Have you ever just been in a funk?! and all the creatives said "amen!" The past few months have been a strange season as I have tried to focus on what I want to do with my business and blog. I enjoy doing so many things and blogging about so many topics, but what should I really pursue and pour my time and energy into? I. Didn't. Know. And to be fair, I'm still not 100% sure, BUT I do know that the funk has magically lifted as of last weekend. PRAISE THE LORD! I wasn't in a dark depressed hole, or sad about life...no no, just in a creative and entrepreneurial rut. I didn't know what to spend my time on, what to create, even down to what Instagram vibes to go for! I had lost my focus and was trying a lot of different things to regain it, but nothing was working. Until last weekend.

I really don't know how it happened, but I'm so glad it did. I have my mojo back ;) If you subscribe to my newsletter (you should.), then you know that I had a busy weekend filled with dinners, a game night, and new friends. A lot of conversations happened over the weekend. I caught up with an old friend on Thursday night....shoutout, 3 hour dinner at Zoe's Kitchen (haha!), I had dinner with the girls on Friday and then met some new friends that night, I hosted a Dallas Blogger Brunch coffee meetup on Saturday afternoon, then went to game night at a friend's house; on Sunday, I tried a new yoga class, then went to a birthday dinner and connected with a few more new people. So much talking.

Somewhere along the way, while hearing about other people's visions, their struggles, their passions, it clicked. What I had been searching for over the past few months finally clicked. It's the reason why I do what I do, why I host events, why I love dance parties, why I carry a disco ball tumbler, and why I spend hours planning brunches each month. It all comes down to one driving force. COMMUNITY. It's so simple, and I don't know how I lost sight of it to begin with. I've always loved creating community - even when I was growing up and in youth group, I always offered our house to host dinners (thanks, Ma!) and I even loved taking event photos back (in the day!) when we actually got film developed! I loved sharing the photos with everyone and remembering how much fun we had together! We were created to do life together, not separately.

When I moved to Dallas, I naturally started hosting dinners and parties at my house with my roommates, game nights almost every week...anything to create space for people to gather in the name of friendship and fun. When I started blogging, almost 5 years ago (!!!), it was because I wanted to share party inspiration and all of the fun theme parties that I hosted and decorated for. Of course, along the way, I got distracted when I tried to eat Paleo and thought I was a food blogger, or when I decided that I was the craft queen and DIY posts would be a great idea (wrong!); I worried that my parties at my house weren't Insta-worthy because of my lighting or my decorations not being perfect, instead of focusing on the only thing that was important- community! Don't get me wrong- I loved beautiful event photos before Instagram existed and will continue to take and share photos even after Instagram (what's after Instagram?!), but I don't want to lose focus of WHY I'm hosting the event that I'm taking photos of... 

COMMUNITY. The reason for the event has always been to connect people, to bring in the outsider, to give people a place to belong. That's why I hosted then, and that's why I host now.

When I created Dallas Blogger Brunch in 2015, it was to create community within the blogosphere; I needed blogger friends, so I found some and made a space for us to gather. When I created Beats & Bubbly in 2015, it was to create community within the church; I had tons of single Christian friends who wanted a place to celebrate together, but didn't have a place to go on NYE, so I made one.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that each of us have a specific purpose and have God-given gifts, strengths, and characteristics that play into our purpose. My purpose isn't just planning events, and it's definitely not just posting photos on Instagram; my purpose is to connect people for the sake of community and bringing glory to God!

I'm not sure exactly what this looks like for The Skinny Arm in the coming months, but I do know that I am very excited about some upcoming projects that have been on my heart for (literally) years and I am finally pursuing them. Here's to getting back to the basics of why I do what I do, pursuing what brings me true joy and fulfilling my purpose each and every day. PS. Community is definitely FUN and definitely includes confetti (and probably donuts).

A couple verses I kept coming back to while writing this post that I hope will also encourage you: 

2 Timothy 1:9 - "He has saved us and called us to a holy life- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace."

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

If you're not sure what your purpose is, look at your gifts and talents, what you enjoy doing, and what areas people ask for your advice! Spend some time thinking about what you want to focus on. I would love to hear what you're pursuing and why!