My First Blog (Again)

by Ashley

So I have a blog. Well, I had a blog. It came about after a friend asked me about an issue that I’d briefly studied, so I typed out my notes and journal entries and sent it to her. From there, I decided that there’s not much more required to actually publish it online, so why not? I thought of a catchy name and developed my voice (mostly coming out of the attitude that most Christian women’s stuff sucks- It’s either fluff, using the same Jeremiah 29 verse out of context or it’s again about Proverbs 31 or Ruth. I love both of those passages, but come on, let’s stretch a bit people).


Anyway, in my subsequent 15 posts, I didn’t do badly considering my limited circle. On my best day, I had about 60 hits, and most of those weren’t me refreshing the page (I hope). Then I learned the tragic part of blogging: if I don’t write, then nothing goes on the website. No one reads it. There’s no point. So my little blog didn’t last past a month. A year later, I tried again. After two posts, it went away (though the last post had the most comments of any of the blogs - a total of 5, including one from my aunt saying I did a good job...not really the point and probably shouldn’t count that one...so a real total of 4 comments).


Then, a year ago I had an idea. I wanted to discover how to develop a destination that was more than just a blog. What if there was one single website dedicated to women, written by a collection of women of various backgrounds that enabled them to speak to a variety of visitors? I wondered if that style of website would also encourage people to be open to hearing from others in different life stages.


I had a friend once who was single and really wanted to be married. She was head-over-heels for all things romantic. She watched rom-coms like grandmas play bingo. She read countless Amish love stories masquerading as wholesome Christian lit. On and on. However, to combat this utopian notion, all of her married friends went the opposite way and inundated her with ‘hard truths’ about the difficulty of marriage. She decided to turn away from the voices in the trenches (who could blame her) and went to the blogs written by single women. Now most of these focused on their singleness (articles along the lines of ‘Why God allows me to be 50 and single’ and ‘How to keep your pants on when you’re turning gray with no hub’). Even with a positive spin, it can be depressing after a while.


But what if? What if she could go to a website to get a real glimpse into a married woman’s heart- her struggles, her blessings, where God is working? What if she could identify with a single woman who isn’t defined by her singleness but rather by her Heavenly Father who is working in her day-to-day life?


And the same goes for any woman in any other life stage. Where can a young mother go online where she’s not totally bombarded by how to make her child the center of her world, but rather hear from a godly older woman about how to develop her relationship with Christ so that He is the reason for her life?


This is the heart behind our blog. Each of the authors has their own style, voice, and spans a wide spectrum of life-stages. Each woman has a heart that is desperate for God and wants to come along with Him on His mission in her life and in the lives of those around her. By opening our hearts and sharing our stories, we hope that you will be encouraged to grow deeper in your walk with Christ.


See you in the Round!
Ashley