The Start Experiment

So - yesterday I posted a picture on my Instagram (and also on my Facebook) of a journal that said "Start" on it. Almost immediately one of my friends asked me what it was and instead of giving some offhand answer, I figured this would be the easiest way to explain it. Plus - the day one assignment (which was on July 15th - oops) was to do something small in relation to whatever your own personal Start Experiment was going to be. I'm getting ahead of myself though.

Jon Acuff - if I say that name, do you know who I'm talking about? Jon Acuff is a Christian writer and motivational speaker of sorts. He wrote a book a few years back called Stuff Christians Like and has a blog by the same name - check it out here. I've read several of the blog posts that he has put up because most of them are pretty much deadly accurate when it comes to the stuff Christians like. I'm pretty sure two of my favorites are about Christian singles and all the things they hear from people at their church (check it out) and it should be noted I scored 40+ on the quiz at the end. I don't think that is a good thing though. There was also a post about being the person that headed up the nursery - but I can't seem to find that one. Anyway - everything is so dead-on and just cracks me up. I think we get this idea that as Christians we have to be serious all the time but I'm quite certain that nowhere in the Bible does it say that once you decide to follow Jesus, you can't laugh about things every now and then. Jon is funny at times and also leaves space to be serious about what being a Christian means.

Earlier this year, Jon put out his second book - a book about making the decisions in life to leave behind his dead-end job(s) that weren't fulfilling him and pursue the dream job he'd always had in mind - being a writer. I've actually not read the book but from what I've seen about it on his blog it encourages and guides people in making the changes they need to stop living a life they don't like and "start" on their dreams.

About a month ago, Jon posted on his website and made the announcement that if people wanted to take a chance, a risk and see what life could be like if you made steps to start working toward their dreams, to email him. He would only pick a select number of people and the post extending the opportunity would only be up for 16 days. I thought "why not" and emailed him. I wasn't sure I'd be picked but I got an email back the next day instructing me to join a Facebook group. To be honest - at first I thought nothing was going to happen, even though I answered the short survey that was sent out. Sunday, I found myself sorted into a group with 24 other wanna-be writers and found that I'd been partnered with a girl named Melissa - who lives in New York.

So far - it's day three. On day one I had to do something small: tweet about the Start Experiment, or something like that. I decided to blog and I'm a little behind. On day two, Jon told us to buy a journal and write a few sentences each day. He asked that this not be an electronic version but something "old-fashioned". I tweeted a picture of mine because he also said he'd love for people to tweet or Instagram a pic of their journal with the tag #startexp - so I did! Today is day three and I was supposed to look into other people who have done what I'd like to do.

My Start Journal...wonder what it will look like on Day Twenty-Four?

So here's the thing - what do I want to do? The answer to that is write. You see - truly my dream is to be a wife and mother, but that ball is totally in the Lord's court at this moment. Beyond that, I've always loved to read books and blogging has really become something I enjoy and look forward to doing. I've had several people tell me that I should be writing but one way or another I always talk myself out of it. I've come up with a couple ideas for children's books before and while a lot of people encouraged me, someone close to me discouraged me (not anyone in my family - don't be alarmed family!) - maybe they didn't see it as that, but I did. So...now I'm on day three of the Start Experiment. What will this mean? I don't know!

Jon warned us that some of the assignments each day might be a challenge and take us outside our comfort zone. So far, that hasn't happened but I'm pretty concerned about those challenges. Maybe those of you that read this, along with my partner Melissa; you can keep me honest and make sure I'm completing the challenges. Especially today's - I have no clue who to research. I know several people who have blogged their way to a book deal but often what I blog about and what I'd like to write about are two different things. That being said - there is the explanation of what the journal with the word Start emblazoned across it means. Tomorrow is Day Four of Twenty-Four days - so we'll see what unfolds.