A New Beginning

This blog is a secret. I love that!! My own little corner of the world where I can gather and express and experiment and record. After maintaining a personal blog on and off for a few years, I've just been really uncomfortable with the idea of writing for others to read. I found myself doing activities or taking certain pictures just so I could put them up on the blog. So bizarre. I want to live life and to authentically love my friends and family and not have to think about how I could stage it for a cool blog post. I want to write my true thoughts without wondering "what if so-and-so sees this? what will she think?" I hope this blog will be my safe spot. I mean, sure, this is the internet so how private can it really be? But I'm not keeping state secrets here, I'm just trying to be as honest and authentic as possible, and for me that means taking away the pressure of knowing that people are watching.

I've also decided to rename my blog. It's just my name now. Nothing fancy. But it's fancy to me, you see, because it's my married name. One of my most important roles in life is being Paul's wife, so it's important to me that I am identified as so – Mariel Schmitt! I've brought over all my old posts, but this is my first in this new place. I think I'm gonna like it here. I hope it'll be something special that I'll look back on for years to come to remember these days, these moments and seasons.

And in all, and over all, I want this to be a place where God is glorified and I am completely submitted to Him. Oh that I would be contributing to Kingdom work! That my heart and my days would be filled with Jesus. And that I would worship Him with the gifts that He gives.