2017 was a good year. I look back and feel like I grew so much as a person.

There were a lot of mundane moments, a lot of big moments, a lot of heartbreaking moments, a lot of beautiful moments, a lot of sad moments, and a lot of amazing moments. And I learned a lot more about myself!

Almost all of the lessons I shared at the end of 2016 carried over to this year (thriving without coffee, continuing to discover how much better I feel when I get great sleep, I love coaching other bloggers, I’m more of a fashionista than I realized, I’m not as introverted as I always thought I was, etc.) Read the post here for all the details the surprising lessons I learned in 2016.

It was so good to reflect on 2017 and put together the top 10 lessons I learned in 2017:

1. I want to blog for the 97%, not the 3%.

I’ve been putting words out on the internet in some fashion since I first started a website for girls when I was 19.  That’s a lot of words.

Putting words on the internet can be a scary job, at times. Because no matter what you say, no matter how you say it, if more than 10 people are reading, someone is probably going to read or interpret something incorrectly and be hurt, upset, or offended.

I’ve held back many words over the years. Some needed to be held back — they were words that were better shared face-to-face with a trusted friend.
But there are other words that needed to be shared, but I held back because I knew that 3% of the people wouldn’t like them. They’d probably misunderstand, misinterpret, or just plain miss the point. So, I held back because of the 3%… when 97% of the people probably would have been blessed or encouraged by those same words.

Near the beginning of 2017, I made a commitment to stop worrying about the 3%. And I have to tell you, it has been one of the best changes ever as a writer. It’s been so good, so freeing, so incredible to post for the 97% of you instead of holding back out of fear of the response from the 3%!

2. I’m an Enneagram 8.

I fought against this for a long time. I wanted to be a 2 or something warm and fuzzy like that. But nope, I’m an 8 through and through.

And this year, as I spent a lot of time studying the Enneagram and talking with people who understand it well, I came to fully embrace the beauty of who I am and how I am wired. It’s really helped me to understand myself and my perspective better and it’s helped me to move in a direction of becoming healthier as a person.

3. I don’t need to rely on Jesse so much.

Jesse went to Israel for two weeks in April. It was the longest we’ve ever been apart since we were married and it was the first time he had gone on a long trip and I had stayed home and run our house. It was a BIG deal for me — because it meant I had to face a lot of insecurity and put on my big girl pants and deal with a lot of things Jesse usually always takes care of.

Little did I know that my phone would get lost (or stolen?), our cars would break down, and I’d need to make lots of phone calls and interact with WAY more people as a result. Did it scare me? Yes. Did I have a few minor panic attacks? Yes. But you guys… I’m so grateful for these past two weeks because I grew up as a result of them.

I drove all over Nashville. I made phone calls. I dealt with the AT&T people, the phone insurance company, our landlords, teachers, coaches, parents, doctors, repairmen, and all sorts of situations that were brand-new to me.

I got to rely on God, not my husband. And it was good for me. And I learned that, with God’s help, I’m much more capable & competent than I believed myself to be! Ever since he’s been back home, I’ve been so much more self-sufficient and confident and it’s been really good for our marriage!

4. I am no longer a big fan of early rising.

In April, I decided to try getting up at 4:30 a.m. every morning again. I thought it would be a really helpful thing and that I’d fall in love with early rising again — something I used to be a big fan of.

Instead, I discovered that It’s hard for me to consistently get to bed before 10 to 10:30 pm in the season of life I’m in. I can do it, but it kind of makes the whole evening feel stressful instead of calm.

I also found out that when I wake up really early and jump straight into my to-do list for the day, I feel like I want to make the most of every minute. Which means that I can’t give myself permission to relax much at all and end up feeling like I’m rushing through the day trying to cram as much into each hour as I can.

By not giving myself permission to rest and refuel, I ended up running on fumes very quickly. Which meant that I was less productive, much more on edge, and was generally a not-so-nice person to be around.

Ultimately, I was surprised to discover that I am a lot less calmer, a lot more anxious, and a lot more prone to fall prey to “the hustle” when I get up really, really early. I can tell you this is not at all what I expected from this experiment. In fact, I wanted to just fall in love with early rising again and be able to profess that it was the best thing ever for me.

But the results don’t lie. So I’m going to go with what I know is best for me and my family right now — even if it flies in the face of what I thought would be the case.

5. I like tent camping.

I always thought I didn’t like camping… but that was because I’ve never actually been camping since I was 6 or 7 years old!

So I was nervous how our tent camping weekend with our Community Group would go. But you guys, I totally surprised myself and genuinely LOVED the tent camping experience!! It was incredible to be out in nature and be serenaded to sleep by the frogs. It was so fun to see our kids having a blast without any sort of screen for entertainment.

And I savored the opportunity to be unplugged, to soak up the sun, to sit around the campfire, to read in the hammock, and to laugh and talk and make so many memories with our Community Group.

Yes, it was a lot of work to plan and prep for. Yes, there were a lot of bugs. Yes, the bathrooms and showers weren’t as clean as a hotel. Yes, it’s not as comfortable to sleep in a tent as it is to sleep in my own bed.

A big part of our camping success was you all and your helpful advice when I asked for advice and suggestions of what we should bring. I may have gotten teased for being over-prepared, but we couldn’t believe that there wasn’t anything we wished we would have brought that we didn’t. And I owe it to you all for sharing your experience and wise advice.

I would have never thought to bring some of the items you suggested or to pack like you advised, but it really made a difference and made the trip so much smoother and more enjoyable. And next time, it will be so much easier to pack and prepare since I have my trusty To Bring On A Camping Trip list now. ?

(Oh and we are planning another Community Group Camping Weekend in a few months!)

6. I don’t have to always wear makeup.

This past year (in big part thanks to getting brave and going makeup-less on Instagram Stories on a regular basis) I’ve stopped feeling the need to wear makeup everyday or spend a lot of time on my hair. It’s not that I’m giving up makeup or fixing my hair, it’s just that I’m becoming more and more comfortable in my own skin.

I used to pretty much never step foot out of the house without full makeup on and my hair fixed. Now, I often leave the house or get on Instagram Stories with messy hair and no makeup. It feels good. It feels freeing. And it’s evidence of the work that has happened in my heart in the past two years.

I still like being put together and try to spend a little time making myself presentable every day, but I stopped worrying so much about what other people think or say about how I look. Some days, I have on a cute top, cute jeans, cute shoes, and full makeup. Other days, it’s a hat, 6-day hair, workout clothes, and little to no makeup. It doesn’t change who I am inside.

And I’m learning that the people who love you most don’t care about how pulled together you look or not. And that the people I want to attract online won’t care, either. There’s so much freedom in just showing up as YOU — on the great hair days and the messy bun days.

(Oh and we also discovered — thanks to doing a week-long skin patch testing procedure in December — that I had developed allergies to a number of different makeup products I had been using. So I’ve cut down to only a few products that are approved by my dermatologist now and my eczema has been world’s better!)

7. I absolutely LOVE Boston!

On our 14-day road trip, we had planned to swing by Boston and check out a few of historic sites there. It was our first time to visit and we quickly discovered we wanted to do a lot more than “swing by” and we ended up spending all day there and fallen madly in love with Boston!

Within a few hours, I told Jesse, “I think I want to move here. Or at least rent an apartment in the North End and come visit for a week every month.”(Hey, a girl can dream, right??)

I adored the coffee shops, the open air restaurants, the quaint streets, the scenery, the smells… I almost felt like I was back in Rome! And now I can’t wait to go back and visit!

(You can read more about our day in Boston and see all of the places we visited here.)

8. I have sort of become a pet person.

You guys. I never thought I would be a pet person. Ever. Um, well, Quill has changed all of that.

I have found myself showing other people pictures of him on my phone and talking about him with people when they are talking about their pets… and I’ve caught myself and have been like, “Who are you anymore?!?”

Well, apparently, this little guys has weaseled his way into our hearts… including my formerly-non-pet-loving heart.

And now my kids are hoping that my severe pet allergies will just up and go away so that we can get a dog! 🙂 (I am allergic to basically all pets — except pretty much reptiles and hedgehogs!)

9. I feel so free when I live as loved!

“Something has changed with your writing…” I’ve heard this comment over and over again the past year.

Yes, something has changed — not just in my writing, but in my heart.

Last Fall, I started a 9-month Discipleship Program at our church. I knew that the program was not your typical Bible Study, but I had no idea that it was going to be like 9 months of intensive counseling!!

One of the biggest aha! moments for me was the section on idols. I discovered I had a major “Approval idol” and that it was driving my decisions, ruling my parenting, and hurting all my relationships.

I’d always known I struggled with being a people-pleaser, but I had no idea how deep my need for others’ approval ran nor how it was wreaking havoc in my life.

As a result of that discovery, I started paying close attention to the why behind everything I do.

“Why am I stressing about my response to her? Why do I feel like I should invite her over? Why do I want to make sure she knows xyz about me? Why am I feeling the need to explain or apologize or hold back information? Why am I scared to be honest and vulnerable?”

And on and on I questioned myself, only to realize that most of my decisions were ultimately being made thinking of other people’s approval — and often, it was people whom I didn’t really even know well!

I’m on a journey of inward healing and transformation and I’m learning to bask in the truth that my Heavenly Father loves me. As I am. Right now. Period.

When I rest in His love, I can live as loved… without having to stress over what someone else thinks of me.

There’s so much freedom there! I can love my husband, parent my kids, invest in relationships, post on my blog or on social media… and bring my true self — the raw, the messes, the real, the beautiful — without having to agonize or stress or expend energy worrying how I’m being perceived or what others think.

10. I’m learning that struggling as a parent can produce beautiful results.

This year, I’ve struggled as a parent more than I ever have. My neat little boxes of how I thought I should parent have been blown to bits by some unexpected circumstances.

Someday — when the time is right — I’ll share the journey with you all. For now, I’ll just say that I’m learning to parent all over again in a brand-new way.

I’m learning to step back and stop trying to micromanage my kids’ lives. To stop trying to stuff them into the little mold I had created for them and instead to embrace exactly who God has made them to be. To stop being frustrated when it feels that they aren’t right where I think they should be/making the perfect decisions I think they should be making/responding or acting exactly as I think they should be.

I’ve tried to stuff my kids into my little box of what I thought they should be instead of embracing them fully for how God has wired them. I’ve attempted to squelch their zest for life because it’s meant too many messes, too much spontaneity, too much unpredictability.

I’ve shut down their ideas as impractical. I’ve talked more than I have listened. I’ve cleaned more than I’ve snuggled. I’ve been frustrated when they were so different than me instead of embracing how uniquely God has designed them.

I’ve written to do lists and plans and schedules when what they really needed was for me to just sit with them, love them where they are at, step into their world, and be present with them.

As I’ve done this, I’ve gotten to not only know my kids in brand-new ways, but I’m closer with each of them than I’ve ever been.

I’m grateful for the wake up call. I’m grateful for hard things that come into our lives that end up challenging all of our current way of life and show us that there is a better way. I’m grateful for a God who uses unexpected circumstances to wake me up and shake me out of my unhealthy parenting ruts.

I’m grateful that my kids want me to be so involved in their lives, that they want me to spend time with them, and that they are so willing to overlook and forgive me when I fail and mess up.

I’m grateful for second chances. I’m grateful for grace.

Motherhood has humbled me, broken me, and remade me.

Motherhood has taught me to trust Jesus like never before, to let go of what other people think of me, and to make decisions in the best interests of my own kids — even if other people didn’t understand.

Motherhood has opened up a depth of love and compassion in my heart that I didn’t know I was capable of.

And it’s radically transformed my understanding of the Gospel. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

I love my kids so fiercely — even on the downright awful days. But to think that my Heavenly Father loves me even more than that? It’s mind-boggling.

What did YOU learn in 2017? I’d love to hear!

 

I have been working on a surprise project the past 2 months and finally get to tell you about it! I’m launching a live group coaching in January called 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life where I’ll be walking you through some life-changing principles to help you live a much more productive and fulfilled life.

It’s designed for you if you…

• Wish you could change your life, but don’t where to start
• Hope to find a way to become more productive and get more done, but feel overwhelmed by the thought of taking yet another productivity course or reading yet another book on time management.
• Want to make 2018 the year that you actually stop wishing and hoping and planning and start DOING.

Doors will open for a few days only beginning January 1, 2018. If you are interested, you’ll want to sign up to be on the waitlist because you’ll be the first to know when it’s available and you’ll also get access to my brand-new printable called 6 Ways to Start your New Year Well.

Go here to sign up — I can’t wait to have you join me for the live coaching!

Okay, y’all… I was kind of embarrassed to be writing this post. Because it flies in the face of pretty much my entire post about blogging changes that I wrote at the beginning of 2017.

But sometimes, you think something is a great idea, you try it for a year, and you decide that it just doesn’t.work.at.all. And then you decide to take back everything you had committed to and try something else.

That’s exactly what I’m doing. And I’m not going to apologize for it.

Honestly, I’m really glad that I tried the one-year experiment of only blogging about money-related topics (except for my weekly Sunday posts). It was clarifying for me.

When I started 2017, I had envisioned that I was going to start multiple blogs and have those other platforms to share what was on my heart and share the many eclectic topics I am passionate about.

But then, we launched YourBloggingMentor.com and I realized how much work it was to run two blogs. I thought maybe it would get easier after a few months, so I just pushed back the launch of CrystalPaine.com. After a few months, I still knew deep down in my heart that I just didn’t have the desire or capacity to run more than two blogs.

(For those of you who aren’t bloggers, let me just say that it takes a LOT of work to run each site — especially when there are email newsletters and social media and strategy and technical things involved. It’s a lot more than just posting a post each week. There are many, many behind-the-scenes things involved in running a site and having multiple sites makes things much more complex — especially when it comes to technology and plug-ins and strategy!)

I loved building YourBloggingMentor.com from scratch and I wanted to keep focusing on that, plus overseeing MoneySavingMom.com. It felt right to just have the two sites and I fell into a good rhythm with writing posts and overseeing projects. And my team found a great rhythm, too, and things were really humming along.

Deep down, however, I really missed sharing inspirational posts/real-life posts/peek into our life type of posts, talking more about books I was reading, posting about organizational projects, and other topics that I’m really passionate about. I felt like I had all of these posts I wanted to write and things I wanted to share and I had no place to put them.

As 2017 started to wind down, I began toying with the idea of bringing those types of posts back here on MoneySavingMom.com. And around that same time, multiple people mentioned to me how much they missed those types of posts.

And I began to realize that it’d be okay to end my year-long blogging experiment and bring back so many of those types of posts here that many of you love so much and the ones I love to write! It would mean a little bit more time and effort for me — but MUCH less time and effort than it would be to start a third blog to share those types of posts.

In addition, I realized that I have good breathing room in my life right now and a really flexible schedule work-wise… which means I’m in the space to be able to devote to writing more posts. Plus, writing inspirational and practical blog posts is incredibly life-giving for me!

So, with that back story, here’s how the blog is changing in 2018:

1. I’ll Be Blogging More & Talking About Non-Money-Saving Topics

While I’m still passionate as ever about saving money and being wise financially, I felt so restricted to only be talking about money-related topics. And I know that many of you used to come here for my intentional life type posts and real-life posts more than anything.

So beginning this week (you may have noticed?), I’m bringing back the types of posts I used to share — things I’m learning, what I’m trying, what I’m cooking, what I’m organizing, what I’m reading, things I’m thinking about, goals I’m working on, and so on.

I’m giving myself permission to see this as my blog again and not a niche blog that is only focused on money topics. Which gives me free reign to blog on whatever topics I feel would inspire or encourage or motivate you. Or that I just want to write about! 🙂

Don’t worry, my team will still be sharing the great deals and freebies and printables you’re used to! We’ll just be adding in a lot more of my voice here! In fact, I’ll be writing a content piece almost every day. You can also expect to get a lot more of a look into my life — not just money-saving or money-related topics!

2. I’m Experimenting with Themed Days

I’m going to try something to see how it works… I can’t promise that I’ll stick with this long term, but I’m going to stick with it for at least 3 months and see how it goes. I think it will work, but I just don’t want to box myself in if I end up deciding this just doesn’t work. 🙂

I’m planning to try having themed days, where I post on a specific topic each day of the week. This will allow there to be a good mix of topics and variety here, but it will help me stay more organized in my post planning (at least that’s my hope!).

Here’s my plan for what I’ll be posting on:

• Sundays — A Peek Into Our Week Posts: These will be the Sunday posts that you are used to, only these will be more focused on showing pictures of what we did the past week and giving you a peek into our life and activities from the past week + what I’ve been pondering/thinking about.
• Mondays — Book-Related Posts: So many of you have requested that I bring back my book lists and book reviews, so here you go! I’ll be sharing all things book-ish on Mondays. From what I’m reading, our read alouds, and honest book reviews, to talking about my progress on my goal of reading 100 non-self-help books. 
• Tuesday — Organizing-Related Posts: I’ll be sharing organizational projects in our house or ways that I’m organizing my life/business/home, things that are saving my sanity, plus possibly time management tips or ideas I’m experimenting with.
• Thursday — Cooking-Related Posts: In this posts, I’ll talk about what I’m cooking/baking, share recipes we’ve loved, share kitchen tips,share kitchen flops, or give you a peek into freezing cooking I’m doing.
• Friday — Money-Related Posts: On Fridays, we’ll be exploring money-saving ideas, money-related ideas, ways our family is saving money, and ways to make money or get into a better financial situations.

3. I’m Taking Wednesdays Off

Did you notice that I skipped Wednesday in my list of Themed Days above? That was intentional!

In my Word of the Year post, I talked about how one of the things I’m going to do in the spirit of SLOW is to take Wednesdays off from business/bogging work. I had attempted to do this for a few months in 2017 and it (mostly) worked. But I hadn’t made it a public goal, so I struggled to stick with it.

Since I typically work a half-day on Saturdays and Sundays are for church, volunteering, and Community Group, I thought it would be fantastic to have a day in the middle of the week where I’m offline and have a SLOW day.

The idea of a SLOW Day first originated from Monica who blogs at The Homespun Heart. She often posts about their Slow Days and I’ve always wanted to do something similar in my own life.

So we moved some things around in my schedule and in my work schedule and my goal is to be completely offline all day every Wednesday. I probably won’t do it perfectly every single week, but that’s what I’m aiming for. 🙂

This will give me time to slow down, breathe, read, spend more time with Jesse, invest in our local community (Wednesday mornings are when I co-lead a small Discipleship Group at our church), and just enjoy a more relaxed pace with the kids in the mornings and evenings since my day is almost entirely clear.

I think it’s going to be a good change. And something that will be great for my heart and soul!

So I won’t be blogging on here on Wednesdays, but you’ll be in good hands with my team and they’ll still be posting deals and sometimes sharing a post that I’ve pre-scheduled. My hope is that by taking Wednesdays off, I’ll be even more inspired and fresh on the other days to share great posts with you, share on Instagram, and share on Facebook Live!

What Would You Love for Me to Write About?

There you have it! My three big blogging changes for 2018.I’d love to hear from you if you have any special requests of types of posts you’d especially like to see me share or write or any topics you’d love for me to tackle. I always welcome your suggestions!

I have been working on a surprise project the past 2 months and finally get to tell you about it! I’m launching a live group coaching in January called 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life where I’ll be walking you through some life-changing principles to help you live a much more productive and fulfilled life.

It’s designed for you if you…

• Wish you could change your life, but don’t where to start
• Hope to find a way to become more productive and get more done, but feel overwhelmed by the thought of taking yet another productivity course or reading yet another book on time management.
• Want to make 2018 the year that you actually stop wishing and hoping and planning and start DOING.

Doors will open for a few days only beginning January 1, 2018. If you are interested, you’ll want to sign up to be on the waitlist because you’ll be the first to know when it’s available and you’ll also get access to my brand-new printable called 6 Ways to Start your New Year Well.

Go here to sign up — I can’t wait to have you join me for the live coaching!