Hey purpose peeps!
It’s been over a month since I have posted anything on my blog or sent anything to my email subscribers. This unexpected hiatus was due largely to a series of transitions that I didn’t see coming. I booked a trip to Bali, Indonesia and subsequently cancelled the trip (I’ll explain why in a future post), I got a new car (as a result of being in a car accident). I changed churches. I went from full-time to part-time at my job and took on a new position. I became an official programmatic partner to the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and reached a new level of closeness and comfort with my husband.
Prior to these experiences happening, I had a ton of time for reflection and the various transitions as well as time with myself and God, led to an unplanned but much needed hiatus. I found myself asking “What are you trying to do Brie?” “What is it, that when you look back over your life, you want to be able to say you accomplished and how can you relate that to what you’re doing with Black Girls with Purpose?”
Deeper than anything else, I realized the answer was that I wanted to make connections. Whether through travel or partnering up with a new body of believers, starting a new job, partnership, introducing others to the gospel of Christ, having deeper conversations with my husband and with that newfound clarity, I was reminded of my initial intention.
Black Girls with Purpose was created to help high school and college aged young women live with intention by helping them recognize their passion, purpose and gifts. We do this through our books, workbooks, and workshops. But we also do it through our stories, that’s why the blog was created and I don’t think that’s the angle I was approaching it with, instead I treated it as a space to clear my head and as such, it became aimless. There were some days I found myself posting just to check something off my to-do list but today’s the day that ends.
As I did with my subscribers, I’m making you a promise. In addition to our new look (shout out to hellomsross.com), I promise you new content, created with intention. Each month, I’ll be introducing a theme and my blog posts and even social posts will be centered around it.
Based on the response from my Facebook feed, I have decided to make Black Girls with Purpose features a monthly staple for the blog and I think that’s the part I’m most excited about. As I said in the beginning, I’m nothing if not a storyteller and I’m excited to share the way young ladies all over the country are walking in their purpose and living out the lives God predestined for them.
There are some lessons to be taken from my experience.
- Learn how to unplug – My greatest moments of clarity when asking “What is it you want to do, Brie? What are you trying to accomplish?” came in the midst of calm and quiet. Sometimes we ask God for answers to questions but our laptops and phones and TVs are so loud that we can’t actually hear when He answers them.
- Get clear on your intentions – in this life there are a ton of distractions and we no longer have the convenience of only being exposed to the things in our immediate surroundings. So whenever you feel yourself drifting, ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. My new question has become “How will doing this project/post/event, help others live with intention?” If I can’t answer that question without having to use creative license, I pass on it.
- Don’t get caught up in appearances – During my hiatus, I listened to a podcast on blogging and the young woman being interviewed talked about the importance of posting regular content. She stated that with the blog space being so saturated, if you were not constantly working to share content with your readers, they may grow uninterested. In my mind, though I completely agreed with the blogger’s statement, I knew that posting with no direction would ultimately do my blog more harm than good so I had to risk appearance to save the quality of my content.
I hope you can take those lessons and apply them to your current situation, whatever it may be. Know that I’m so grateful that you’ve chosen to be a part of this community and I’m excited about the upcoming weeks.
Here’s to living with intention,
Brie
P.S. What goals or objectives have you lost sight of recently? How can you get back on the path you set for yourself? Be sure to share in the comments below.
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