1st Anniversary Celebration: Chatting With Mandy and Michele

Welcome to our 1st Anniversary Celebration blog edition! We have had loads of fun delivering to you our best. Be it serious or funny, we are grateful for your stopping by and reading. We’ve seen dreams and plans fulfilled and have set our sights on more. Enjoy our little chat with Mandy and Michele across the miles… stay tuned for some exciting things in 2019!

Tell us how you started writing/blogging and why you like to write?

Mandy: It’s funny because I struggled to write anything worthwhile in college. Fortunately, I had a great professor who taught me how to write. I became his “most improved writer”. That’s not to say that I was any good but I was improved. After college, I left writing in the dust. My dreams and plans did not include writing. At all.

Until that is, I conquered the fear of homeschooling my children. At one point, I actually wrote a letter to the editor… and they published it!

Wow! I kept conquering fears including founding and heading up a homeschool co-op. That gave me some leadership and teaching skills. My first blog was informative posts to my homeschool group.

After acquiring a chronic illness and my kids graduated from homeschool, I took a challenge to write every day in October. I wrote about dealing with chronic pain. That was 2015. I was given quite a bit of encouragement from other bloggers, so the trend continues.

Michele: I have wanted to write since I was 20. So, the seed was planted and like life, some things just take longer to “germinate” and here I am, a year after the blog and my writing world has begun to expand. I like to write because it gives me a chance to express myself, to walk alongside someone else and let them know they are not alone. To tickle someones funny bone or to challenge you… It’s a great way to meet folks and connect.

Mandy: It’s definitely a great way to connect. I have met some endearing friends through blogging.

How did you two start this blogging venture?

Mandy: As I mentioned earlier I took the challenge to write every day for 31 days. This led me to start a new blog which I called GGMandy. Once Michele and I got connected, I encouraged her to write some on my blog. Then we decided to take this new venture on whole-heartedly. Consequently, this blog was born.

Michele: This is a round-about way of explaining this, so here goes… My daughter had a four-wheeling accident, was med flighted, I asked for prayer, my sister-in-law Brenda was friends with Mandy’s sister Marcy and had asked Marcy to pray, Marcy told Mandy, Mandy messaged Michele and THAT is how this all started… PRAYER!

Mandy: Prayer changes things! I love that we lived only a few miles apart and have some great connections and yet, we haven’t really met. (well, you might have been at my Wisconsin wedding reception.)

What are some of your favorite blog posts?

Mandy: I am encouraged most when others are encouraged. I wrote once about my struggle with self-esteem. Believing in Who I Am brings me a smile every time someone comments about how the post has helped them. Writing about Susannah Wesley and Susie Spurgeon gave me the most excitement. I really enjoyed reading about the “saints of old”. The goal is to learn and grow from their lives. I suggest that everyone trade-in your romance novels and pick up a few biographical books to read. You might learn something. 🙂

Michele: Post are like children- you love them all. BUT… I know there are some that I especially enjoyed “rearing”. Kitchen Cat-Tastrophes– a post about a sick barn cat finding warmth and healing ontop of my brownies that were cooling on the patio table. I enjoy regaling tales of my childhood and sharing them with you.

Where do you see the blog taking you?

Mandy: I keep toying with the idea of writing a book. Maybe a 30-day devotional or an informational book about fibromyalgia. It’s still a lofty, kind of scary idea but we shall see. I’m writing for a couple of different online devotional groups at this point.

Michele: Life is changing at a rapid pace. I write for a paper, a real estate company (listings, ghostwriting and scripts) and have started on my devotional. Someday I will be writing a book about our families adoption journey. I enjoy the time it takes crafting my words and seeing them come to life in print… kinda heady 🙂

What can we look forward to that is new at mandyandmichele.com this coming 2019-20?

Mandy: I’d like to hone in and direct my writing into more specific areas. Of course, I want to keep writing about chronic pain. I think I might be drawn to do simple devotional thoughts and maybe Hymn Studies and Lessons from a Movie. This kind of thing. Take the survey below and tell us what you would like.

Michele: One word… PODCAST…

Mandy: Michele… You are making me nervous. LOL!

Check out some of our most successful posts. Click on the image.

Mandy & Michele

Ecclesiastes 4:9 & 10 says Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

That is why my we, Mandy and Michele, have decided to join together to hold each other up and at the same time, we hope that you are lifted up as well. We will share about chronic pain issues and raising children with ADHD, Things we’ve learned about leaving a legacy, and then some fun and laughter along the way as well.

We will be sharing about how God helps us through the worst of trials and the best of days. We hope that you will sign up for our newsletter.

www.mandyandmichele.com