A New Home

So here it is. A new home. A new address. A new design. But the same heart and the same Amanda.

Welcome.

Honestly, I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I loved “The Cadence of a Conquering Housewife,” still do. It’s just a bit of a mouthful. I love the idea of calling out cadences and encouraging each other. That is not changing. I just want a name that is easy and memorable and always applies to me whether it’s “housewife” stuff or not (because Amanda Conquers is always related to me… it is me).

Before I show you around, can I share a story with you?

Legend has it that long ago in the still hours of the night, a Norse army attempted a surprise attack on a Scottish encampment. In the middle of their quiet creeping, one poor Norseman happened upon a thistle, felt it’s thorns pierce his feet, and let out a cry that called an entire army of Scots to action. The Scots were able to defeat the Norse thanks to one humble weed. That flower is now the symbol of a nation.

I don’t know what it is about the thistle. But I think it might be one of my favorite flowers. (Not that I want my husband to go out and put them in a vase for me. I am not so sure they are that kind of flower.) There’s just something about the strength of that humble weed, the tenacity of it, the way it’s hard and thorny and even a little ugly… until the bud gives way to the feathery-soft, arrestingly beautiful insides of the thistle flower. I love the way that lowly weed is so full of purpose… even if it’s hard to see at first.

I think we all might have a little bit of thistle in us. Humble beginnings. A hard and, at times, thorny shell. A fight and a strength. A divine purpose that might just affect the outcome of an entire nation. And a beauty that proves God knows how to redeem ugly… We might fall so short, we might have broken pieces to our lives, but God makes beautiful things.

Arrestingly beautiful. Yes. Us.

Just earth and clay and dust. Low and humble. But redeemed and beautiful and full of purpose. Glory-giving-to-God.

Okay. So now you know the story behind the picture in my heading.

Now for the logistical stuff.

I updated my About Me and This Blog page… I even added some random facts about me. I would love to have you stop by and tell me a little about you or what we have in common. I will be working on migrating some of more pages over (you know, those tabs that go across the top) as I finish updating them.

I lost almost all my comments in the move, but I did manage to get all my posts moved.

If you subscribe by email, I moved my email list over to this feed. You don’t need to do anything to keep receiving my posts. (And if for some reason you would like to stop receiving my posts, just click the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email). If you would like to make sure you never miss a post and have the convenience of reading and interacting right from your email box, enter your email address in the box on the top right or click---> HERE.

If you don’t want to subscribe by email but you do want to make sure you don’t miss a post from me, you can subscribe by bloglovin’ or feedly. They are both awesome ways to see all your favorite blogs in one place and read what you want to read when you want to read it. They have apps for easy phone and template viewing too.

I updated all my online profiles (facebook, twitter… and I am now on instagram. I know I am kind of late to the party, but I am loving connecting through insta-real-life-happening-now-grams). I was able to update my existing accounts so if you were following, you are still following me... I just have a different name.

I installed some new sharing tools that I hope make sharing and saving a whole lot easier for you. You can see those at the bottom of every post.

Okay. I think that’s it for now. I hope to have some more posts up this week. I don’t think I realized how much work a domain change would be. I have been missing writing and am bursting at the seams with thoughts begging to be written down.

Seriously. From the bottom of my heart. Thanks for being a part. Thanks for making the jump with me. For your encouragement. For you readership. I love having you here.

I would love to hear what you think of the new design? Also, am I alone in my love for thistles?  Or do you see the beauty in them too?

By Grace,

Amanda Conquers 

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