Surprise! It’s my Birthday Gift!

This did not just happen overnight though, it has been a year in the making…

So allow me to share with you the tale of my website from the very beginning. 

What most don’t know is this journey began last year at the beginning of August.  I left what I thought was going to be my dream job after only working there for a few months.  Being a single mom, and working full time in a career is more challenging than people give it credit for.  In my situation, it was not allowing me to put my son first, as he is my priority.  It created long days, hours in the car, and increased anxiety and stress.  It wasn’t what I had worked so hard to build my life around, and I was dropping the ball in every area. (At least that’s what it felt like).

I quickly and desperately, began a search for something that would allow me to make some money and be home – caring for the needs of my son and his new adventure, Kindergarten.  After all, I am a single mom and my income is what we rely on.  By my 30th birthday last year I was completely out of luck.  No job, no income.  Only a birthday that was coming whether I was ready or not, an amazing family, and the words best son.  

I was bound and determined that this birthday, this new decade, and every birthday after this, was going to be wonderful and special.  After all, my 20’s were miserable, dark, scary, and painful.  Especially when it came to my birthday.  In the last 7 years, I had something awful occur on my birthday.  Causing a further dislike for what I used to enjoy celebrating.   It was time to be thirty, flirty and to THRIVE! 

It was the word thrive that I desired.  Living was what I longed for.  I had survived so much for so long.  I no longer wanted to be in survival mode but to live.  The joy of living and glorifying the Lord in what I did was what I sought after.  Getting my mindset ready to achieve this thriving goal. 

So after desperate attempts to figure out my situation on my own, I was drawn down dark paths of affiliate marketing and being scammed.  Oh my heart aches to think of this time last year when all I wanted was to serve my son as the best mom I could be, and to continue to provide for us. 

One day, I took all of this to prayer….(finally) and asked the Lord, what was I doing wrong?  I sat in silence, knowing I might not get an answer.  But desiring one so badly.  I just needed to know that I wasn’t invisible to Him.  I told others.. “He walked the valleys and hills of our pain with us.  He carries us when we were weak.”  But at this moment, I needed to know if my soul still believed this to be true.  Quickly, he reminded me that he already gave me the mission that he desired of me.  Return to the gift I gave you.  Give it generously to others and I will provide from there. 

 So I began doing work!  Diving head first into B*B.  The business, mission, and passion that came to me in a vision that seems so long ago.  I previously put my business on hold for the needs of my son, world crisis recovery, and quite honestly, the lack of knowledge to know what to do with it moving forward.

I prepared for two shows around the holiday season, found trustworthy affiliate marketing, toured KeyBak and was offered to test out and share their products.  I fell in love with the use of them!  I learned more about the world of owning and running a business and best of all I simply grew. 

I grew more in 4 months after turning 30 years old, then I could have asked for or predicted.  It’s as if turning 30 allowed me to finally see myself the way that the Lord views me.  Even in my darkest moments.  I was worthy, intelligent, and fully capable.  I stood up for what I loved and hated, I became less afraid and overthinking every little detail – this is still a struggle…and one I think more women face than we recognize.  I prayed more (even though I already enjoyed praying a lot), shared more photos, videos, and stories which gave me the opportunity to hear from more people, and their stories. This not only inspired hope in my heart, but I pray it sparked the Lord’s hope in theirs.

My shows ended my year successfully!  Although I was wiped.  I had a few dreams that I was discerning.  From all the learning I had done, I desired to expand my business.  But I had no idea how to do it.  I did some research, but none of the options gave me peace in my heart, or set my motivation on fire.  I had these ideas that took over my mind and I desired to find a way to make them come to life.  But nothing was giving me that solution. 

The new year rang in… 2024.  I decided that 2024 was going to be my “Golden Year” since I’m born on the 24th and had a horrific Golden Birthday when I turned 24.  To me it made sense,  I was in the fresh new decade of turning 30. 

Shortly after the new year, I was accepted into a HUGE trade show in Canton, Tx called “First Monday’s”.  This show is on several acres of land, and sees upwards of 100,000 people every month during its 4 day span.  My first show…a success!  But… this show was in Texas and I had some hard work to figure out to make it work each month. 

When I got home, I was depositing the change from my show into my account.  When my bank had the small business manager present and started sharing with me all about the features that they offered to help their customers and small business owners keep more of the money that they make, versus getting hit with all the hidden fees. 

(If you ever wonder why a small business seems expensive, it’s because the cost of time, materials, and talent are not given so easily.  There are fees on everything!)

The very next day, I received a phone call from this gal’s manager.  Unfortunately, the network that my website at the time was going through, wasn’t compatible with what they could offer me.  There was nothing that he could do to help me switch to using their system.  Until…he said these magic words…”Well unless you want to build a whole new website from scratch…”  honestly I don’t remember any other part of the sentence.  All I heard and needed to hear was “build a new website.” 

That’s when the idea in my mind filled my heart with such joy and excitement, but more importantly peace.  No wonder I wasn’t finding what I wanted and needed because it doesn’t exist yet.  I needed to build it from scratch.  The Lord instantly blessed this idea giving me immense confirmation. 

Friends…this confirmation and excitement did not last long.  Building a website is h a r d.  Well at least it was hard for this girl.  I knew what I wanted to create and had no idea how to do it.  Not a single clue!  I needed to hire someone that was knowledgeable in what they were doing to create this dream and vision I had. 

This is where we all get in the mess of trying to do God’s will, and having the massive hurdles to get there.  Sometimes when God calls you to something it’s as smooth as glass … .and other times… we really have to choose to do His will.  Let me just say, I continued to have significant confirmation that I was doing exactly what God willed for B*B while also receiving significant spiritual attack, imposter syndrome, and challenges to get it completed. 

I promise I won’t bore you with the details and hoops that I went through. Those that deal with me day to day know that it gets to be a lot sometimes.  And most of it is out of my control.   I will however say that each and every time I chose to overcome the obstacles and bad timing that smacked me in the face to continue to work on this website, the Lord would then bless me with little gifts as rewards for continuing to do what He willed.  

This was not in my timing, it was in His.  I wanted this to be completed months ago.  MONTHS AGO!  That was not what the Lord wanted.  In fact, how long this took to create didn’t make sense to me until I sat down with the inspiration to write this blog post.  

Isn’t that the beauty of God’s timing, there is always a rhyme ~AND~ a reason.  Sitting here and reflecting with you on the events leading to this launch I can see the true gift that God gave me in HIS timing.  Reminding me that He has walked each and every step through this website journey. As He has from the very beginning of when Blessing of Blankets was created.  If it weren’t for His desire to keep B*B alive, I would have long given up on it. 

So with such joy in my heart, I share my Birthday Gift with you during my Golden Year of life!!  Hoping and praying that you will find it easy to use, full of God’s everlasting Glory, and most importantly a comfortable spot to go when in need of mourning and celebrating.  After all, if Y O U are worth dying for, then He is worth living for…in all that you might do and the gifts that you might have! 

Don’t forget how much of a blessing you are to this world!  Cheers to another year, new opportunities, growth, and adventures that I am sharing with all of you!