I started this blog back in 2010 after teaching myself to sew. Sewing was one of the things – among many – I’d told myself I’d never be any good at. You see I grew up incredibly insecure and terrified of failure. I thought if I struggled with something, it was an indicator of my worth as a person. I didn’t see myself as having any value, so in my mind it made sense that I “wasn’t good at anything,” but then, I had an encounter with Jesus. After 23 years on this earth, I finally understood that I could open up my Bible and read it for myself. I started to understand God’s promises and get a right view of myself, and it gave me a confidence I’d never experienced before.
I began pushing through when I struggled with things. I learned to let go of perfection and started being happy with just being a little bit better than the day before. As my sewing skills improved, I started sharing my projects and more often than not was met with comments like “I wish I could do that,” and they were almost always followed by an explanation of why she “could never do that.” And I get that there are people out there who wouldn’t mind sewing yet have no desire to put in the time and effort (not that that’s a bad thing. It’s just “that would be cool, but it isn’t a priority” type deal), but that wasn’t what was behind the comments I was getting.
At the core of most of the objections I got was a deeply rooted belief that they simply weren’t good enough, and it hit me right in my core, so this blog was born out of the idea that I could encourage those women who felt like I did. We believed that the reason they failed was because of some defect within them. I wanted to share my journey, encourage them to try and then try some more, and basically just let them know they weren’t alone. That someone else had felt that way too. I wanted to point them toward Jesus through sewing…which I guess seems a little silly, but I really believed I could. And for a good long while, I did.
But then I started listening to the world. The “experts.”
Sewing was always the main focus of my blog, but I also shared other aspects of my life. My faith journey. Homeschooling. Health + fitness. But the “experts” said no. I needed to have a niche. Focus on one thing. Learn about SEO, and that awful “readability” meter mocked me every time I sat down to write. I listened when they told me I needed to promote brands and get paid to do something I’d been doing for free anyway, but I didn’t really care for the majority of the promoters I got and couldn’t in good faith share about them. Basically all the joy was sucked out of what I once loved doing.
Why?
Because I listened to the world’s version of how I should do it instead of following the vision God had placed on my heart. It’s taken 5 or 6 years to unlearn what the world has taught me, and I’m sure there will be more struggles and growing pains ahead, but I think I’m finally right back where I was supposed to be all along:
Sharing my journey so that others may be encouraged.
So what can you expect to find here at Wildflowers + Whimsy?
- Sewing + DIY: sewing tips + tutorials along with various other DIY projects
- Everyday Adventures: stories of how we are escaping the mindset that everyday life – chores, school, etc – is boring and mundane and instead embracing an attitude of gratitude and turning everyday into an adventure
- On Our Bookshelf: book lists + reviews, and maybe even the occasional online read along/book club
- Kitchen Capers: I love trying new recipes, but I’m definitely no Pioneer Woman in the kitchen. I stink at plating, table setting, pretty much all of it, but it sure is fun to try so this section will be more about the journey than the destination. Who knows. I might even learn a few things in the kitchen…or hopefully at least teach the kids something so I can turn cooking duties over to them lol
Hope I’ll see you around!
xoxo,
April