures, it almost did.  And if my mistake keeps just one person from making the same mistake, then it was all worth it.  I think.

And it was absolutely worth the lesson learned.  I look forward to a fresh start on my blog and hope you’ll be back to visit.  And I can’t wait to catch up on what’s been going on in your lives as well.  I’ve truly missed you!

P.S.  Comments make a blogger feel loved!  HUGE GRIN!

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