Wow, it has been a WHILE since my fingers have typed out a new blog post. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to. I actually think about blogging all the time. Like on the daily. And how I miss it. If I’m honest, I’ve been nervous. Nervous that I won’t be as good of a writer as I used to be? I don’t know. I guess my anxiety has been getting the best of me.
I’ve been praying for courage to write again for what feels like YEARS. I’ve done random posts here and there, but nothing consistent or deep.
It’s time. Sometime around 6 months ago or so, whenever I’d think about blogging, I’d turn that thought into a prayer. I just prayed that God would show me if he wanted me to write again and if so, that I’d feel a clear direction of what to write about.
Over the last few years, my main focus has been being a mom to my four kids, who are now 9, 8, 8, and 6 (HOW IN THE WORLD DID WE GET HERE), and scaling my online fitness business. In the midst of all that, writing got pushed to the back burner. I have a personality that makes me want to go ALL in whenever I’m involved in something, and sometimes that doesn’t work in my favor because I’ll wait FOREVER for the timing to be “right.” The timing is never “right” – rather, we finally get strong enough to start.
I finally got brave enough to go for it again. Gosh dang it breakthroughs feel SOOO good!
I knew it was coming soon, I’ve felt so strongly that God’s been asking me to surrender my feelings of inadequacy, and instead of having it all figured out, to take imperfect action. Every day for the last couple weeks I’ve asked myself, “Is today going to be the day I write again?” And then I’d find other things to keep me busy. Ugh. Procrastination is the worst.
But here I am. Finally. The WordPress tab on my computer is open, and it’s going down.
Sooo…where to start?
I guess first of all, WHY do I want to write again?
I feel like there’s so much I could say about that, but really the main thing I keep coming back to is that nothing brings me more joy than to encourage moms.
I started this blog when my kids were tiny, because I felt alone. I was one of the first in my circle to have babies, and so I guess I kind of felt like I had no idea what I was doing, and my default was thinking that everyone else had it all figured out and I didn’t. Why do we do this to ourselves?!?!
But then when I started meeting other moms in person at playgroups or the park or whatever, I realized that actually we were all in the same boat. None of us had it all figured out, and what a relief it was when you could just be REAL and admit that!
But what was weird was that when I’d go onto social media, it seemed like everyone had their act together 100% of the time. I’d see beautiful photos and perfect houses, and hair and make up done, and I was like HOWWWW?!?!
So, I made it my mission to show REAL MOM LIFE. If you scroll through blog posts from the early years with my kids, you’ll find all kinds of things that will probably make you feel WAY better about how you’re doing as a mom! We’ve had some DOOZIES around here! 🤣
(This pic is from a post called “The 10 Stages Of Shopping With Kids At Target” – oh my GOSH that stage kept me humble! 🤣)
But really, I just continue to feel in my heart that it’s so important that we’re REAL. Because while we impress people when we show them our strengths, we connect with them when we show them our weaknesses. Impressing is not the same as connecting.
You know that mom who ALWAYS looks put together? Like always has the perfect outfit and perfect hair and perfect everything? And it kind of drives you crazy but you’re also kind of inspired by it? What happens when she reveals something that ISN’T perfect about her life? You’re like, “Oh, thank goodness, she’s just like me!” 🤣
As I think about this next season of my blog, I guess I’m at this place when I want to encourage women to put our best foot forward in everything that we do, to pursue excellence, but not so that we can compare ourselves to one another. Not so we can “prove” that we’re qualified or enough. Let’s be great because we’re pursuing the unique things God is calling us to, and we want to do the very best work for HIM. Because the truth is, the only way we CAN be excellent is by relying on HIM anyway!
As we continue on our journey of becoming a stronger version of ourselves, we’re going to fail more times than we can count. (You should have heard me yell at my boys today to stop fighting. Not my proudest moment.) That doesn’t make us incapable or inadequate. It makes us human. It makes us relatable to each other. It makes us able to connect on a level that is so much more satisfying than perfection.
So I guess what you can expect on Mommy’s Me Time moving forward is real life stories about what our family is up to and what we’re learning along the way.
I’m going to document our real life.
I hope in encourages you in some small way as we go.
To all of you who have stuck around and followed me on social media all these years, thank you. Your love and support truly means the world. Thank you for encouraging me to write again. All your notes and messages were a big part of why this post is being written right now.
I’m EXCITED with anticipation of what’s to come, and wayyyy less nervous than when I started this post. God’s pretty awesome like that, huh?
If there’s something that’s been on your heart for a while, and you know it’s time to go for it too, just do it. It’s not as scary as you’re making it up to be in your mind. Promise.
xo,
Amber
For more real life mom moments and healthy lifestyle tips, you can follow me on Instagram (@ambermariekuiper), and Facebook (Mommy’s Me Time)!
