HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGAIN!

'Tis the season to celebrate, and today is no exception. Nope. I have not gotten amnesia and forgotten that I just celebrated my birthday. I am celebrating the fact that my blog has turned 1 today, y'all!! Where did the time go? I guess that's why I am looking off into the distance in this photo since time flies...haha! But enough of the corny jokes. I am so grateful to God that I stepped out on faith and won the wrestling match against my archenemy Procrastination and launched my blog on this very day a year ago. I have learned a few things over the past year since creating Lemonade. And there is no better way for me to explain than to use the recipe for lemonade. Here we go!

Water...As you could probably guess, the water I will be referring to is Jesus Christ. My Living Water. Without Him, NONE of this would be remotely possible. I learned very quickly that leaving Him out of every detail of this blog would be a huge mistake. Yes, the purpose of the blog is to have a Christian underlying throughout. But writing about what I want to versus what God is leading me to do is never a good choice. To be honest, there were some blog posts that I did not feel like sharing for one reason or the other. Or, I wanted to wait until another time. But it was the Lord that made it clear that He should be conductor of this orchestra. Not me. He always knows exactly what is needed at just the right time. So, following His lead fully and completely has been sometimes challenging but always rewarding. Water is the most essential part of so many things, and I am constantly learning that Jesus is the most essential part of all of who I am, including this blog.

Lemons...Oh, the challenges! I may have initially won the battle against procrastination in the first round as I prepared to launch this blog, but I had to continually fight against it time after time. I do love to write, especially in a creative manner. But the lazy or distracted girl within me often wants to show up when it is most inconvenient to do so. I really did not have a set schedule for when I wanted to post most of my write-ups, but I had to create some form of structure and scheduling system so that I would not get behind. So far, writer's block has not really been an issue. It just has been me getting in the way of me. I will confess that I went through a period (already) where I just did not want to write at all. I was not overly busy or anything like that. I just lost the interest to keep going for just a little while. By no means did any of this reflect my thoughts toward my Lemonaders--my faithful readers. I just had a rough spot during this year. Like a lemon has to be squeezed in order for the juice to flow, I have learned that I sometimes have to press my way in order for my creative juices to flow.

Sugar...It is such as blessing to have this platform to creatively express my thoughts on various topics. And the positive feedback that I have received from readers from time to time is so encouraging. With all of the things that this life can demand, my blog has been an outlet for me to share Christ in a way that is not based on strict rules and regulations. This I am so grateful for. And to my Lemonaders. I cannot thank you all enough for being a part of this journey thus far. Without you, this blog would just be an online diary. But you are such a big reason I keep doing what I do. Thank you. And there is also a blessing in the 'let go'. In order to have a blog that is now 1 year old, I had to let go of my doubts and fears and just start. If I had not started when I did, I could have easily gotten completely sidetracked. I could still be thinking about the possibility of a blog instead of actually having one. Oh, the places you will go when you let go! I thank God for putting fire to my fingers when He did. Sugar brings about delight in many things that we eat and drink, and what I have learned is that a good word (or blog post) can bring delight to the soul.

So, please celebrate with me. Share your favorite post with a friend. Encourage someone to subscribe. Let me know what you think of the blog so far and how something that I have posted has helped you. In the meantime, I am off to make more lemonade :-D

"For we are God’s handiwork,

created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance for us to do."

-Ephesians 2:10

I want to say a special thank you to my sister and nieces for helping me to put this outfit together, and for being my photographers. I had fun with our mini photo shoot :-)

Love y'all!