New Year: New Blog Focus

I heard a quote recently, and I've been pondering it a great deal.

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.”
― Benjamin Disraeli

I love sharing the blessings God has given me, especially here on my blog. I do it to reveal His goodness and grace. But this quote made me realize that sometimes the best way to reveal God's goodness and grace is to help others see the blessings in their own life.

With that in mind, I've decided to use the new year as an opportunity to restructure my blog. I still plan to share my passions for writing, family, faith, history, and Minnesota--but I hope to do it in a way that exhibits the goodness of God, and reveals His blessings in everyone's lives, and not just my own.

Here are some ways I plan to do that:

1. I'm taking part in a 21 Day Challenge to be Clutter Free in 2015 with author Kathi Lipp. I plan to blog about this experience and what I learn about God's eternal blessings for all of us as I de-clutter my life.

2. I'm also on a launch team to help promote a new book by Roger and Kathi Lipp called Happy Habits for Every Couple. My husband and I have agreed to participate in a 21 day challenge to a happier marriage, and I'll blog about our experiences here.

3. I will share my love of history through fun posts about objects, people, places, and events that have shaped our world. Through history, we can see the Hand of God at work, and understand His great love for us.

4. I've lined up amazing authors to join me here on Wednesdays. Each person will offer a giveaway and will talk about their stories and writing. I have every genre in Christian Fiction covered, so there will be something for everyone.

5. I will continue to share my perspective on family, faith, and friendships, and how we can recognize the blessings in our daily lives.

6. I also plan to share some recipes and tips about healthier eating to encourage all of us to honor the bodies God has blessed us with.

These are just some of the ways I hope to reveals the riches in all our lives. It's going to be a great year! I hope you'll join me often as we explore the vast and incomparable wealth of God.

Your Turn: I'd love to hear your suggestions. How can we help reveal the riches in other people's lives?

Way Back When-sday

Happy New Year, 2013!

January 1st is always one of my favorite days of the year. There's a sense of newness and promise for the year to come. It's a wonderful time to look back over the past year and analyze the things we've done.

I've had some time to think about my blog and what I want to do with it in 2013. As a new feature this year, I'm going to share my favorite Way Back When-sday discoveries on Wednesdays. I love history and I spend a great deal of my time researching it for my stories, so I thought it would be interesting to share some fun facts I come across. We have a lot to learn from our predecessors - in what to do and what not to do.

I also want to continue sharing my Minnesota Life. Instead of Fridays, I'm going to share Minnesota Mondays. There will be pictures and information about life in Minnesota - whether through the activities my family enjoys, the places we visit, or the people who make Minnesota one of the best places to live - now and in days gone by.

Fridays will be reserved for my thoughts on faith, the writer's life, parenting and marriage. Often my thoughts on writing, parenting and marriage are tied to my faith, so I've decided to call my posts Faith-Filled Fridays.

As always, I reserve the right to deviate from my plans, especially when I host guests bloggers or when something else presents itself to me that I'd like to share. It's my hope that having a schedule for my posts will help me stay focused, and will help you know what to expect when you visit me here.

I want to offer a heartfelt thank you for reading my blog and commenting below. Your friendship and support encourage me to keep pushing toward my dream of publication. May God richly bless you in the coming year.

Waiting for callers New Year's Day

I'll leave you with a fun Victorian New Year Tradition. Before 1890, it was the custom for men to go calling on New Year's Day. From noon to six o'clock, the Victorian women would be in their drawing rooms, with tables laden with food and drink, and would eagerly await the gentlemen who would come calling. Often, the women would receive up to 100 or more callers in one day.

Gentlemen would go from home to home, trying to visit as many acquaintances as possible, wishing them a Happy New Year. They would strategically plan out their six hour trek, staying for just a few minutes at each home, and would leave their calling cards, as a reminder of their visit. It was advised to not wear brand new shoes for this tradition, as their feet would protest the next day.

The homes of young, unmarried women were especially popular on New Year's Day. It was a great honor to be among the women who received the most callers, and had the most calling cards, at the end of the day.

Alexander Ramsey, the first Territorial Governor of Minnesota, wrote in his journal, on Jan. 1, 1875: "Day was pleasant and wife had about 100 callers."

What about you? Do you have a New Year Tradition?

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I am honored to be a guest on my friend Melissa Tagg's Welcome Mat Wednesday Blog today! I'm talking about making - and keeping - a New Year's Resolution in 2012 that changed my life. Please come and visit me there!