Where to begin?

Hi! Amber Pierson here. I’ve thought several times about starting a blog. Then didn’t do it. Then thought about it some more and still… didn’t do it. Until today, when I decided to stop thinking about it and just do it. I’m the queen of self-doubt. If you want someone to come up with every reason in the book as to why you should NOT do something, I’m your girl. Not really proud of that. But it’s something I’m working on. I think my biggest hesitation with starting a blog kept coming back to me asking myself, “why does anyone care what I have to say?” I also really never felt like I was one for words. I think my husband would agree… But then I decided to just get over myself and do it. I’m a true believer in “if you’ve thought about it more than three times, then it must be important enough for you to do”. Or buy in some cases… at least that’s what I tell myself when my cart is packed full at Target. It’s a real problem. And maybe it’s true, maybe no one wants to hear what I have to say. Hey, I’m okay with that. I think there is something really therapeutic about just getting something out, written. For me, it’s almost a way to just clear my mind and let some of those millions of thoughts floating around in my head out to free up some space for … nothing. Quiet. But isn’t that funny, who really gets quiet anymore. Between the busyness of life, families, work, extra curricular activities, social outings, Netflix, and social media, what really is quiet? But digging into that is for another day. So, maybe you’ll be interested in following along and reading and maybe not. Either way, I’m cool with it.

But why the name? In the “Unfine” Places. I know it can sound a little strange. You know, it’s kind of funny. I attended all of ONE bible study class at my church (I didn’t attend others due to scheduling conflicts BTW…I’m no quitter) but heard something so profound in that one class that has continuously been on my mind. And this was back in January. We were starting a series from Lisa Jo Baker’s book, We Saved You A Seat: Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships. (link to the book below) In our class, there was a video that went along with the reading. This video was sort of setup like a talk show, it kind of reminded me of The View. It was a table of several women just discussing life, the struggles and the realities. It wasn’t even the major topics they discussed that hit me but one thing that Lisa Jo Baker said that I truly can’t remember word for word. It was something along the lines of how we respond when people ask, “How are you?” Social niceties would tell us that we should say, “I’m good” or “I’m fine.” But seriously now, how unrealistic is that? To always be good? Or always be “fine”? And what if I don’t want to just be fine? What if I want to be FANTASTIC? Well, then you’re just being “extra” and people think you’re too excited for life. What if I want to be mad? Well, then I’m just negative and annoying. What if I want to be sad? Well, then I’m just depressing and no fun and don’t no one want to hear about my sadness. EVERYTHING comes with a caveat nowadays and I think that’s just simply crap. I like to think it’s okay to feel how you feel, when you feel it and you shouldn’t be made to feel “wrong” for saying it when someone asks you how you’re doing. Lisa Jo Baker continued to use the term “unfine” throughout that video and I wrote it down in my book several times. I thought to myself, how great is this! You know what, she’s right. It is okay to just simply be “unfine”. So, thank you Lisa, for inspiring me and helping me come up with the this blogs name, In the “Unfine” Places. Because here on this blog, I plan to share life’s struggles, triumphs, adventures and everything that falls between reminding us all that it’s okay to be in those “unfine” places.

XOXO (I thought about always using this as my signature but then… Gossip Girl. So, then I thought, better not)

– Amber

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