A New Blog... please come and visit?

Hey friends - I'm excited to let you know that after much consideration, I have decided to start a whole new blog!  I have loved this space so much but felt the need to start a new season in a new little corner of the web.  With a new name!

I call the new space, "Woven."




I am completely rebranding my blog and Etsy shop.  Please head over to my new blog, www.SheIsWoven.com to check it out and read more about why I decided to make the change.

And I would be honored if you would take the time to update your follow links, bookmarks and social media links with my new info as I will no longer be posting here at Mod Memento.  You can find all my new contact info at the new blog.

And later this spring, I will be introducing my new Etsy Shop called Woven // Digital Media.  I will have a brand new collection of prints as well as some other digital art products that I've never offered before!

Thanks so much for reading and encouraging me along my five year journey with Mod Memento!


www.SheIsWoven.com
SheIsWoven [at] gmail [dot] com
www.facebook.com/sheiswoven

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Ready to thaw

I hope you all enjoyed Easter!




Despite it still being in the 30's this morning as I write this, I do feel a sense of newness and refreshment at the start of Spring.  All things new.  Praise God.  I went on a jog yesterday and noticed a few little buds starting to open up all over our neighborhood.  I am literally counting the days until I can break out the sandals and put away our heavy coats.  I am SO ready to thaw out!

In the spirit of a new season, I'm excited to start a new one with this blog as well.  I'm almost ready to tell you about it.  Just another day or two.  :)

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Sneak peek

Just popping in to say that I've been working on something the past couple weeks that I'm excited to share with you soon!  I am planning to post all the details next week.  But until then, here's a little sneak peek that I shared on instagram recently.





Afterwards I had a lot of cute emails and comments from some very observant friends asking if it was baby news.  Sorry to disappoint.... but it's not that. :)


Happy Easter everyone!

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Break

I am going to take a bit of a blog break between now and Easter so I can truly take some time to reflect during this most precious time of Lent. 

Now I wonder, Do you know Him? 

I so want you to know Him.  And Easter is the perfect time to approach Him just as you are. 

No need to get your life in order first, 
or brush up on your bible story knowledge. 
No need do a few good deeds first. 
You don't have to be free from that addiction or hangup before you talk to Him. 

You don't have to know how to pray like a pastor, you just have to start talking.
You don't have to have a spotless reputation, just a willing and humble heart.
You don't have to know all the answers, just have a bit of faith.

Just come as you are.  He already knows you... and still wants you.


I'll be back soon with an announcement!


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Reading & Listening 3.8.13

This week,  I'm R E A D I N G "Treasures of the Darkness" written by Nathalie Wisnant for Naptime Diaries.


And I'm  L I S T E N I N G  to the below song from Hillsong United called "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).  Every lyric is such extravagant worship.






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Snapshots of a Life Unfolding

Photographs are crazy amazing things aren't they?  They show you a piece of who you were at a specific point in time.  But snapshots certainly aren't the full story.  They are only a tiny piece of a chapter.  And that chapter is only a tiny piece to the whole story.  The story of life that God is writing.



My high school graduation day, 1997.

See that girl up there?  Boy was she naive.

My childhood chapters were beautiful, and full of love and security.  And when I look at this photo, I see such a naive little girl....and I'm thankful for that chapter.  She was a good girl, full of life and full of potential.

But she was oh so blind to the real world.  Blind to the suffering and loss and lack that so many experience.  Not a care in the world, she was only beginning to build the foundations of her faith.  It was a shallow, untested faith.  Free from the scars that help to open your eyes and your heart.  Working to understand what it meant to follow Christ.  It was a lot of head knowledge, but certainly no heart knowledge.  But brick by brick, she was laying each truth she learned down onto the walls of what would become a mighty foundation.  This would all become the cornerstone of a greater understanding on which to build her life.

This was just a snapshot of a special chapter.




 My Wedding Day, 2005.

Fast forward a few years and a new chapter began. Marriage.  And this happy, hopeful bride at age 26 had no idea how selfish and prideful she really was.  Marriage is crash course in showing you your true colors.  And thankfully, my husband was willing to love me despite my long list of shortcomings and self-centeredness.

And again, this was just a snapshot of a special chapter. A chapter that has refined my character and sanctified me in ways I never knew I needed.  And it's difficult.  And it's so so good.



I'm so thankful that neither of these snapshots truly defines who I am now, or the full story of my life.  They are simply moments, taken from chapters, taken from a life still unfolding.  And any one photo taken out of context, does not represent the whole story.  I am no longer a naive teenager or a selfish newlywed.  Those were only chapters. 

I hope by the time I am in my 80's or 90's, I will have an album full of snapshots and moments that represent my years of struggles, victories, mistakes, maturity, bad decisions, and life-altering sanctification. 

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A Meetup of Influential Women

Hello to anyone new stopping by my little space this morning!  I'm Bri! And today I am joining in with my fellow Influence Network bloggers to introduce myself and take part in a special link-up we're doing today.

 


If you still haven't heard about The Influence Network, you simply must head over the website and check out all the amazing resources and encouragement for bloggers and handmade artists.  What I've learned from being a part of the Network so far is that I can successfully blend both the "heart and life stuff" and the "strategy stuff" into the same blog.  I don't have to pick one or the other.  They're both equally important to the success of my personal brand.





We are a group of women who want to make our online life mean something.
We are intelligent, inspiring, intentional and influential women. 
We are artists, mothers, entrepreneurs, missionaries, writers and so much more. 
We are pursuing personal and spiritual growth with intention.
We feel called to speak truth and encouragement and inspiration on our online spaces, and not just add to the noise.

If you're looking for a place to find encouragement as you pursue a more meaningful purpose through blogging or a handmade business online, please come and join us at the Influence Network.  You'll find forums and classes and resources and like-minded women in community.  This network has been such an answered prayer for me.  Join us!

And for all my fellow Influence Women reading today, here are 3 quick things about me:

1. I have been blogging since 2007 but it wasn't until 2011 that I felt God calling me to use my blog for something more.   

This blog is my heart and my ministry and my art.

2. I live just outside of Philadelphia where we get to enjoy the beauty of all four seasons in all their glory.   

I would love to hear where you're from, please leave a comment!

3. Music is a daily part of my life and an essential component of my blog writing.  Music often helps inspire my words and helps me to express what's on my heart.   

I love everything from Praise & Worship to Motown to Hip Hop.

For your information...

I am short on insightful words this week but thought I would share another one of my favorite kinds of photography - side by side comparisons that show the passage of time.




One year ago, I took AF to see Beauty & the Beast in the movie theater when it was re-released in 3D.  And this weekend, I took her to see a local high school production of the show.  I love seeing how much taller she's gotten and has since lost two teeth.

I do these comparison photos a lot, you can find more here, here, and here.

In other news, I had the opportunity to guest post over at one of my favorite blogs, Afterbelly, as part of Nathalie's beautiful ongoing series called "The Mamahood".  Head over there to read about my struggle to love sacrificially.



 

And have you seen fashionABLE's new Spring Collection of scarves?!  I'm in LOVE.  Check them out here and consider buying one for someone you love.  Your purchase saves the lives and livlihoods of so many women in Africa who, through their work with fashionABLE, are able to sustain life, dignity and purpose for themselves and their families.  Go shopping!



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