It’s my very first blog post.

What. in. the. ham. sandwich.

The first real step forward after over two years of nudging the idea around but always talking myself out of it.

“You don’t know anything about web design.”
“You’re not a photographer – all anybody looks at anymore is pictures.”
“You have nothing new to say, it’s all already been said.”
“You’re too young, you have no relevant life experience.”
“You should have started sooner.”
“You’re not funny enough.”
“You’re not inspiring enough.”
“You’re a starter, not a finisher. You’ll quit within a year.”

And the tiniest, scariest voice of all:

“What if nobody even reads it?”

But all of those voices were effectively silenced by a much steadier Voice that quietly encouraged, “Do it anyway.”

And here we are.

Sooooo….is this the part where I tell you how much I like coffee and the mountains and Ray Lamontagne, and all the other *quirky-yet-endearing* things about me that make you go, “Man, this girl is the coolest and I want her life because it is so full of awesome” and then you read all about me and realize I don’t have anything figured out ever?

LOL no but really.

I’m Laura: hopeless sinner made alive by a great God, wife to Daniel, university recruiter, “New Girl” aficionado, bacon lover, and now, against all odds, blogger! (Currently, I’ve actually never been to real mountains and I kind of hate coffee, but maybe someday I’ll get my act together and find out what I’ve been missing.) The idea for this blog was born out of a combination of my love for writing and my passion for engaging other people in real conversations about things that matter. (And also because I need an outlet for all the awkward things I do because I am just weird, and those funny things should be documented to embarrass my future children.) I like food, married life, the Gospel, college ministry, Netflix, traveling, and especially Nutella, and I’ll write about all of it.

Here’s what I want this space to be:

Transparent. Brave. Imperfect. Barefaced. Inspiring. Genuine. Fun.

I don’t have life figured out. And neither do you – don’t kid yourself! But there’s something kind of great about that. Life is just better when you quit the charade and embrace the beautiful, messy, glorious chaos that is your life. (See what I did there? It’s all coming together, it’s fine. *taps finger to head*)

Fair warning:
– I will talk about God. Like a lot. Like all the time.
– I really like my husband and I’ll write about him a lot too.
– If and when I have kids, I will probably like them too and post about them wayyyyyy too much. I already know it’ll happen. Shut up, they’ll be cute and you’ll secretly creep/stalk every post about them.
– Photography is not my spiritual gift; ergo, most of my pictures will be iPhone photos……..sorrynotsorry.

I would love to just say “I can’t wait to see where this thing goes” and leave it at that, but the truth is I’m terrified because I have no idea what’s going to happen. I have a vision for this space, but only God knows what will really come from it. At this point, maybe that’s the best place for me to be – excited, uncomfortable, and completely dependent on the One who’s big enough to handle all the things I don’t see yet.

It’s only fair to end with something cheesy and inspirational. We all need more cheesy and inspirational in our lives, after all. And few words of wisdom have been more encouraging to me in the start of this new chapter than these:

via

A few special shout-outs:

…to Heather Dean of The Deans List for my logo’s fantastic calligraphy,
…to Tiffany Newton of THECOLOR11 Designs for the beautiful watercolor logo design and helping me construct/strengthen my overall vision,
…to Jennifer Briggs, the “light of my light,” for being even more excited about this whole thing than I am,
…to Daniel Hendrickson, my handsome better half, for listening to me proofread this post to him about 17 times before I finally published it,
…and finally to Dayna Simma, my world-class mom, for faithfully liking absolutely everything I post on social media and therefore guaranteeing me at least one loyal reader. :)

Now that you’ve checked out my little corner of the world – it’s your turn to share! What kind of things do you like to read about? What would you like to see featured on Embracing the Chaos? Let me know in the comments!

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