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A while back God gave me a vision to start something, I don’t know, a community of sorts for mom writers. My blog Joyful Mothering brings in hundreds of moms in need of encouragement and direction. But not everyone writes. Not everyone has a blog and not everyone has a desire to blog.
Earlier this year I had a vision to create a separate site to connect mom writers and help them through services offered and a blogging community, which was birthed as Joyful Living Media. It wasn’t exactly what I was going for. Or maybe the timing was just off.
I watch the needs of bloggers through social media: Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest. I see what’s popular and I’ve kind of tucked ideas away in the back of my head {when really, I probably should have been writing them down}.
Moms need an outlet for creative expression–for many of us, that’s writing. For some it’s art or music. For me, it’s writing.
I know there are many moms out there who so badly want to write, but run into so many challenges and walls they simply can’t push through in order to get to that place–the place where pen meets paper or hands meet the keyboard.
It’s tough trying to juggle house work and meals and nap times and play time with the hopes of having a few minutes to sit down and scribble out some words.
If you have a deep desire to write, it’s because God has given you something important to say; a message to spread, and the best way for you to convey that message is through words.
I am a terrible phone talker. I stutter at times, mumble and fumble over my words. I don’t think “on my feet” through the spoken word as well as I do through the written word. That’s probably why speaking in public terrifies me.
So what is Moms Write? It’s really simple: moms who write.
It doesn’t matter what you write. You don’t have to write about being a mom on your blog or anything like that. You’re simply a mom who writes, or longs to write.
I have looked for a community that speaks specifically to mom writers about writing and have fallen short of finding anything that fits the vision I have.
I love reading blogs written by people of great influence–they typically have very large followings because of their knowledge and generosity to share it. But they also spend a lot more time than I have to reach that many people by making goals that can only be filled by a full time blogger. Even if that means paying someone to help them with the details.
The point is, as moms, some of who work outside the home, some of who homeschool, and everyone in between—it’s time for us to embrace the reality that we cannot set as many goals for our blog or writing as people who do it full time are able to.
But, we can instead learn to be consistent and watch the time we do set aside to spend on writing compound and take shape and be used by God.
Sally Clarkson spoke at Relevant (now Allume) in 2010 about blogging with integrity and it has always stuck with me. I cannot write for all the world to see about challenging mothers if I myself am not willing to be challenged. I write openly and honestly about my struggles as a mom, but my goal is never to stay there. My blog is very much an accountability for me as much as it is an encouragement and help for other moms who seem to go through the same things I do.
For me, writing is an important make up of who I am. It’s not just something I do. It’s a part of me. But writing has a time and a place and I must set aside time to make it happen.
That doesn’t mean I need to punch out a post every day of the week.
Maybe some of my writing won’t be public, but remain between me and God alone. Maybe that’s the case for you, too?
The goal is to set 15 minutes or 30 minutes or 60 minutes aside per day and just write. Maybe a blog post will come of it, maybe only part of one. The point is consistency.
The goal is also accountability, not just for writing, but for keeping mothering in the balance and Christ at the center.
You can find us chatting it up on Twitter under the hashtag #MomsWrite. Help me spread the word? You can pin this post, share it on Facebook and/or Twitter.
And of course don’t forget to subscribe below so you don’t miss any updates on Moms Write!
Welcome to the Moms Write community! Woot!
Yippee! Looking forward to reading more of this and joining in encouraging others.
How fun is this? Good for you, sweet friend! I’m in!
Great idea! I’m in!
Love this idea, Christin! Excited to read more
What a great idea! I am so excited to be a part of this.
This: “it’s time for us to embrace the reality that we cannot set as many goals for our blog or writing as people who do it full time are able to.”
That’s exactly the conclusion I came to at the end of October. Love this, Christin!
http://girlgrowsup.com/2012/10/30/breaking-all-blogging-rules/
This is awesome, and just the kind of encouragement I’ve been looking for!
I love this and I am very much looking forward to hearing more!!!
Yay! What a good idea! I’m not so good at following ANYTHING on Twitter, but I’m signing up for updates!!!
I am so excited about this. I love the encouragement and that it isn’t just focused on moms of little ones. Women can easily imagine the difficulty in making time to write with the babes who need your physical attention, but with teens our schedules are often much more unpredictable. I’m looking forward to this encouragement!
Great idea Christin!
Thank you thank you thank you– Writing has always been a part of who I was, and I am trying to do more of it. The more I do, the better I get at saying what I need to, right? What a blessing this site will be.
I love this encouragement! Thank you so much for sharing what I needed to hear!
http://www.gratefulwithtwo.com
Love this, Christin! Glad to be part of this Moms Write community.
This is so exciting! Since returning from Allume I’ve had such a hard time with writing – it’s so important to me, but so hard to balance with the other more important things. It’s hard being content with only 15 or 30 minutes to write, but if that’s all I have during this season then I want to use it wisely. Looking forward to the encouragement! I’ll pass along the word!
I love this idea
I love this,Christin! I have a passion for writing. I always have. When I write something happens and I love encouraging others. My blo has laid dormat for the last couple of years with only a post here and there. Thank you for doing this!
I love this! I am an “older” mom with older kids, but do struggle to balance work, family, children and blogging. Looking forward to this!
My friend sent this to me as I too am an “older” mom but my youngest has CP and will always be between 3-7 years old. And no matter what, if you have had any kids, and you write, you are a mom who writes. All that to say, I too am looking forward to this. ☺
Yes! Absolutely!
Hey – so excited about this. I’ve had a blog for about 2 years now but I’m just starting to get a vision for it (like you!). I’m so looking forward to reading more on here…and growing on my own blog, too!
So excited for this Christin!
What a great idea!
Yes! Thank you Christin! I’m excited!
I’ve spent my career as a professional writer, but I never seem to allow time for “my” writing. Now, I’m a stay-at-home mom and I finally let go of my paid freelance marketing writing to try to focus on God’s goals for me. It’s an intimidating place to be for me right now, but exciting!
I feel so understood! THANK YOU! Looking forward to how my writing unfolds!
Love this! is it just a twitter thing or will there be opportunity to share our writing here or on fb in a community setting? Just curious! I’m not a big twitter gal but I do love to write and blog!
There will be opportunity to share here. Twitter is an extension of this, but I will be posting here as well. The cool thing about Twitter is we can quickly connect with one another in real time. You can also “like” my FB page for community there! You’ll find the FB box in my sidebar.
Hi Lauren! Tricia Goyer has just opened up a Facebook group if you’re interested in joining — it’s for mom writers! Here’s the link. Someone there will approve you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/GodsWriterMoms
Thank you!!!! Joined!
I’m new to your blog but am really excited about the community I may find here! I’m a mom who writes, or at least really wants to, so I relate so well to this. Thank you, and I look forward to following along!
Love this idea, Christin! Thanks for sharing your heart here
Just got back here to read this post. Love.love.love your heart in this.
Thanks, Gretchen!
Would love love love to be a part of this community!