Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Where I'm Coming From




I've been blogging on and off here for the past year and a half. My posts have always been rather clumsy and random, but they've all been written from a place of passion and honesty. My intentions and dreams for this place have shifted since that first click of the "publish" button, but I still ultimately want to use my words and stories to glorify Jesus.

Many of you are new readers. Maybe you found me through Project Life or...well, I have no clue how the rest of you found me. Either way, welcome. I am encouraged and inspired by each of you. And I think you deserve, if not my entire backstory (you can search the archives for that mess), then at least my front story. Who I am, where I'm coming from. I'm often vague about the details of my life, and I want to change that.

So, this is me. I'm a follower of Christ, on a journey of falling in love with Him and His word. This is not something I say lightly, because so much of my life has been spent "being a Christian" and not following Christ. But I'm learning.

I've been married to my high school and college crush Trevor for two years. He's the worship pastor at our church and is also currently serving as the youth director. (If you've been reading for a long time, you'll know that we've had all kinds of adventures in youth ministry.) I am learning to love ministry and church even though I was once a very bitter, reluctant pastor's wife. That's a story for another day.

A year ago we moved to a tiny suburb of Raleigh, which is like a Southern, American version of Avonlea (tell me you've read Anne of Green Gables?!) It's dreamy and quaint and there's swing dancing downtown in the summer.

Me? I've struggled to find a "real" job since moving here (since graduating college, actually.) But currently I'm working at Anthropologie, which means I come home smelling like the volcano candle everyday. I'm also getting a lot of mileage out of my vintage skirts and tube of red lipstick. All I really know is that I love words. Even if I never find a "career" I will be satisfied simply writing stories in my floppy journal every night. That's good enough for now.

My dream for this space is to record my stories as I fumble my way through ministry and marriage and discovering what it means to live for Christ. When I graduated college, I mourned the thought of never being in a classroom again, but I'm finding that life is a never-ending lesson. And I guess that makes blogging a field journal.

So - what's your "front" story? What's the plot twist you're finding yourself in right now?







12 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your heart, Heather! First of all, I'm like you...I love my words. Even if it's only through blogging and journalling, that's quite alright for me. Second of all, I'm envious that you get to work at Anthropologie! Man oh man, I could spend a sinful amount of money in that store.

    My front story right now: I'm following hard and haphazardly after Christ, messing up and resting in the grace of the Lord. I'm a newlywed, figuring out how life works with another person. So much is unknown, but we're thankful that we're together and that God has plans for us, even if we don't know what they are! I'm a college student, unsure of what's going to happen after graduation. I'm a newbie blogger, finding my voice. As far as the plot twist...it's simply that I don't know what's right around the next corner!

    www.ouryellowdoor.wordpress.com

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  2. I'm so glad that you shared this Heather! I can relate to the enjoyment of writing. Last night I was ready to go to sleep, but I grabbed my journal and spent some time pouring into it through sleepy eyes because I get such delight from writing.

    My plot twist is that I recently made the decision to stop seeking my desires for my future and instead to pray for God's desires to become my own. I have been out of work for five months as I dealt with a spine injury and subsequent surgery, and now that I am on the mend I have been giving a lot of thought to my purpose and future plans. Instead of exhausting myself on the wrong things, I have surrendered it all to God. His will is surely better than anything I could attempt on my own, and I am excited to watch His plans for me unfold.

    Also, Anthopologie = design/style crush. I have had my eyes on the black and white monogram mug for far too long, along with mostly the entire store! :)

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  3. Life is a classroom. And technically so is the life of a disciple. Thanks for sharing personal details.

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  4. I'd gathered some of your story from previous posts but appreciate the reintroduction. Thanks for sharing where you are currently! I'm inspired by your vision of blog-as-field-journal and am looking forward to reading more of your writings.

    As for my front story, I'm relatively new to marriage, to DC, and to figuring out how my passions mesh with my husband's (and thus now my) military life. This summer, I'll be teaching art to kids, doing a lot of running, drawing, photographing, and editing, and trying to get more involved with our--yes, relatively new--church.

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  5. Love this! I LOVE Ann of Green Gables, one of my favorites! What is your town called, I want to google image it, hehe!! Thank you for sharing. It was fun reading more about you, as i've been following your blog for a while and didn't know some of those things:) love Katie

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  6. I love this post. it's like a currently "about me" update. :) I definitely mourned that loss of classroom when I graduated college. sometimes I even though being a student was all I was good at, because it was all I really knew up to that point. I don't know if I'll ever figure out exactly what path I want to be on, but blogging in the meantime feels like a great hobby to help get through it all.

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  7. I loved this post and reading more about you! I can absolutely relate on the parts about writing and learning to live for Jesus Christ. Thank you for being real - I can't wait to read more in the coming months! (:

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  8. I've been reading for a couple months and so it was nice to get to know you better.... I think I found you in instagram by the way.

    I'm actually going through some huge life changes as I'm learning to be a mom to my almost 3 month daughter while my husband is making a huge career change from carpenter for the past ten years into ministry. It's something we've been praying over for 6 years and the opportunity finally was granted.... Still though there is so much unknown it's hard not to worry a bit even in the joy of it all.

    Thanks for sharing your story... I just love your writings.

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  9. i love this. thank you for sharing your front story with us, for telling us where you're standing and how you're feeling about it. :)

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  10. I'm really glad I stumbled upon your blog via Project Life. Your heart and your story are beautiful. And seriously, the moment you mentioned Avonlea, I knew we were kindred spirits. I'm glad to have met you.

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  11. I can't recall how I stumbled upon your blog, but I am glad I did. Your stories seem so real to me, and I feel ashamed at times for my lack of faith.

    Thank you for being such a blessing even though we've never met.

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