Take it down a notch!!!

I grew up in a rural farming town of about 1200 in central MN. Life was simple then. People took the time to stop each other on the street and visit. Have coffee. Make cookies. Life wasn’t as rushed as it is now. In my opinion, there was a lot more focus on relationship. Relationships with children, spouses, friends, neighbors, teachers, pastors, bankers… Kids weren’t running from this activity to that sporting event- or at least not as often as they are now. Families sat down and had dinner together at night. I suppose because the work day predictably ended at 5pm (at least it did in my parent’s home). There weren’t fast food restaurants to run to, or pizza delivery options to choose from.

I remember my mom getting together on a regular basis with other women and their children for 'coffee'. This 'coffee' group I suspect, was really a group of amazing women getting together to talk about parenting, marriage, life experiences both good and bad. They shared each others joys and sorrows. They were a built in support group for each other and never hesitated to pray for one another. If my memory serves me correct, these were all stay at home moms, who in order to stay connected with each other, made an effort to get together in each other's living rooms and talk. Even if it was about a new recipe they found, or a new quilting pattern they were going to try. In fact, this 'coffee' group continues to this day, in a more limited fashion. They are still getting together throwing bridal showers, baby showers and attending weddings for the children who were carted along to these coffee groups. (We enjoyed it by the way!)

For me, Keeping It Personal is about bringing to my life a deliberate effort to do just that. Keep it Personal. I don’t expect it to mirror my description above, as life is different now. In fact, I am sure it wasn’t as ‘simple’ as my memory would have me believe. But there are changes I can make, which I think will ultimately impact my children, my marriage, my relationship with God, and others. I was talking to Teri earlier tonight, and told her this. I have no real idea what this blog is going to turn into. Seriously, I don’t think I even knew what a blog was a year ago! I feel like we have a blank canvas in front of us. We have given much thought and prayer into KIP, and don’t feel like either of us has a clear picture of what this final work of art will look like. We want to take this opportunity to be real, to share from our own experiences, to learn from others’ experiences, and to inspire people to take it back a notch. Occasionally step out of the high tech, fast paced world we live in, and into the 'living rooms' of our friends both old and new.... and keep it personal. Kind of ironic that we chose a blog to carry out that message, right?

There is a bit of anxiety on my part about putting this blog out there for everyone to see. A vulnerability. I just pray that God-willing, we will encourage each other, and those who choose to follow us to keep it real, by keeping it personal.