ALT Happenings | Life Update + Life Lately

Well hey there, friend! It’s been almost a year since the last time I did one of these happenings posts and I’m so sorry. Somehow it’s gotten away from me, but today is your chance to catch up on #allthethings that have happened recently. If my memory was amazing, I’d recap the happenings from last year for you. However, it’s not and I don’t want you to be here forever, so let’s not do that. Instead, I’m going to give a rundown of some of the prominent happenings that have gone on recently. So grab a seat, your fave coffee or tea, kick up your feet and stay awhile! Let’s get all caught up, shall we?

PERSONAL LIFE:

In my last happenings post, I mentioned going full-time with this blog. While that’s still a dream of mine, being full-time only lasted for about 6 months. I realized that I still have to make money to invest into my blog until I can make a sustainable income from it. With that, I started back to work with LifeWay in October after my family came back from vacation. I was SO excited because I loved working for LifeWay, and I had high hopes for a future with them. However, as many of you well know now, that reality came crashing down for me in February when we were told that the brick and mortar stores will be permanently shutting down.

The last day for our store here in Chattanooga will be the 19th of this month. I’ve tried my hardest to bottle up and compartmentalize my feelings about it, but it’s done nothing but make me bitter. I’ve had to just accept it and let it go. I’m not completely mad at LifeWay as it’s not entirely their fault, but I’m rather just unsure of what God is doing and why I have been through the ringer with jobs the last two years.

In 2017, I was working for LifeWay in Hixson when that job abruptly came to an end as well. That store got closed in October of that year. After that, I briefly worked for Hobby Lobby until I landed a job with a bank. I thought that would be the steady job I wanted, only for it to come to an end after a few weeks. Now, with losing my job a second time with LifeWay, all the hurt and sadness from my previous losses have come bubbling to the surface again. I didn’t really process those things before now, and I’m being forced to face the emotions that I’ve bottled up the last two years.

Looping back around, while I still want to take this blog full time, it’s not possible right now. I’ll be trying to work at least part time to fund this dream of mine. Now I just keep searching and waiting for God’s direction. It’s really all I can do at the moment. I know this may have been a lot for you to consume, but I figured I’d put it out there and get it off my chest. All of this is kind of why I haven’t been as active on here or social media. Partly because I’ve been busy, and partly because I’ve needed to take a break to mentally process all all of these happenings. I look forward with hope, even though I don’t know what God is doing with me yet. I know He is faithful and will provide no matter what. Here’s to the last half of the year!

BLOGGING LIFE:

This one is a struggle right now ha. I haven’t been able to be on here as much as I wanted, but I still love it and am grateful when I do get to write for you. I still haven’t quite managed to keep myself organized and come up with a blogging plan yet. I’m working on it though and hope it’ll happen at some point. Sometimes things take time. I got a Cricut machine for Christmas and have been using it and trying to master my skills. I hope to soon start making things for the ALT Shop and officially be in business! I’ll share more about it once I get ready to launch. Something else I am really hoping to do this year is launch a podcast for you too! It’s going to be different than a traditional podcast, but I am excited about it and hope you will be too.

On another note, I purchased a course about blogging from Udemy to expand my knowledge about blogging and set me up for success with it. While I know a ton already, there are so many other facets of blogging that I didn’t yet feel like I had mastered, and so I was really excited when I found an entire course dedicated to the subject.

I can’t wait to really dive in and take notes that I can put into action with my blog! If you’re curious about which course it was, send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll drop you the deets. I am super excited about the future of this space. Side note: Stay tuned for Wednesday because there’ll be a new post up with a review of the new He Reads Truth Bible and you don’t wanna miss it! If you wanna read on the go, scroll to the top of the page and sign up for my RSS Email List and get the post directly to your inbox! Talk to you soon!

LATEST FROM THE BLOG:

ALT CURRENTLY:

WISHING THAT » I wasn’t going to be losing my job this week. Job hunting makes me super anxious.

WATCHING» All the Gilmore Girls and Friends! And wondering how I went so long without watching them.

EXCITED FOR» My beach vacation with my family again in September! I really love the beach, it’s my happy place.

WAITING FOR» The Fall! It’s my absolute favorite season because it’s not too hot and not too cold. Plus, ALL THE COLORS!!!

THANKFUL FOR» My family and friends. They’ve been there for me so many times, and I’m even more thankful for them during a season of unknowns and immense sadness.

DREAMING UP» What kinds of things I want to do until I can take my blog full-time. Options are limited apparently when you don’t have a bachelor’s.

DRINKING UP» Honestly all the S’mores frapps because I love them so much and it’s getting me geared up for Fall!

HAPPY THAT» Even though I’ll be jobless after tomorrow, God still has a plan even though I can’t see it yet.

While this week is going to be immensely hard for me, I’m going to walk forward in expectant hope. I know that God’s plans far surpass any that I could want for myself. While the circumstances are super sad and it’s scary to be without a job, I’m trying to remind myself that this is only a season. God has a bigger hand at play than the one I can currently see. There will be good that comes from this even if it’s not immediate.

What happenings do you currently have going on where you need to be reminded of the above?