It is hard to believe that I wrote my first post on this blog five years ago. What an adventure it has been! When I started this quest I thought only six people might read it, but you have all proven me wrong. Thank you for your support, feedback and endless grace as I display my imperfect self and struggles, post after post. This milestone is a precious opportunity to reflect on the voyage we’ve shared thus far.
The Lord gave me ample material to write about these last five years. Some highlights include a global pandemic, a tragic adoption story, a few book club expeditions and travel adventures culminating in an extraordinary faith journey. I am still surprised by which posts are read most frequently, like 10 Bible verses that prove God made your body perfect, which are read by over 2000 people worldwide every month!
As I reflect on the last five years and dream of the future of this project of love, I am struck by these five surprises:
1. I’m still here
While enjoying dinner at a restaurant one evening in October 2019, the wine inspired vulnerable self-examination prompting my brother-in-law to challenge me to write my first blog post within 7 days. I knew nothing about writing a blog! I didn’t even know the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. I didn’t know the difference between a domain name and a hosting service, never mind what my blog’s name would be. I had no idea what I would write about or who would read the words I would meticulously type, delete and rewrite.
I did the only thing one does in such a predicament, I found a Udemy course that taught dummies like me how to start a blog from scratch. The learning curve was not restricted to tech jargon; this process also taught me to let go of my perfect standards and get stuff done regardless of how it looks. True to form, my perfectionist, achiever, and Type A personality completed the challenge, and Nettie’s Confetti was born right on schedule.
I did not have a plan for the blog. But from the very beginning, I handed this fragile clumsy baby over to the Lord as he saw fit. There was no way to predict what we would face in the next five years and that this little room on the internet would become a safe space to become vulnerable and encourage others with our struggles. Only the Lord knew where our journey of infertility and our adventure of faith would lead us. He knew I needed this space long before I did.
If I had a clue how hard it would be to consistently publish good content that flows from my heart I probably would have never started. I used to be able to write my heart out week after week, but lately, it has become much harder to do so since the hills and valleys of my journey affect many around me.
But I’m still here. By God’s grace, I am still writing and you are still reading.
2. I thought I would be further along by now
Even though I did not expect to reach thousands of people with my blog, I did think that I would have more engaged readers and followers by now. I have often thought it was worth continuing on this quest, especially when I would bear my soul and wonder if anyone cares. But then some sweet soul would send me a message of encouragement or “me too” and I would have the wind in my sails to continue.
Ironically, I have been inspired by messages from men such as Mike Winger and Tim Challies who have mega pages of their own, to keep writing for each individual who needs the truth I have to share, and not for the masses I would desire to stumble on this page. This inspires me to think of the girl who is looking for answers but is bombarded my falsehoods and misconceptions of who God is and what her place is in the universe, like I was a decade ago. I write for the one looking for Christ but struggling to find him in the church, the books she is reading or the culture she is exposed to.
I also thought that the blog would start generating income at some point so that I would at least break even with the expenses of running this website, but ideally have some extra income in my pocket. So far I have not invested a lot of energy into monetizing this site, but I plan to in the future. I just did not expect it to be so difficult. But that is why not every dude with a laptop is a millionaire.
3. You are still reading
If the measure of success is not the quantity of readers, but the value each reader receives from my naked thoughts, then Nettie’s Confetti is a roaring success. It still surprises me when someone starts a conversation with me about something they read on the blog which impacted them. My favourite feedback is when biblical truth shared here points a friend towards Christ and orients their heart towards the truth of God’s word, and away from worldly thinking.
These are the moments I pray for, even if I never get to have the conversation. I pray that each reader will see the intention behind my writing and have their eyes opened to the wonder of God’s love.
4. Nettie’s Confetti turned into a Christian blog
Even though I did not have a target audience in mind or a picture of what this blog would become, I tried to avoid exclusively Christian content. This might seem ridiculous now, but I didn’t want to alienate anyone or restrict myself in any way.
Little did I know what the Lord was doing in my own heart and how my conviction of his grace would necessitate I spread the word to others. Now my deepest passion burns for each child of God to know that Jesus loves you just the way you are, but He can’t leave you to stay the way you are.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19
5. God is not done with Nettie’s Confetti
My creative juices start overflowing when I have an idea for the blog I haven’t executed yet, and someone comes to me with a question the project would address. It amazes me and reminds me that God is the owner of my work and his Spirit is my guide.
Whenever I become proud and conceited the Lord finds a way to humble me. I would record a reel for Instagram and the video never started recording, or I would stumble over my words or some other technical issue would leave me flustered. In those moments I am reminded of John the Baptist’s words about his relationship with Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
The final verse of the hymn “May the Mind of Christ my Saviour” has become the motto with which I do anything for Christ:
“May His beauty rest upon me
May the Mind of Christ my Saviour by Kate Barclay Wilkinson
as I seek the lost to win,
and may they forget the channel,
seeing only Him.”
I cannot let this celebration pass without thanking my favourite reader and biggest supporter – my Prince Charlie. Nettie’s Confetti would not be celebrating five years without your unfailing encouragement and guidance. Another surprise that sometimes threatens to overwhelm me is the fear that I will make a mistake or somehow teach errors on the blog. Ironically I have been studying Scripture more thoroughly during the last few years than ever. Yet, my fear of man can be debilitating at times. That is when Carl steps in and reassures me I am on the right track or patiently helps me explain something more accurately. He reminds me that my writing originates from love and most readers are gracious in their reception of Nettie’s Confetti. For this and much more, I am sincerely grateful, my Prince.
Thank you, my dear friend, for reading this far and standing by me as I stumble and scramble to glorify my Saviour and put his wonderful love on display in my little corner of the World Wide Web.
Please don’t stop sharing your thoughts with me. Keep reading and please send this blog to a friend if you find value in what you read at Nettie’s Confetti.
Please share your favourite blog post in the comments below.
This song is a beautiful story of how God can use the broken pieces of our lives to reflect his glory. May Nettie’s Confetti become a Stained Glass Window for Jesus.
