Hello, friend. We’re glad you stopped by. We have something special planned for January 2021, and we want everyone to be part of it. We’re calling it The Blessing. We’re counting blessings and extending blessings to our readers and writers. Enjoy!
Friend, the FACETS love you! And we always have, whether you are the quiet, anonymous reader, a gracious reader who comments on words that struck you, or the vulnerable guest writer. You are part of what makes FACETS sweet. You’re kinda the reason this whole thing happened, you know. You are a blessing—you’re kind of a big deal. Did you know that? Over the years, hundreds of you peeked at this corner of cyberspace. Thank you!
Story Time!
Do you know the story of FACETS of Faith? If you’re a long-time reader and pieced together the stories in our posts, maybe you do. It’s a good time to share what we could never have known in 2015—our story. We hope you enjoy it because, to us, it’s full of blessings!
Once Upon a Time…
In 2015, three friends from a local writing circle met at a Panera for the first time and dreamed up a safe, online space for women to have conversations about life, faith, and friendship. There were three of us, then four, then three again. The founding team was set: Tracy, Kim, and Jen.
Two team members had a clearer vision of the project, but one had no idea this was actually going to be a thing for a few weeks. “Oh. Wait! You mean, we’re actually going to do this thing?”
A Vision Became Real
Those were sweet days in the life of this collaborative site. The three of us learned so much about creating a website, and all the details. We picked a name, drafted a mission statement, identified our reader, and talked about invitations to guest writers. We chose a site design and logo. We picked colors to distinguish writers’ posts at a glance. We met for months to plan at our favorite hidey hole. We divvied up the work. Eventually we found our stride.
Tracy is a fountain of amazing ideas and connections! She and her husband, Sam, have been plain sacrificial in supporting the site. It could never have happened without their choice to back the site in every way. And Sam graciously and tenaciously fought the tech battle for us time and time again—from the set up to the time FACETS was hacked. (Thanks for serving this site so well, Sam. You were the invisible team member, until we begged you to write for us!)
Kim always shares her best words infused with her beautiful heart, and her readers love her for it. Her heart has always been for her readers, and it was for our team. If you only knew how precious she was when our team struggled to take things a little slower, a little gentler, and be more loving and relational. If you could see how we came together at such tender moments and tried to be present and listen well, you’d be blessed, too.
Jen is always learning more about who she is as a writer and as a woman. Writing a short bio was a hurdle. Can a few words define a person, a writing journey, and a hope to share powerful thoughts? What do you do if you’re a writer who has more words than allowed and prefers to write herself out of content more than writing herself in? Sometimes that’s Jen. She found a happy place behind the scenes and working on the graphics.
Becoming a Team
Our friendships grew. My goodness! We laughed. We cried. We worked through the challenges of our individual ideas, preferences, and emotions. You know, that’s where friendships are forged or forgotten. We hit bumps in the road, and it was a decision every time. Would we choose to honestly see each other and listen? Would any one of us choose “my way or the highway”…or would it be the high way? These friendships were forged early, and we made the choice to stay in relationship over and over.
Rolling With Change
Things happened, beautiful things! Tracy stepped into a ministry role and became the kind of advocate for women that, honestly, is tenacious and amazing! Many posts reflected her lioness heart on behalf of the weak. Kim’s life blossomed, too: hosting an event for women, a new man in her life, the wedding, a honeymoon, and eventually a blended family dynamic—all while she was working in ministry and trying to get words on the page. Jen was working through old relational trauma, finishing the homeschooling race, and trying to define her “grown-up self” while trying to get words on the page. We were doing life together, though.
And then it happened. We knew it could. A FACET moved to—Bean Town. We were thrilled for Kim. We could leverage technology for our meetings. No big deal.
In 2019 Kim needed to formally step away from FACETS of Faith. It was a hard decision. The whole thing was hard. We love her, and we know readers do, too.
Nature (and a Team) Abhors a Vacuum
There was an empty spot, and Tracy and I worked through it in many conversations over months. We knew something just wasn’t right. A site focused on life, faith, and friendship perspectives cried out for more perspectives.
In December of 2019 we invited Megan to the team. She wrote as a guest in October 2017, and we thought she would be a perfect fit. Her words and perspective are a blessing to us for lots of reasons! She brings fresh, gentle hope to every topic. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading her words.
The 2020 Challenge
That brings us to 2020, the year no one saw coming, and there are no words for it. Our meetings went virtual when we couldn’t meet. We did get a few sweet moments in around the shutdowns. It was complicated. Then, at the end of the summer, Tracy made the hard decision to step away from FACETS.
The Fork in the Road
I (Jen) have stood at a fork in the road lots of times. A creative, strategic internal processor likes to look at all the steps that can be taken and know where the road might go. Maybe it was time to run hard and fast with the site…
Nope, it was time to be still. I needed to hear what God wanted, especially when I can be temped to do what I want.
The Final Chapter
FACETS—the team and this site—it’s been a journey…a privilege…and an honor. Fifty-eight topics. Forty-two guest posts. A post each month from the FACETS since the beginning of 2016. We wrote a lot of words (a super-lot if you count the ones over the laughable 600-to-800-word limit!). Wow! So many powerful, heart-felt words in one space by so many amazing people!
Thank you, writers! And thank YOU, readers! It’s been a blessing.
Standing at the Door
January 2021 is bittersweet. This month we’ll share posts from writers who want to share words related to blessing…
YOU are invited to share thoughts about a memorable post here, of your own reading-writing journey here, of a guest writing opportunity at FACETS, or a prayerful blessing to the readers!
We’re throwing the door wide open before we close it. You’ll see things you haven’t. It might be a post, a graphic with Scripture, or a prayer of blessing. The timing will be rather…random. *Grin*
Dear friend, you are loved! We hope you take the opportunity to make January 2021 at FACETS of Faith something special! Consider sharing with all of us.
Let’s get the word out so no one misses this month. Share on your social. Share in the comments. Share, share, share.
In case you were wondering, the powerful words here are still available for a time. Read, read, read while you can.
~ The FACETS
