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Practicing Gratitude | I’m Thankful for My Blog

Can’t believe this is already week 5 of joining the GRADitude 101 linkup. You can check out my last few posts on being grateful for who I am and for friendships, and also my struggles with practicing gratitude.

I didn’t mean to make the past few gratitude posts thematic, but this week I really wanted to share how much I am thankful for this blog. Despite my complaints, without it, I would not have connected with some amazing people, and I probably wouldn’t know what to do with myself on the day to day.

This past February, when we moved out to California, I began learning what it was like to have a supportive role as a wife. I have always had the alpha personality. I like to take the lead, and I’ve always been terrible at following. Even learning our choreographed wedding dance was difficult for me, because in dance, the guy leads the girl. Figures. Also, before moving, I ran my own photography business. Jacob had quit his corporate job to come alongside me and grow my business. He played the supportive role and has been always my number one fan. This year with the new opportunities presented from YouTube, we decided to move to LA and switch roles. It was now my turn to learn how to be his number one fan.

As glamorous and fun as it seems to take a hiatus from my business and have the free time to explore my hobbies, it’s been extremely challenging for me. Not working is both a blessing and a curse. I didn’t realize until this year how much value I put into my work and how I let what I do define me as a person. I spent the first few months in LA homesick and depressed. I missed my friends at home. Some days I did not want to get out of bed, because I felt like I lost my purpose. Plus, I felt like a total bum mooching off my husband. I couldn’t believe how much of my identity was rooted in my work. Even though theologically and in theory I didn’t believe it to be true, the reality of how it played out in my life was very different.

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Sometime during that period my blog was born. Well, maybe not born, but started to really come to life… out of sheer boredom and a need to feel like I was doing something with my life (I know I still need to deal with the identity issues). I started blogging twice a week, tuesdays on travel and thursdays on local adventures. Once I started posting regularly, I applied to the blogher network. I figured if I was putting so much time and energy into my blog, why not? That’s what other people seemed to do, and it seemed like it was the next logical step.

Then six months passed, and I didn’t hear anything back. Maybe I didn’t have enough readership or good enough content. I had no idea what they were looking for. But I kept blogging… because what else was I going to be doing with my time? Then in July, I got an email where they invited me to join their publishing network (you may have noticed the blogher banner ad on my side bar. hopefully, it’s not too much of an eyesore). I finally felt like I was doing something right and I felt accepted into the blogging world. Little did I know, it would only cover a cup of coffee or a small lunch at the end of the month. Whatever, that’s not the point. You might laugh, but those $5 has brought me so much joy that I can afford to pay for at least one meal. My own meal. :P

The blogging world is still so new to me. I’ve been learning a lot. Ultimately, though, I don’t think my goal is for my blog to blow up and for me to be a full time blogger. I think after this transitional period, I will most likely end up doing some form of photography again. But for now, it’s been my blog baby that I can nurture and grow.

I’m just thankful that…

  • It gives me something to do for the year.
  • Being part of the network forces me to post more regularly.
  • It’s an outlet to share my photos, random to-do lists, and plethora of hobbies I like to dabble in.
  • I got to connect with some amazing bloggers and we’re practicing gratitude together.
  • People actually take the time to read my blog and comment. Time is so valuable!

Every week I’ve been finding quotes I like and posting them to these gratitude posts. After seeing Dear Harper blog’s instagram inspiration, I started digging into my own instagrams (like the photo above), too! :) Hope she doesn’t mind me borrowing the idea. Let me know what you think! Also, my fave gratitude quote of the week is by John Ortberg:

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I’m realizing that when I complain, I’m thinking that I’m the center of the universe and that I’m having a hard time seeing outside myself. The funny thing is… the earth isn’t even the center of the universe. There’s a whole world outside of me. A whole universe, in fact.

Can you relate? What are some things you’re thankful for today? If you’re a blogger, what are some things you love about your blog?

See my other gratitude posts by clicking on the banner below:
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