I'm pretty excited about today because with it comes something of a milestone...my 500th post on Southern Belle Simple. I thought and thought about how to make this post feel extra special, but decided rather than try to impress anyone I'm just going to share a few ordinary things instead.
Would you believe there was a time when I thought blogs were totally lame? My southern beau loves to remind me of this whenever he feels I need to be 'brought down a notch.' I think I was secretly jealous of bloggers who lived these seemingly glamorous lives and since I didn't think I was worthy to join such a popular club, I chalked them up to lame. Looking back, that was pretty lame of me.
When I started this blog back in 2009, it was a little oasis of creativity in a desert of a life that felt like every day I was just going through the motions.
My first post was about a book I was reading by a favorite designer of mine and from there, I delved into
sometimes random, at other times
ho-hum and often ridiculous topics. But I had fun all the while.
Now three and a half years later, I find myself a little older and a little wiser. While the lives of many bloggers may be glamorous, the life of this blogger is anything but. Oh, I'm extremely thankful for all the blessings I've been given, but I never want SBS to make anyone else feel like those blogs used to make me feel years ago...that my life was missing something, that I was on the outside looking in, that I wasn't one of the lucky ones.
As I sit here typing this post, there's a big ol' pile of laundry on the floor to my right and two spoiled rotten dogs pooting audibly to my left. And did I mention I was recently fired? Nevertheless, I know I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm learning that the truest joy comes from so deep within us, no outside circumstances could ever steal it. Even though I'm definitely not trying to minimize your circumstances or unique set of challenges.
I've always wanted Southern Belle Simple to be a celebration of the south. But more than that, I want it to be a place where encouraging words can be found in abundance. So many things in our daily lives have the potential to bring us down. I want my blog to be something that lifts us up. Even when the only people reading are my mom and friends. The idea is that if we feel encouraged, we are more likely to encourage the folks we encounter, and on and on. I believe it can be a small part of a huge grace revolution, with folks loving on each other and believing together that anything is possible. Won't you join us?
