Every blog has a story behind the title, there is usually a reason, sometimes multiple reasons why writers pick the titles they do. Here are mine for the name Lovely Little Lives.
I wanted a Catchy Blog Name.
Doesn’t everyone? Three-word phrases seem to be a good length for a blog, something short and clear but long enough to spark interest and to encourage readers to ask: “why that one?” The alliteration was an added bonus, and I think the end result makes for a smooth name that flows lightly off the tongue.
Why “Lovely”?
Lovely is one of those airy, elegant, old-fashioned words that I just have always had a particular admiration for. The “l” sounds and the “y” sound give it that flowing, soft, poetic feel.
If you haven’t noticed yet, I love all things feminine when it comes to my daughters, from fairy-tale bedrooms to matching dresses, and I sincerely hope that they will grow up to be truly lovely young women. The word “lovely” invokes other adjectives like
- Sweet
- Feminine
- Gracious
- Beautiful
- Tender
- Gentle
- Calm
- Flowering
- Elegant
- Dignified
Every word you can conjure up to describe “woman” as God’s Masterpiece, the crown of creation, can be summed up in that one word: “lovely”. I aspire to be a woman like that.
In this blog, I strive to write about the ordinary tinted beautiful. The messiness and difficulty of life’s experiences can be overwhelming at times, but a little encouragement and inspiration can help us take a deep breath and persevere on through whatever stresses or hardships we are each facing.
I hope that here you can be reminded to see through the murky blur of mundane ordinariness with the lens of beauty and purpose.
One of my favorite scripture quotes offers a beautiful ideal to highlight this “lovely” word and other words that call us, as men and women, to live wholesome, virtuous, beautiful lives:
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…if anything is excellent or praiseworthy…think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
Why “Little”?
I have a very ordinary life. Not that it hasn’t been beautiful, it certainly has, and I have so many blessings to be thankful for, (although I don’t always remember that, and often take them for granted). But it is not a glamorous, complex, or overly exciting life.
There have certainly been very exciting seasons of my life, the top highlight being the journey of meeting, dating, and marrying my best friend, but overall, I haven’t accomplished much more than the average person does and probably less than many people do.
I have grown up in a Catholic home-school family, the oldest of five children. I spent my childhood wading in creeks and riding horses and my adulthood (so far) creating a neighborhood home with my hubby and rolling strollers down city sidewalks.
I have lived in three states and never left the country (except for that one time, my family visited the Canadian side of Niagara Falls). I went to college, married my husband right after college and had two daughters in the consecutive years. Now as a stay-at-home mom and part-time medical biller, I live a quiet life, in a small corner of the world, with a small social circle.
I am a natural introvert, seeking community with like-minded people. I enjoy the simple pleasures of life, I have traditional values, and not very many high ambitions, besides surviving through the day with two energetic children under five.
I would like to be a really creative, glamours, popular, acknowledged kind-of-person some days, but that is not in my nature or my calling. Instead, I try to just BE, focusing on my blessings and cultivating relationships with God, my family and my friends.
My life is little. Ordinary. Simple. Beautiful.
Does this sound like you?
Then come join me on the journey.
Why “Lives”?
I chose the plural of “life” because I wanted it to be about more than just me and my life. I wanted it to be about my family, especially my children since I spend most of my time with them, they are what I know best, and they are easy to write about. Writing about my family allows me to connect with other moms and to add my piece to the vast puzzle of blogging moms’experiences.
Parenting is hard, harder than I ever realized and I am far from the patient, selfless, even-keel parent I once imagined I would be, so writing about the lives of my children helps me to find the beauty and the joy in the chaotic, often rocky and exhausting journey of motherhood.
Since they are still very small, my children’s lives are little, innocent, precious, as are the lives of all children, born and unborn, and this is my way of highlighting the beautiful value of little lives.
Even when the existence of tiny lives comes as an unwelcome surprise, my sincere prayer is that those lives are cherished and recognized as real and sacred from the beginning, instead of just something to “get rid of”. Each life is worth loving, even when saying yes to pregnancy, and subsequently to children, can mean giving up something else. All lives, born and unborn deserve the right to be lived.
Writing about my children’s “little lives” helps me record the memories but also to paint an honest description of raising children. Yes, it is very difficult and I’ll be the first to admit that some days I barely survive the tantrums, the whining, the constant demand for attention.
Some days I am a complete wreck by 5 o’clock, as my husband can vouch for; yet I wouldn’t trade my children for the world. They are my great blessings, my number one fans, and my cutest cuddle buddies. They are like sandpaper smoothing out the rough edges of my personality, teaching me to be more self-giving, gradually making me a better version of myself.
Relevant Content.
Lastly, I want you, my readers, to find in this blog, a reflection for your own lives. Not that everything I write about will necessarily speak to your souls, but hopefully now and then, a line or a image will catch your attention and you will grasp a glimmer of your own lovely lives.
As you recognize your own littleness, your own ordinariness, your own rough edges, I want to remind you that there is great beauty and joy to be found in the everyday. For each person, those little lovely pieces will look a bit different, but the goal is to remember that we all have beautiful lives, wonderful memories, and joyful moments to come.
We have blessings that are worth living. Every blessing is a gift from our Creator who created us in love, for love. To all my readers, I hope you have lovely little lives!
This post is linked up to Tuesday Talk.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8.