Just do it

I've struggled to write lately. At least, to write out loud for all to see. The book has been released, the website created and the word has been spread. Eyes that I do not know will be looking...and that makes me want to throw up. Every time I hear someone say "I bought your book" I start to shake. Having a ministry called Vulnerability might be hard to say and spell but it's certainly accurate with how I feel. VULNERABLE.

Writing is a great release for me. It's also most often how I hear from God. I write straight from my heart, good or bad I guess depending on how you view it. But always 100 percent heart. Knowing that more and more people are now reading my writing I want to stop, question everything I start to write and then shut the computer down and go eat some cookie dough. But, God has been encouraging me by allowing my path to cross with other writers who are in the same boat as me...raw honest and vulnerable writers.

Publishing a book, creating a website...steps I had to take. What are steps you need to take but aren't? Are you praying for God to show up big time in some area of life? Would you like to receive His blessings? Our refusing to obey a nudge we feel from Him holds back the full beauty of His shining in our lives. It's not that we don't experience God if we don't do X, it's that we don't FULLY experience God if we refuse to do whatever our next step is. Easier said than done. I know. But, I did it.

I took the step, I'm in the middle of it now, and I'm still alive. No one has egged my house, no one has posted on Facebook that I'm a horrible person, the town of Auburn has not called to ask me to move to a new town. I'm still the same me...just with a few more eyes watching. Take the step. Do the X. And then watch God do His thing!! It's kinda awesome, trust me.

 Hey look at that...I just wrote another blog post. Out loud. For you to read. :)

Are we helping

I remember watching tv as a kid and seeing the Mom and Dad sleep in separate beds, twin beds to be exact. I also remember the first time I heard a cuss word on the radio and the DJ laughed and said "wonder if that will get me fired", it didn't. I remember when HBO was what you watched if you wanted to see anything "bad". I remember... This morning I was on Facebook and I saw someone posted a picture of what they plan to buy at Victoria Secret. My heart sank and then I became angry because that means my children will see this picture too. We, as a society, have truly lost our filter. We no longer stop and think about what we are doing and how we are influencing those around us. Is my behavior helping those I know? In a positive way? Our children are growing up surrounded by...sex. That's pretty much it. Commercials on tv are sexual. Movies are sexual. 8pm tv shows that are on normal channels, not HBO, are sexual. Jokes we tell, stories we hear, news, it's all sexual. And now, we have adults on Facebook displaying what underwear they are going to buy...for me to see, my children to see, their own children to see! Because my two oldest are now teens I'm acutely aware of the struggles the teens of today are going through. Friends, we are not helping them by the actions we are committing. Just because you CAN use the technology today doesn't mean you SHOULD. So, the next time you feel you need to tell the Facebook world about your problems, your desires, or the joke you found to be so funny stop and think about who all is reading, watching, and learning from you. Are you helping to create a better future generation? I'm sad to think what my kids will remember.