Defining a Personal Identity

This is a guest post from one of my very best friends, Kara Mosley, who is also a contributor to B+B. She’s amazing, and this post is insightful. Make sure to keep reading, she takes a spin I think you won’t expect!

Defining a Personal Identity

Throughout my teens and even my college years, I struggled almost unknowingly with my own identity. Little things such as being asked my likes, dislikes, favorites and preferences literally made me anxious. I’ve always had opinions, but never a true grasp on my personal self or knew where I gained inspiration or how to properly express it all in words. I knew my creative instincts existed, but I never knew what drove them.

Somewhere in college, as my faith began to mature and my relationship with the Lord gained some lasting foundation, I started to wrap my head around the concept of “finding your identity in Christ.” I agree with the importance of that statement wholeheartedly. But for me, that means not giving into the world’s perspectives of what’s cool, acceptable and beautiful; to walk in the fruits of His spirit and to strive each day to love well and live near. These are the roots of who you are and why you’re here. It shapes the things you value in life, such as depth of relationships and moments of solitude.

However, using the phrase, “I’m a Christ follower” to answer the question, “tell me about yourself,” is simply a crutch. Yes, your faith will speak volumes about who you are, but we as humans are vastly different. The Lord has placed different personalities, interests and desires inside each of us and we are meant to explore these parts of ourselves. While I knew the importance of this exploration, I couldn’t figure out how to discover these things that I knew existed within me.

JOMO // Joy of Missing Out

{Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from my dear friend and social media guru, Danielle Michels, and a wildly timely one at that. I know I’m guilty of coveting others’ filtered lives, and this touches at the heart of that. So, let’s all read this with an open mind, and then try disconnecting for a bit. xo}

Out of the gate of the New Year by nearly half a month and many of us have already lost sight of some resolutions we set for 2014. That’s nothing new, resolutions come and go as quick as the champagne runs out, but one thing was different this year.

A particular resolution made more of an appearance on my various newsfeeds when we rang in 2014 than the typical hope of eating healthier and shedding some pounds. Funny enough, this resolution was broadcast using the tool that many resolved to be less attached to: social media.

First of all, when did social media become something we had to evade with the same sort of discomfort we have when we resist that piece of cheesecake on January 2^nd?