greetings loved ones

let's take a journey

Hello dear reader(s). Blakely here … you may not remember my name because it’s been sooooooooooooooooooooo long. But nonetheless we meet again. <3

The last time I wrote was August of 2025 … almost a Y-E-A-R ago (how?) but I did tell you I didn’t know when I’d write again 🤷‍♀️. If I tried giving all the updates from then to now you’d be reading a mini novel. So I’ll sum it up like this - a lot has changed.

This morning I found myself back on Substack, re-reading my past entries. I found so much warmth in reflecting on the journey - the journey that God has had me on these past years. One that reminds me a whole lot of the Hulk ride at Islands of Adventure (iykyk).

For the sake of the rest of this entry, here are the major updates …

1. I got engaged AND married to my 🍯

2. I moved to the ~middle of *somewhere*~ Oklahoma because said 🍯 is in the Army 🇺🇸

3. I still do my job (social media management / podcast) but now work fully remote

4. Moving and transitioning to military life has been allllllll the feels.

And here’s what God’s been teaching me —>

1. Two things can be true at once: A friend in college taught me this lesson — but it’s never been more true for me than in this season. A prime example of this was the week after my wedding. The ‘morning after’ I woke up on day 2 of my period (iykyk) with a 102 fever and a full travel day to my new home of Oklahoma ahead. Somehow … by the grace of God and the strength of my husband who carried all my bags (🫶) we made it. I plopped down in my new zip code with a fresshhhhh newlywed label - feeling the whirlwind of all that just happened. That first week was extremely hard yet also amazing to the degree it makes me teary-eyed as I reflect on it. Physically sick & homesick BUT also beautifully sweet - two things true at once. In the process of adjusting to life here, this theme has carried. I’ve learned more and more how to allow the absolute joy of being married to Lawson and the stretching adjustments to a new life exist at the same time. It’s in the balance of the two that we receive the gift and blessings from God while also relying on His strength to carry us. You don’t need to convince yourself to feel one or the other - there is so much beauty to be found in accepting the good, the bad, and the ugly - and allowing God to meet ALL of your needs. 🤍

I’m going to add just one more because I didn’t expect number 1 to be as lengthy as it ended up (I never edit or cut down these substacks - it’s veryyy raw for better for worse)

1. Pride is so real. And releasing the grip of it on our lives is quite painful. In the quietness of my new Oklahoma life, I have done my fair share of self reflection. *the couch, me, and my morning matcha are unstoppable* - In the many hours of reflection, I have become painstakingly aware of the pride I have carried, am carrying, and no longer want to carry. Pride can be disguised as confidence and birthed from painful experiences of the past. But as the days have gone by, I’ve seen the effect it’s had on my relationships — especially my marriage. Being married to Lawson has allowed me to strip the blinders a bit and see the ways in which pride has so secretly tiptoed its way into my life - an unwillingness to admit my shortcomings, hesitancy to do things a different way, so on and so forth. The stripping of pride is a painful one- kind of like ripping a bandaid off your arm. The bandaid has been protecting a wound - maybe it’s something that happened to you in the past or something you want to prove - but it’s time to remove it and allow God to bring healing.

I hope these words and experiences meet someone today. Or perhaps it can serve as a moment of escaping your own life and reading about someone else’s for a bit … lol. Nonetheless, I missed this. I missed writing and sharing. I love reflecting on all that God is doing in my life and I truly truly pray that above all, you would feel the love and pursuit of God over your life today.

(and I encourage you to sit and study Colossians 3… it is changing my life)

It’s time for my work day to commence 🤸 I think perhaps I’ll write another Substack this week, sharing all my recent skin, home, etc products I’ve been loving the past year cause I feel I’ve come up with a good and reliable list. 🫡

Signing off … for now 🤿

The best is still very much so yet to come … Heaven

Xx blake