Have A Little Faith in We

Today Have a Little Faith in We officially went public! Since July 2014 I have been telling our story on a blog that you could google and find and I included in a few social media bios, but for the most part it was not something I openly shared. When posting I would send it out to the world – but not necessarily to my world. Today that changes and we open the doors to our blog life.

Blogging for this long….having it be such a big part of my life….. Danny joining the journey and finding his enjoyment with it…. we had family and friends that did “discover” us (or maybe I sent them the link….details, details), either way over time we had an audience. They have been supportive, excited for us, and even left comments (so far my largest blog follower and active commentator is my Dad – thanks Dad!!:)) – or they have quietly left and said nothing – but even just knowing there were eyes on the site at some point, made me feel a little different about my writing. Since I had a good idea of who was taking a look, I often would start writing and then want to write for them. I would switch up my approach or worry about my message and how they would feel. This was a learning curve I had to overcome – because here is the deal, my blog will only hold up to its true purpose if I am me and I tell the story of us…. no one else. At this point I am not 100% good at not wondering what people will think – but I am wed to my dream of making this a place for telling out story, being honest, and hopefully helping others to feel safe to do the same. This means I am ready to go live!

So today for my first day being out in the world my post is to share why I blog. It all started back in 2012 when I gave into the temptation that was Pinterest. Truth be told I avoided it. Facebook and Google Plus I enjoyed – but it also presented a lot of time wasting and took an emotional toll. Let’s be real honest for a moment – Facebook has some awesome aspects in the way it has connected people, shared our journey with others, and allowed folks to support us is incredible. We have heard from people that have gotten lost in the sea of life for decades and yet here they liking our pictures, donating to our COTA fund, becoming true supporters – actual friends. But with all things there is another side of Facebook and this can lead to jealousy, time wasting, and hurtful exchanges. I had gotten to a point around that time that I was trying to stay off Facebook, so another new fangled social media tool was not what I needed. Once I learned what it was though….. OOOO I was hooked! I absolutely loved it and was so impressed that I could still be wasting time on social media – but it was also motivating me to live my life with purpose.

As I become another Pinterest obsessed pinner – I found that I was better utilizing the clothes I already had instead of constantly shopping…. Danny and I were motivated to make the places we were currently living actually feel like home…. I become intrigued about new ways to stay healthy…. and I ALMOST become interested in cooking (poor Danny….almost…. but let’s not get crazy, I am still me). Well this was just the start, before I knew it I was following pins to seek their start and low and behold I learned about blogs. Folks – I was a kid in a candy store!! I could not click and like and save and link and LOVE fast enough. Blogs on fashion, blogs on family, blogs on faith, blogs on getting organized, blogs on running, blogs on CF, blogs on reading and writing, blogs blogs blogs blogs!!! It was like Facebook times a million – I could peer into peoples lives and instead of gawking at their pictures wondering how they got so lucky, or if that picture was telling the truth, or what business they had sharing that status – I was scrolling through stories of women with beautiful pictures, accompanied by the words of what brought them to that moment, gratitude for their life and it made me love their seemingly picture perfect moment and be happy for them.

The world of blogging opened my eyes even wider to the incredible power of things such as faith, grace, gratitude, purposeful living, encouragement, acceptance, and support. Over the course of those first two years of being a follower – I prayed for bloggers’ intentions and shared my own. I cheered for them when they finally completed the race or announced their adoption going through and my heart hurt for them when they shared pregnant losses or faced unexpected tragedy. When they were rawly honest, I was touched and when they were euphorically happy I was empowered to find my own happiness too. This random collection of bloggers – that I wondered if I met them on the street, we would even be friends – ignited a passion in my heart to live my life, champion reasons for my faith, honor the love of my marriage, celebrate every moment and embrace the uniqueness that makes each one of us special. Instead of the feelings of “impossible” that Facebook or the real world can leave you with – I was surrounded by the hope of possibility. And just like that I wanted to share our story.

It was really funny – for months before starting our blog I would write posts in my head. Posts about living in DC, posts about my favorite organization tools, posts from funny things Danny said, posts capturing my Quinlan’s little spirit…. I would be talking to Danny and tell him “this would make a good post” – and I think I said it enough that he often reminded me of a quote that has haunted my life “don’t let perfection get in the way of progress”. Clearly I have blogging on my mind and in my heart – what the heck am I waiting for to do it… I don’t need to be perfect, heck I don’t even have to be great – just do it and see what happens. So on July 17, 2014 – our 4 year wedding anniversary I started our blog: Have A Little Faith in We.

That first year was a lot of trial and error, a lot of learning and a lot of growing. As I became enthralled in writing, in the telling of our story – I was so grateful for a place to come and work through my thoughts, questions, fears, and hopes. It was a type of therapy I could never describe – but I can honestly say has made me a better version of myself. Perfect – absolutetly not….but more patient, more grateful, filled with more happiness, and the gift of learning to pause, reflect and be present in the very here and now was something that really transformed my life. Suddenly as I weaved together the moments of our past to our future – I was seeing how things come together and how God always had a hand in our world, even if we didn’t know it! Danny was impressed with the good it did my heart, the passion I had for this project, the tool we have for reflection (we have used this blog to remember health timelines….who knew??), and the possibilities it presents. So on July 17, 2015 – Danny did his first post and shortly after we purchased our own domain to be the sole owners of our new site – Have A Little Faith in We.

From that moment on we have invested resources and a lot of dreams in our little corner of the internet and now have chosen to share our journey even more publicly with all of you! On these pages of 150+ posts you will find stories of Faith, walks down memory lane, random happenings in our world, travel, journeys of health, some of my favorite things, hockey, truths of CF and then of the hospital life, my happy moments, the hard ones, family and friends, changes of seasons, of course Quinlan moments – the story of us! And I promise honesty, hope for entertainment – but ask that you to remember this is our story as I see it. There will be bad spelling, awkward phrasing, and messages that may not make sense to you…. for those I request a little grace. And for anyone who may be struggling with similar experiences, we invite you to let us know if we can help. Life is a journey that can be long and uncertain – but the beauty that is found in the ordinary can make life extraordinary….. join us as we continue to seek out the blessings.

Thank you so much for reading and remember to make it a great day!
Jackie