Welcome to Catholic Sistas’ newest series, featuring some of our friends in the Catholic blogging world entitled Fabulously Featured which will run on Wednesdays. I have always wanted to introduce you to some new blogs to follow and support, but seriously lacked the time to put this together before now. In a Facebook group of fellow Catholic women bloggers, I asked ladies to answer some questions for this series, and they were all too excited to participate! I give you their answers in their own words.
Annery at Home is a blog to keep an eye on. Annie does an amazing job of sharing her personal stories of secondary infertility and infant loss and even losing a foster child. If you have been enrolled in the school of hard knocks, you will love this refreshing take on how to live out the Faith when the crosses seem too big to carry. I know this blog speaks to me quite personally, given that my most recent interview on Relevant Radio was one in which I shared about our own miscarriages as well as a tough Lent our family was and still is facing. Bookmark Annery at Home and learn more about how to deepen your faith walk with your eyes fixed on Christ.
ESTABLISHED:
I started blogging in 2010.
THEME:
I write about my family, my faith, struggles with infertility and our fostering journey.
INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION:
On March 1, 2010, I suffered a near fatal ectopic rupture after four years of secondary infertility. After I nearly died, I reflected on how little my then 4 year old would have known about her mother. I started cataloguing our family life, my struggles and thoughts, all just to chronicle who I am, what we were doing, etc for her. If something had happened, or did in the future, I wanted her to have a way to look back and see me as an adult, once she’s an adult. Over the years, the community of bloggers I’ve met has continued to inspire the journey, but at the heart, it’s really a love letter to my children in the future.
FAVORITE ELEMENT:
I love the catharsis of writing out what I’m going through. When we lost our foster daughter after 2.5 years, I don’t know how I would’ve come out on the other side without writing it all out, sharing it, being lifted up in prayer by all of those in our community.
FAVORITE POST:
How to Stop Coveting is my most popular of all time, and I really love it.
The Defense Rests is a more recent one I love.
BALANCE :
Home life comes first. If it’s between getting the laundry folded and blogging, I’ll (reluctantly) fold laundry. However, writing is a release for me. It’s as much a part of who I am and how I process the world as a conversation with a friend over coffee. I only post 1-3 times a week. A lot of times, I’ll process a post over a few days before I start writing it out. I believe I heard an English teacher call that “pre-writing” once.
Another thing I do to keep track of ideas and posts I’d like is keeping a running tally in my phone. As I have ideas in the grocery store or doctor’s waiting room, I enter it in a note on my phone. When I’m looking for topics, I come back to it. Some of those ideas have faded, but some strike up the zeal for punching out a post pretty quickly.
AUDIENCE:
I’m writing primarily for my close family. However, I’ve been so honored to find wonderful friends who share some of the same struggles, or who are incredibly wonderful at supporting me where I am. I write to keep in community with them as well.
CATCH PHRASE/TAGLINE:
Under my blog header, I have a simple phrase that sums up the essence of my blog.
“Here I chronicle the struggles, blessings, and daily life of our family.”
I came up with this because I wanted there to be a clear vision of what was going on in my space. It’s a result of setting clear expectations for myself of my goals and purpose. If you’re looking for a tip in writing your own, list out what it is you want from your space, what it is you will do in your space and why. Start with who and what you are, your distilled sentence will come from that.
ADVICE :
Consider how personal you want to get. Talk about any boundaries you might want to set within your nuclear family about what should be shared. I rarely talk about Hubby and I never presume to know what he’s feeling in a situation without first talking to him. I don’t conjecture about anyone on my blog. I talk about myself, my feelings, my experience.
I also choose not to use my children’s names on the blog. Not to make a division in the community or to withhold anything from readers, but more to protect them from future Google searches by classmates or the like. As my daughter gets older, I share a little less of her and check in much more about with her on what I do share.
Always, always consider how your message will be received. Always say it kindly. If you can’t say it kindly, maybe you’re not being called to share that particular message. That being said, share the truth. Be compassionate and courageous in sharing your life and faith. Never assume that you have the only answer to how we live out our faith, but know that you’re doing your best and can absolutely share from your experiences and have value to add.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Have a question or comment for our featured blogger? Please leave them in the comments below!
Would you {or someone you know} like to be fabulously featured?
Send an email to Martina@CatholicSistas.comand reference the Fabulously Featured series and we’ll get the ball rolling to get you or your friend featured!