Mama Smith Returns!

Hello, dear friends and readers,

After a few months' hiatus, Mama Smith Writes is up and running once more. And, boy, have I got some stories for you!

Early motherhood has been wonderful, challenging, surprising, and fulfilling in more ways than I can describe in this single post, but I will do my best to convey our journey as I continue to write about it in the following months. My goal today, however, is to give you a summary of our experience thus far, my general goals for the blog moving forward, and my specific scheduling plans.

First, the summary... I am a fully-fledged mama! If you have been following my personal Facebook page, then you know that my son, Asher, was born on November 17 via C-section. He is (amazingly!) over three months old now, and my husband Kris and I could not possibly be more delighted with him. He is learning to smile, coo, and wiggle everything the good Lord gave him. Although he hasn't managed a giggle quite yet, we anticipate him mastering this new skill very soon.

I will share more in subsequent posts, but the delivery went very smoothly. My recovery was somewhat more challenging, but suffice it to say that I am doing well at the three-months postpartum benchmark. My husband and I have grown and learned SO much, though, about our relationship as parents, managing sleep deprivation, acknowledging our shortcomings with humility and grace, breastfeeding, diapering, and a variety of other topics. I really look forward to sharing our experiences with you and hearing about your stories, as well!

As I have considered my general goals for this blog, I've returned briefly to my blog description and my very first post. My original description for Mama Smith Writes is as follows: "Exploring the role of motherhood, engaging in cultural dialogue from a biblical perspective, and dishing out straight talk, this blog is by a new mom and for moms everywhere who want to live for Jesus in their world." In examining my first post, I noticed a significant shift toward seeing things through a mother's eyes and a marked desire to understand and discuss cultural trends as they pertain to motherhood, as well.

If I am completely honest, I must acknowledge that, while I have definitely been exploring motherhood and working on my straight talk skills, I have not done much cultural engagement so far. When I began blogging, I produced more "soft start" content, often preferring a conversational introduction to my perspective. I wanted to allow readers room to get to know me, while providing myself a chance to explore my voice as a writer.

At this point, though, I feel both the desire and the necessity to start talking more about cultural issues in light of motherhood. Our world has shifted incredibly over the last couple decades, and these adjustments -- which I would argue are largely ideological -- have a significant impact on how we raise our children and operate in a family context.

Moving forward -- and stepping into my specific scheduling plans -- I will publish a post once a month that deals directly with relevant current events, political issues, or ideological trends and how I think about these topics through a biblical lens. You may not always agree with me, but I certainly welcome your thoughts and opinions, as long as they are presented in a fair, logically consistent manner. Also, if you have a topic you would like me to write about, please make a suggestion!

In addition to these "Mama Smith Talks Culture" posts, I will also be doing a running series about our experiences with a newborn, published every other Friday. On alternating Thursdays, I want to begin writing something I call, "Thankful Thursdays." These posts will consist of a simple note of encouragement for moms.

And finally, I will start writing monthly book reviews! These posts will be entitled, "Mama Smith Reads," and they will come out on the third Friday of every month. If you have a book suggestion, feel free to let me know via the Mama Smith Writes Facebook page or by commenting on a blog post, and I will be more than happy to check it out and possibly write about it.

I should conclude my thoughts here for today, but I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has read my blog posts and provided encouragement! You are all fantastic, and I truly appreciate you! See you next Thursday!

Soli Deo Gloria

- Mama Smith

P.S. The picture at the top of this post is from our newborn photo shoot with our friend Emily Hawkins. She did our maternity photos, as well, and if you have any photography needs, we would definitely recommend her!