Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Today is my 334th post! What's so special about that, you ask? Well, because today is my

One year Blogiversary!!!!!

One year ago today, I posted this picture and said I was going to chronicle all of the everyday moments that I share with my girls that make me smile. Little did I know that the Lord had such bigger plans in store for me! Bear with me, it's a L O N G one, but such an amazing story of God's love for me and how he brought all these little things together to change my entire life forever!
When I started blogging, I was still grieving so deeply for my Mom and I didn't know if I would ever be able to just be me again. It was one of my first few posts that I decided to write my story about my adoption and my Mom. This blog has been such therapy for me in that way. Something that stands out to me about that story is that I was feeling so alone.
In that story, I wrote: "It's hard coming to the realization that there will be no one else in the world that will ever love me as much as she did." I truly believed that when I wrote it, but the Lord was patiently waiting for me to realize that He always loved me, even more than my Mom ever could. He was about to bring me some friends in this blogging world who would show me that I didn't have to make myself better. All I had to do was come to Him, trust in Him, and He was about to change my life. And it all started with this little blog!
It started with an encounter in Michaels, where a girl in the check-out line invited me to her church. I thought to myself, wow! God knows how much I've been wanting to get back in church and that just happened? But, I still wasn't ready. He still had more work to do.
On Christmas Day, I discovered Christian music on my friend Angie's blog. It was the song, "How Many Kings," by Downhere. Would you believe after I posted about how much I loved it, one of the band members commented on my post? I thought, wow!! That is awesome! It started a love affair with Christian music that I just cannot get enough of now! Worshipping through music is one of the main things that has helped me out of my grief.
I guess it was in January that I found Lynnette's blog. She was doing the Walk Down Memory Lane thing and that blessed me so much. I had run across one of her comments on someone else's blog and thought I'd check out her blog. I found that she had written a book on overcoming grief. I thought, wow! That is amazing and I have to read that book. At the time, I was grasping for anything that would give me the answers. One of the first posts I read of hers was one about how she used to hide in her house when people would come by because she was too afraid of what they would think of her messy house. She then said that she was missing opportunities by doing that and she decided to embrace who she was. It just struck me so much. At the time, I was hiding out in my house, barely able to go or do anything because my grief had morphed into social anxiety. Severe, debilitating social anxiety.
After reading Lynnette's book, I just cried and cried. The thing that really hit me was when she talked about a conversation she had with a friend after losing her son Josiah. Her friend asked her what she would say if God told her He had a plan for taking her son, and would she accept this assignment? Lynnette writes, "Yes, I would pretend that God had asked me to endure this trial, and I had said yes. It made it just a little easier to bear, acting as though I was a servant completing a task for my loving master. In essence, that's really what it was." It was at that time that I realized that I could spend the rest of my life in sorrow, or I could take what the Lord had placed in front of me and I could accept it and find my joy again, which is what Lynnette's book is about. Interestingly enough, that same night I was reading and crying over sweet Anna's life in Lynnette's book, her daughter Abigail left me a comment saying she had cried while reading my story on my blog. It was little details like that, that made me begin to realize that the Lord was definitely working behind the scenes on my behalf. And, details like the fact that today is also the anniversary of Anna's going home......I just found that out and I couldn't believe how the two dates were intertwined like that, that her story was so instrumental to my healing and I started blogging on that same date.
I won't go through every detail again, but a few months after that I decided to tell everyone about my struggles and ask them to pray for me. That led to me talking with an acquaintance who invited me to her church. Then the next week, I visited another church. Then, when my friend got sick and couldn't go with me to that church again the following week, on a whim I decided to visit Lifepoint, which has changed everything for me, as you all know! Somewhere in the middle of all that, I also met Veronica, who wrote about how she had rededicated her life to the Lord again, and I was shocked that while I was reading this, it was like I could've written that exact story at the very same time myself! I started talking to Veronica and we found that we had so much in common that we couldn't even believe it. She is now my very best friend, a friend that the Lord knew I so desperately needed. Someone on the very same journey as me. When I think about the Lord's love for me, I think of Veronica, who was such a loving gift from Him. It truly makes me cry to think about it.
Another very special friend was Lynnette's Mom, Linda. She has been that loving, motherly figure in my life that God knew I needed so badly. She has adopted both Veronica and me and we lovingly call her Momma Linda! :)
Then, there was that time that I won a free blog makeover from Abigail. There was that time I was struggling with going to lifegroups and wouldn't you know God sent Kate my way, whose husband happens to be a Pastor of lifegroups at their church! She told me how important it was to be involved in them. She was right! I feel so loved and I feel like I belong now, since I've been going to my lifegroup. Kate is also a counselor and she has helped me more than words can express as she has been such a sweet friend to me, cheering me along the whole way.
And to all of my sweet friends that are listed on my sidebar, that take time to talk to me and leave me comments, that let me share in their lives, that encourage me, that simply love me......I consider them all special gifts from God. Each one of them at one time or another has said something or loved me in such a way that I knew that they were a gift. We've all emailed, shared together, and they've been such wonderful friends.
Christy Rose has been such a nuturer in my walk with Christ. Becca such a beautiful Mommy and friend. Katie my constant encourager. Kristen shares my name, my love for crafting, and has a doggie named Pancake. Love that!! :D Mimi is so uplifting. Stephanie, a fellow supporter of Mommy-owned businesses and I was honored to pray for her sweet Almanzo. I have been honored to follow Amy's adoption story. B, a great friend who understands my grief and is always supportive. Joye has a beautiful love for the Lord. Holly, such a sweet friend with a beautiful, giving heart. Diva Ma always knows how to make me laugh. Madison's Mommy, Tess, I just love and she has been such a big supporter of my business. Kari, who I have so much in common with and she is a huge role model for me. Getting to share in Bentley's story with Crystal and their journey to TCH. My sweet friends who always will pray for me and are so encouraging: Jenilee, Mich, Melissa, Angelica. Once Brandi wrote a whole post about her struggles in finding a church, just so I wouldn't be so scared to do the same! Sweet Anna who is reaching for her dreams to be an actress one day. Denise, who loves to joke about her family quirks that I can always relate to....so funny! Rachel, who has always offered to help me in any way she can with my business. Julie, who I have so much in common with as a fellow stay-at-home Mommy just trying to find our way. Darla, who also lost her Mom and lifted me up when I needed it.
And sweet Daphine, who invited me to come to all the way to her home and spend Easter Sunday with her family, just so I would feel like I belonged somewhere. I will never forget that. Little did I know, that on that particular Sunday, I would decide to stay here and take my whole family to Lifepoint. I think Daphine's love gave me that nudge to just try it. And it changed our lives forever.
I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. You can see how this blogging journey has completely changed my life. And, it wasn't anything that I did. Every one of these friends, were sent to me with just the right words to heal, encourage, and comfort me by God. He showed me His deep love by every detail that he wove together in this story that I call my life. It's been a wonderful and exciting journey! You aren't afraid to reach out to me and just simply love me. That is what I so desperately needed. I am just filled with joy now and this is what life is all about! Praise the Lord, for I owe it all to Him.
And there's one more special person who I have to acknowledge. It's my MIL, Joy. She doesn't have a blog, but she faithfully reads mine every day. She will never know how much that means to me.....well, I guess she will now! LOL! Sometimes, we just need to know that people care enough about us to want to know what's on our heart and going on in our lives. She has been supportive of my business, my fundraising efforts, and I know she loves me and my girls and that there isn't anything she wouldn't do for us. That kind of unspoken love is what life is all about. Just knowing that someone else truly cares.
And to those who read that I know nothing about, if such people exist, just know that I'm honored that you would take the time to read stories about my life. This blog has been a journey of one of the most important years of my life.
Whew.......if you're still here, you deserve some sort of reward, don't you think? So, in honor of my Blogiversary, I wanted to give away a signed copy of Lynnette's book, "In Faithfulness, He Afflicted Me." It's a wonderful story of God's love and the hope that we all have, because of Him, no matter what trials we go through.
Also, because I messed up this bookmark yesterday, I'm also giving it away. Ha! You probably would never notice it, but I accidentally put the silver crimp on backwards at the top, so that the teeth of it are on the front. I like for them to be on the back, so I won't sell this one. So, I will get Lynnette to send me the book and then I will ship it and the bookmark out to one person who I will randomly choose. All you have to do is leave a comment. One entry per person. I'll choose the winner on Saturday.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me! It's been an exciting one for sure, and I hope that anyone who reads my story will see most of all that the Lord was the one who wrote it! All the days of my life were written in his book, before one of them ever came to be. I know that the best author in the world couldn't have written a better story if they tried!

I love y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!