An Explanation

I already have a blog. A blog with lots of entries, pictures, and a good handful of followers. It's called Walk in Joy. I haven't been very good at updating it lately, and it would be easy to just add these entries to this old blog and feel good about picking it back up again. But the old blog is cluttered with many topics and types of posts. Someday, I intend to write there regularly again, and post lots of pictures of my little family there.

But sometimes, one needs a fresh start. A clean page. You won't see many pictures of my children, or Pinterest-inspired crafts, or delicious meal ideas here. I want to make a little place where I can send thoughts that are just my own into the universe. A place where I can open myself up a little bit more than I usually do.

Why call it Simply Vulnerable? Lately, I've been reading a beautiful book called The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown. It's brilliant, I think. It's given me a lot to think about. Her book is about living a wholehearted life. I'm not going to give a summary here, but she has some amazing things to say. This is one of my favorite quotes:

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.

(Brown, Brene (2010-09-20). The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Suppose to Be and Embrace Who You Are (p. 6).)

I recently read another book entitled Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Another incredible, life-changing read. In it, she addresses the need for solitude, and how everyone needs to set some time aside each day to just be alone with one's thoughts--time to ponder, pray, meditate, write, dream, and reflect. I often do my best reflecting as I'm writing, which is one reason I love it so much. However, as a mom of two rambunctious kids, I've convinced myself that writing was something I didn't have time or energy for, much less daily solitude that involved anything more pensive than wondering what will happen in the next episode of Lost as I reach for the remote. I am learning that this, however, is not true, and beginning this blog is one step in my efforts to establish a regular pattern of intentional solitude.

This is a place for me to "own my story" and put myself out there a little more than I usually would in everyday life. This is a place for me to intentionally ponder, as often as I can, the joys and trials in this life God has granted me.