Start of Something New

Welcome back, fam!

Again, it has been a hot minute since the last time I posted. My absence over the last few months is for a few reasons. I could blame it on my severe lack of wifi or a crazy intense travel schedule. And while those are two totally valid and truthful reasons for my absence, the real reason is that I was just struggling. I was unsure of what to say or how to say it. It was not writers block, I had an endless amount of stories and  an abundance of words to tell them with. I’ve got hundreds of photos that I could tell you the stories behind. I have nine different countries and about five months of life that has happened. So, my absence is not due to lack of inspiration. It is due to lack of direction. Allow me to explain.

I make it fairly clear in every post that I never know what I am going to say. My writing process is incredibly simple (I’m sure you guys are shocked because clearly, my posts are just so flawless). My mind is in a constant state of processing the world around me through the filter of getting it written down. Every once in a while I get excited about an idea, rush to my lap top, put some Frank Sinatra on and just go for it. I just word vomit. I don’t let myself edit the first time I write. I just sit and get it all out. Then I read it once for major errors and one more time to make sure it actually sounds like I am speaking English.  Now, every once in a while I am lucky enough that my ideas actually turn into something that I feel like I can get away with posting. My writing is based on my life experiences. The whole point in this blog is just because I enjoy writing and photography. Not for one second do I think that I belong in the elite class of either of those things. I just wanted an outlet. I wanted to live my life, write what I wanted and just have a light hearted, free flowing page. I never expected people to even read it. I’m serious. Every time someone tells me that they read one of my posts I am so shocked and humbled. Alright so all of that sounds great. So, what’s the problem then, right? It should be easy! Wrong. There are so many problems. Let’s chat about them.

As a human I am not very good with emotions or being vulnerable. Especially on a public platform. I get that those two sentences my seem like they are out of place or they don’t belong but in reality they are two of the most crucial sentences in this entire post. Those two small sentences expose where my issues with this entire page come from. My life the last few months has been a hectic, amazing roller coaster of just total, complete, pure insanity. Sure there have been some hard times but overall they have been a complete dream come true. Things happened that I dreamed about my entire life. Before I became a Christian I  just wanted to see the world. It was all I cared about. I spent my life planning my dreams. When they finally started coming true, I thought that I would have the most epic posts ever. I could not have been more wrong. In fact, I have never had a harder time  trying to write. It took me a long time to figure out why. I never wanted this to be a big emotional blog. I just wanted to write stuff that was real and raw. I wanted something that I enjoyed writing and that was enjoyable to read as well. But you see, when I went to write about my adventures it was hard because it was so much more than that. It was so much more than something that I dreamed up, worked for and did. Everything I started to write felt so generic and fake. Even though I had experienced all of these things, writing about them felt like I was writing about someone else’s life. The reason for that is so obvious. I was leaving out a massive piece of who I am just because I didn’t want to write anything that was religious or heavy. Which is absolutely ridiculous! You guys. The reality is I did live out so many of my dreams. I have seen so much and done so much I have met incredible people and seen things that I only had pinned on my Pinterest board. Places that I never actually thought I would get to see. None of that has anything to do with me though. God has been so kind. So faithful! Insanely loving. Unconditionally graceful. Jesus is the reason I got to live out my dreams. He is the reason I even had the dreams that I did have. And the dreams that I do still have! I have been so consumed with wondering why I was unhappy with every single thing I have written over the last few months. Well this is why. I left out the reason for everything. I wouldn’t allow myself to really apply who I am into the thing that I love. Well I say no more. I tried to remove the reality and view my experiences through a filter of what I thought people would care to read about. I had no clue I was doing this. I thought I just lost the ability to write or something. I was totally clueless as to what was going on subconsciously.

I do not say all of this because I am turning this into a big religious blog now.  I write this post because this is the official revamping of my blog. I’m going back to posting every single Friday. The theme is the same. It’s still a blog about my life. My mediocre  photography. The stuff I see and the people I meet. Even about the ideas that I get. But this time, I will not refrain from posting things about my God. I adore him. And when you adore someone, you talk about them, right? When we adore humans we post about them all the time. Look at your timeline. It is full of the things that people love. Their significant others, their latest DIY project, their healthy lunch they made, even their pets. Why are we so eager to post those things but no one wants to post the truth about Jesus? And I mean the real truth not just the times that you are thankful. Let’s talk about the times that are hard also. It doesn’t need to be big and profound. Jesus is part of our every day lives. Let’s talk about him like he is.

I could rant for hours about this. But it is currently 2:00 in the morning in Sydney. So, I won’t. I guess what I am trying to say is just be real. Let’s do this life together! And welcome to the first official post as my new and improved Adventures With Laines. I am so excited to talk about the adventures that the Lord sent me on!

Now about the picture….It has absolutely nothing to do with this post. I just love this shot. This was taken on the beach in Greece last summer! I adored that trip and that day was just glorious. At the time there was no better way to spend my days then drinking Greek beer while tanning by the ocean and hanging with Jesus!

Well it’s official! You made it to the end of this. Whatta feat! That was a lot. Congratulations! Go eat some chocolate or something. You deserve it, you survivor.

So, here’s to travel. Here’s to adventure, new beginnings and Jesus. Here’s to dreaming big and talking about those dreams. And here’s to you lot for surviving this impossibly long post.

Until next time.

Cheers X