I’m going to level with you, this is essentially a longer version of the “about” page.
I literally copy pasted it here and then added to it.
Please feel so free to go there and read that much smaller, less rambly version of this.
I’ll begin by telling you this: I am a born-again, on-fire-for-Jesus Christian gal. That won’t necessarily come up in all of my blog posts or even most of them, but I feel it is important for you to know. It is the most important thing about me, after all. This is not to say if you are not Christian you should not feel welcome here, or that I do not want you here. I want anyone here who wants to be here! We can all benefit from learning more, right? Regardless of what we may or may not believe. However, although it may not come up all the time, it will, and if that makes you uncomfortable, there’s certainly no shame in clicking out of here. We’ll miss you.
Why did I start a blog?
Honestly, the idea to do this came to me probably years ago. At one point I wanted to start a youtube channel, because I am what people refer to as a personality. This is for one main reason: I have a big, big mouth. If it’s in my brain, it’s probably coming out of my mouth. As Adrian Monk would say, it’s a blessing and a curse. As I grow up, it has been dialing down a few notches, but I have a lot of progress left before I am as kind and filtered as I ought to be. Anyway, youtube is definitely not my thing, I tried for about five minutes and gave up (it was slightly longer than that but still), so a year or two later here I am, diving into this. Of course, the goal is to make some money with it, because hey, we all gotta survive right. However, I think it will be really fun to share with others what I’m reading and learning and what works and what doesn’t (at least for me). As long as one or two people are positively impacted or find something here to boost their faith, be it something I say or a book I share about, I will consider this to be something of a success.
My Testimony:
I was raised in a Christian household, where we went to church every Sunday & prayed before dinner & read the Bible when we were supposed to, like at advent or Easter.
Despite my upbringing, I ambled through high school with no idea about what living for Christ truly looked like. I went to youth group and all the summer camps, I had my little group of Christian friends, I even stood up for the Lord against my atheist friends on one or two occasions. I wasn’t, however, living for Christ. I was living for myself.
Coming to college, I knew I had to get involved with a church. I’d been going to church my whole life, I wasn’t going to quit now. God led me to meet a student leader at my orientation who connected me with a church leader a few days later, and I had Bible studies with the two of them my first semester at school.
Through that Bible study, I came to realize that I was not only not right with God, but I was also not living for Christ. I’d spent my whole life proclaiming to be a Christian, but I had no idea how to have a relationship with God. However, God was with me, of course, and He immediately forgave me. I’m honestly crying right now just thinking about it, about how lost I was and how much grace He has bestowed on me.
I gave my life to the Lord in September of 2022, as I bawled at a picnic table with some wonderful ladies around me.
The change was immediate. I wanted to read the Bible, rather than slogging through it only when I felt like it. Church became one of the best parts of my week, rather than a chore I dreaded. I looked at my friendships differently, at my relationships with my family members differently, because I wished to give more often than receive. I am so grateful at the way God stepped in to change my life. I can honestly say that I am a new creation, and I am so thankful.
I’ve got no one to thank but the God who loved me first, before I even knew who He was. Thanks be to God for all I’ve been given, and all glory to Him!
Me other than that:
I am currently a college student, studying Healthcare Administration. Although I love my major very much, I plan to go into ministry when I graduate.
Here, I share about my hobbies and what I’ve learned from them. I would almost call this blog a hobby as well, although admittedly I am hoping this hobby can bring in some money (being alive is not cheap y’all!).
I have three main hobbies: Painting my nails, reading, and crafting. I say main because I have a lot of hobbies.
I was an avid nail biter until I was fourteen, and cut myself off with “no bite” from Orly (I can’t recommend that stuff enough) and ever since I’ve been nearly obsessive about keeping my nails polished and pretty. I love all types of nail anything: I’ve tried polygel, dip, gel, regular nail polish, glue-ons, on and on. One thing I do stay away from is acrylics, as they kind of freak me out (somehow the chemicals in the other things I use are more okay in my brain). I rarely do nails that aren’t either sparkly or have art on them, because what’s the fun of that? I also tend to prefer bright colored nails, although lately I’ve been entering into a dark color moment (cray-cray).
I’ve been way too into reading since my kindergarten teacher taught me how to, and recently I’ve been realizing how many wonderful Christian books there are out there for women. I hope to use this blog to help spread the word! I had actually fallen into a lull with reading because I felt like as a Christian, it was hard to find books I could read in good conscience and actually enjoy. It has been so heartening to discover more of what’s out there. I really love any sort of book, though. I especially love fantasy fiction, although it’s usually more important to google those books before reading them to make sure it will be a safe book to read.
Crafting has been a passion (yes, a passion), for maybe as long as I can remember. I have taught myself to crochet, to create with resin, to bead, and certainly more things I’m forgetting at this moment. This summer I’m hoping to learn how to sew (beyond just the basics). I also love painting and am a firm believer in DIY. Getting to paint things or put my own spin and creativity into them brings me so much joy, and of course saving money by repurposing is always a win!
Why do I go by Kiki?
Listen, people. I am putting pieces of myself here on the internet for people to see (risky, I know), and frankly I am not willing to give my name. I don’t know exactly how much protection it affords me, but I am sure it offers some (besides the protection I paid for when I began this blog thru bluehost, amirite?). Kiki is a nickname one of my younger brothers gave me when he was little and couldn’t pronounce my name, and what can I say, it stuck. I am called Kiki by my family nearly as often as my real name, and I answer readily to both. In the same vein, I also at this time am not putting up pictures of myself. It simply feels too risky as a young woman, and I wish to be wise about the way I go about this. Thank you for your understanding.
If you made it all the way down here…wow. I’m impressed. Thank you very much for reading.
-Kiki