Welcome to the newly redesigned bethstedman.com. So, what do you think?

I had fun with this redesign. It seemed fitting that a new season of our lives, a new locale, and a new year would bring forth a new blog design. It feels so good to have it done and be able to share it with you all.

Whenever I redesign the look of this space it always gets me thinking about why I blog and what I want this space to be. It's always been hard for me to answer those questions. There are so many reasons why I blog and at different times in life there have been different reasons. And there are so many different things that this space has been for me and that I want it to be in the future. I find it hard to describe those reasons, hard to put into words what bethstedman.com has been, is, and will be for me.

Sometimes when someone asks, I feel a little bit like I'm trying to explain the rules of grammar to a non-native English speaker - "I don't really know why, but it just sounds right this way". That's a bit how I feel about blogging right now. I can't really explain why, but it is just right. It fits. It's part of me.

At various times I've tried to make this space something that didn't fit. For example, I would feel guilty about the time I spent blogging and so I would try to make money from the blog, but it didn't fit (and as you can see the ads are gone). I'm sloooooowly starting to realize something - you shouldn't feel guilty for what you are. You shouldn't feel bad for doing something that you have to do, something engrained into the fabric of who you are, something that brings you joy, something that you almost can't help but do. Dancers don't feel bad for dancing. Cooks don't feel bad for cooking. Runners don't feel bad for running. Mommy's don't feel bad for cuddling with their baby.

Me? Well, I write. I have to write. I always have in one form or another. I started my first journal at seven. In junior high i started writing poetry. In high school I would write sermons for fun. I enjoyed writing papers for school and must admit I even wrote one or two of my husbands school papers for him because it was fun and easy for me and tedious for him. But, I don't just write, I blog. I had always written, but it wasn't until I started blogging that something really clicked. It stirred something in me. It fit. Suddenly I could do more than just write, I could put something out into the world that others could read, and connect with, and respond to. I was a writer always, but I didn't really have a voice until I found a platform.

Those of you who have only just stumbled upon this blog, those of you who have been reading my meanderings for years, those of you who have silently stalked, and those of you who have become friends, you have given me my voice. Thank you!

Rejoicing in the journey, Bethany Stedman