It was a quarter of the size of my high school. The tiny college in East TN beckoned me with its rolling hills, small class size, and promise of deep relationships and I never looked back. Instead of graduating solely with degrees in sociology, business, and nonprofit management, a handful of passionate professors instilled in me a love of learning.

Maryville College – photo credit

It’s the love of learning that started me on this blogging journey as I devoured hours and hours of podcasts in 2013, soaking in everything I could about the online world and social media. At the time, I had not a clue that I’d have my own little space in the world to write and share and encourage others. Instead, I was supporting my husband’s venture into owning a small business and the relational and spiritual development ministry God has called him to accomplish through pastoral life coaching.

It was at the end of 2013 after reading Emily Freeman’s book Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life and attending her At the Barn event that I heard God speaking to my soul. The message was clear – I need to encourage others with my story of moving from crippling fear to embracing true faith and stepping into the freedom God has for us as believers. It’s a path we all need to travel to open the door to the abundant life full of peace that only Christ provides.

Emily Freeman’s At the Barn event – November 2013 – We Will Make Art!

In celebration of my first full month of writing in this world of blogging, I’m linking up with Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky for a reflection of the past month. Here’s what I’ve learned in February:

1. Women thrive in community. Especially this woman. But I bet you do too!

I’ve learned this month about the incredible power of relationships and living in community with one another.

As I started blogging this year, I discovered my in-real-life friend Holly also has a blog and writes at Reclaiming a Redeemed Life {and you should totally check it out!}.

Holly introduced me to the community of women writing weekly at Lisa-jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday.

Many of the Five Minute Friday ladies are connected with the community of women at (in)courage.me, a site that provides “a home for the heart of women”. Here you’ll find {you guessed it} encouragement for your Jesus-loving heart!

(in)courage.me – a beautiful community of women seeking God’s voice

(In)courage hosts an online conference that also provides an opportunity for women to meet face-to-face in their own hometowns since so many of us are only connected via social media with the barrier of a screen between us.

The conference, called (in)RL {because meeting in-real-life is better than online} is FREE and is April 25 & 26, 2014.

The idea is that you watch a video Friday night on your own in your home {cue PJs, hot cocoa, and your laptop all snuggled in your warm bed}. Then you meet up on Saturday with a local group of women gathering to watch the simulcast, fostering in-real-life relationships.

I am so excited to meet some of my online-only friends in person in just a few weeks!  You can experience this much-needed community too since there are meet-ups all over the country {and the world!}.

2. I’ve decided to be brave and swim.

No, I’m not afraid of the water but I sure have struggled with fear for as long as I can remember. Fear of failure. Fear of not measuring up {to others’ and my own expectations}. Fear of what other people will think.

But instead of succumbing to the breath-taking waves of fear and doubt, I’ve decided to be brave and SWIM. No more sinking under the weight of “what if”. It’s time to move forward and go somewhere!

I learned that I’m not the only one in this boat {hmm…or in the water!} and that you also are working through what being brave and stepping out into the unknown looks like in your life.

I love that we’re doing this together!

3. People look at you funny when you say you’re going to host a webinar about sex.

Apparently sex in the Christian marriage is not talked about enough because when my husband and I decided that we wanted to share some things we’ve learned the last 10 years about the sexual side of marriage and started mentioning it to others, we got some seriously weird looks!

Let’s be real. It was the women who were looking at us funny. The men got giddy looks on their faces and said “where do we sign up?!”

{Soapbox warning} Ladies, we need to start taking this area of our lives more seriously than we may have in the past. Healthy physical intimacy is one key to a rock-solid marriage…a key that can’t be left out, neglected, or forgotten!

The webinar was held right around Valentine’s Day and provided Christian couples a way to start the conversation about improving this one area of marriage that is so hush-hush in some Christian environments.

To find out more, we’ve provided the resource guide we developed as part of the webinar to give you a place to start.

FREE Resource Guide: Essentials to Re-Igniting the Sexual Spark in your Marriage: A Guide for Christian Couples

4. There are few things more silly than a frog in a snowstorm. 

It snowed last month. You know, like it’s been doing all winter all over the country. But for us in North Carolina, snow is a BIG hairy deal. Bread, milk, and eggs all but walk out of grocery stores and we hunker down in our homes like we’ll be stuck here for eternity. In reality, we were only stuck one day and that gave my thrill-seeking husband long enough to realize that even his 4WD wasn’t going to get us anywhere past our tiny {no stoplights} town.

When we did make it out, we ventured over to my parents’ house for snowcream and sledding. Out came my dad’s digital SLR camera and I began shooting away {warning: a barrage of snow pictures is about to begin}.

The silliest one? The frog in the snowstorm. If you can look at this picture without giggling a little bit…well you could use a better sense of humor!

5. You are amazing!

Yes, I mean you!

The comments on the blog and in-person conversations I’ve had with you all {my blog readers} these last two months have been so encouraging and inspiring.  You all are brave souls striving to live this life as authentic Christians, intentionally choosing to release fear, embrace faith and move forward into freedom.

Each of our stories and paths are different, but we all are making a difference in the choices we make in the tiny moments of our lives. And it’s the tiny moments that add up to make a life!

Will you do me a favor?

If you’ve been reading the blog and haven’t let me know yet, will you somehow let me know you’re reading? It’s an honor to share with you my journey and I’d love to know who you are and how I can pray for you. You can also share topics you’d like me to address or questions you have.

You can:

• Leave a comment on this post.
• Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.
• Send me an email.
• Tell me in person.

I promise to pray for each prayer request individually. God is growing me in the area of prayer and this is one way I can serve you and we can grow together!

If you know of someone who would enjoy these posts, you can share the photo below on your favorite social media site.

Today I’m linking up with Emily Freeman’s What I Learned community and the Unite, Inspire Me Monday, Mommy Monday, Titus 2sday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Life Through the Lens, and Wedded Wednesday linkups. This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.