Hello to my dear readers!
I haven't written in over a year. I hope some of you missed me just a little bit. ;-) I must confess I was still thinking and photographing like a blogger that whole time. I may just have to go back in time on occasion to share some of the things y'all missed.
For those of you who know me in real life and not just here online, you already know that part of my personal story is that God called me to quit my job as a graphic designer 3 years ago. I was working for Grand Rapids Public Library doing all their print materials, event promotions, web graphics, and branding. Everything from banners hanging on the building to summer reading t-shirts. I love books and I love reading and I love the library. Working there was dream and I loved it dearly, which made it all the more difficult to decide to step away.
However, friends, there is nothing quite like being obedient to our good and gracious God! A lot of my identity had been wrapped up in my accomplishments (my career included in that) and God was challenging me to see myself the way he did: beloved no matter what I did or did not get done. The years since then I have spent having our third child and slowly unraveling from my own burdensome expectations and ideals. As part of that process – of finding my identity solely in Jesus – I unconsciously chose to step away from other things as well. I stopped writing in this space. I stopped running for a long while. I even stopped writing to-do lists (which is really crazy for someone like me!). Looking back, I think the challenge from the Lord was to ask "Who am I if I am not a graphic designer? Not a blogger? Not a runner?" Where is your true purpose and true identity? And of course, as a Christ-follower the answer has to be that your life and your identity are really about Jesus, what He did for us, and how He wants us to live and love.
So, going forward, I am going to try to be more real and open about my faith here in this space. Previously I chose to pretty much keep it under wraps here on the blog but now I feel convicted that doing so is just not acceptable for me. My hope is that you, dear readers, will enjoy a fuller understanding of me and my faith and my desire to use my creative gifts in ways that are life-giving and God-honoring to myself and to the world.
P.S. Stay tuned as I have lots of posts just waiting to be written. I went on a great trip to Washington D.C. in May and went to FOUR art museums (heaven!) so I at least want to share some of that fun with you! Hee.
P.P.S. I am finally on Instagram! My user name is just my name: amandabridle. There will be a nifty little link to my account over on the right but it isn't working quite yet. Mostly because I think I am too fresh on Instagram. I have had hours of "technical times" setting up Instagram and updating my blog template and so on so just hang with me as I figure stuff out!
