One Year Later: My Journey as a Catholic Blogger

One Year Later: My Journey as a Catholic Blogger

Today is a special day for me. It happens to be the week I celebrate my one-year blogiversary! That is a term, right? Today, the first reading for the Masses said throughout the world was from the book of Ephesians and is one that I hold near and dear to my heart. I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you all why I came up with the name Rooted Mom and what sparked my desire for this blog, as well as some nuggets I have gathered in the last year.

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A couple of years ago, I felt God calling me to start a blog soon. I did not know exactly how or when, but I knew He desired to begin preparations. So, I did. I came up with the coolest name and I was stoked. But, a domain shark owned the name I wanted and all of its variations and they wanted to charge thousands to obtain it. Nope. Not happening. I took it as a sign that I was not intended for that. So, I prayed. I asked God to reveal, clearly, what I should select as the name for this blog He was calling me to. I knew I should not let the lack of a name push me off the path He was calling me to, but I could not shake the feeling that He had something chosen already. I just had to wait until it was clear.

The Clear Call

One afternoon, I was reading the Letter from Saint Paul to the Ephesians (this is my favorite Bible!) and God hit me between the eyes with this whopper:

“Prayer for the Readers. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” Ephesians 3:14-19

Whoa, Nelly. Whoever Nelly is, I stood in amazement with her. First of all, it was titled “Prayer for the Readers.” Stop it. Then, it goes on to essentially provide me with my life’s mission statement! Now, there are a lot of things that could have stood out from this verse and I can come up with 10 blog names based on these few lines (just shoot me a message if you need ideas! *wink*). But, immediately, the part in the middle stood out: “…rooted and grounded in love…” JESUS, YOU ARE SO GOOD AND FAITHFUL. He definitely made it clear. It was laid out in vivid detail in my mind and I was thrilled. I just knew the domain, Instagram, Pinterest, all that jazz would be available. He was saving it for me. And you know what?! He was, every single one was available!! I was so grateful for His provision.

Fast forward a year later and God has certainly moved! He has continued to foster a desire to grow and challenge myself. He has plans and I am doing my best to fulfill them, one day at a time. I have even just launched my new business, Rooted Designs! My first two designs are live on pre-sale and will be shipped out soon, which is just crazy. I cannot believe how He has moved within my heart and life. The generosity of this opportunity does not escape me.

I have had to work hard, learn things I never thought I would, display parts of my heart on computer screens that I thought were reserved for my nearest and dearest…yet, He calls my heart to open. The magnitude of vulnerability required to embark on an authentic blogging journey about faith and family has truly astounded me. To be honest, it is not something I expected to this degree! And I am just getting started, in the big picture.

Learning the ins and outs of social media, coding, and promotion have been a bit of a steep curve. I just kept hearing the sweet encouragement that it did not have to be perfect right away. God never, ever calls us to perfection! Unless giving your whole heart is how you define perfection. That is what He asks: for our whole heart, priorities, and talents to be handed right back to Him. He will not take them, like all things, Christ leaves it in our hands to choose. And just because it is a clear calling does not mean it will be easy. We must work hard, learn, trust, grow, be adaptive to necessary change, and PRAY. So. Much. Prayer. His provision never ceases to absolutely astound me!

In honor of the one-year mark, I wanted to share my favorite three blog posts with you all!

1. Dear Sister

This was one of my first ever posts and I still adore it! God had me write this one. I hope it serves your heart as a reminder of your true and lasting beauty! It reads like a poem and I mean every word.

2 How God Changed My Heart Through Temporary Infertility

This is definitely one of the ones that caused me to stretch my comfort level with vulnerability. I do not mind talking in person with friends about this time, but this article stretched my soul a little. It represents a time in my life and marriage of great struggle, as well as monumental growth.

3 Top 10 Date Nights for Catholic Married Couples

I love this one because it is full of unique, inexpensive, and fun activities. Plus, I just feel like dating your spouse should be near the top of your priority list, yet it is often severely neglected. I do not think my hubby and I are the only ones that push each other to the back burner when family, home, and work life pile up. But, every single time we reset those priorities and foster our relationship at a deeper level, we are happy for it! And God desires our happiness, friends.

The Moral Is…

Lastly, I wanted to say thank you from the very bottom of my heart to each soul that has joined me on this journey. Whether you read every blog post, are on our email list, or follow along on Instagram, facebook, or pinterest, or a few of them, YOU DA BOMB. I am so glad to have you here in this little rooted community. I will be praying in a really special way for you today. If you have any specific requests, comment below or message me on Instagram or Facebook and I will lift up your intentions. I take the call to pray for the readers very seriously!

Peace be with you all!

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