Inaugural Post — Grace In That Place

This feels so weird. I've spent the better part of the last 2.5 years making a point to be a good steward of social media.

In graduate school (2011), I wrote a paper devoted solely to exploring how self-disclosure on social media affected the teacher/student relationship. I ended up presenting this paper at an academic conference in front of dozens of college professors and teachers--long story short, most studies were showing that high self disclosure via social media didn't exactly have a great impact or boost of "relatability" that teachers assumed it would. As a public speaking teacher at the University of Alabama, I began to examine my own social media presence and what that meant for my career--present and future. Which led me to consider how this issue affected my personal life.

Once I became a mom in August of 2014, I began to think about social media in a whole new way. Our kids are the first to grow up in the social media spotlight. In the generation where their parents actually have the ability to share his or her life from the very beginning...even prior to conception. Because we are the first, we have no way to know what this means on down the line. Will what I post today affect my child when they are trying out for a team, applying for prestigious programs and scholarships, and even attempting to get jobs? Will what I post affect them (positively or negatively) interpersonally in their relationships with their current friends, family, and colleagues to come?

This is all not to mention the obvious thoughts and concerns parents have about social media: privacy, online predators, creeps, etc. (All of these deep social media thoughts and ramblings to be explored further in a later post.)

However, all of this has not stopped me from making any social media posts. If you know me, you know I've posted (sparingly) those pictures of the boys that I just can't resist sharing.I mean, they're just SO CUTE. I try to make it a point to put careful thought into what I'm sharing, why I'm sharing it, and what the implications might be in sharing it. (My personal social media parent "rules/thought process" to come as a future post!)

All of this to say, it feels rather strange to suddenly be putting myself out there in this way. Because in a sense, putting myself out there means putting my family out there, too. It's not just a choice I'm making for myself in sharing my journey, as it would have been 5 years ago... I now have others to consider. I do plan to maintain a certain amount of privacy for my boys (seeing how this site is public and all), but I also want to join in with my friends and fellow moms. I plan to figure it out {prayerfully!} as I go.

No one wants to mom alone. It has helped me so much to be able to read and listen to the stories of other moms. How they've struggled, how they've thrived, the places they've been in, the things they've seen, and how they've been moved by this super hard/awesome thing we call motherhood. How their journey with the Lord has been affected. Where they've seen His face. Where they've cried out for Him. And like I said on the Home Page, I do feel like the Lord has clearly led me to this place. So I will follow Him there.

Here we go, y'all!