blogging Archives - Bare Feet on the Dashboard

21
Mar
2016

A Shift in Focus

IMG_1222 (1) — My view while speaking at our YoungLives North Central Texas Girl’s Night Out.

If you are a faithful reader here on Bare Feet on the Dashboard, you’ll know that I’ve been involved with Young Life ministry in many different capacities over the years. I stepped away from a full time role in ministry four years ago, and this blog that was just a hobby became a way to provide for my family and fill in the gap in our income made by leaving my full time job. It was truly a gift from God, and the success of this blog was truly God’s provision for my family. Thank you all for being part of that journey. Every page view and link clicked helps us, and we greatly appreciate you. I never set out to be a career blogger, but I found myself with an accidental full time job here on the blog. Things became overly commercialized, and with every paid advertising post a little bit of the joy was sucked away. This blog became something I never wanted it to be.

Towards the end of last summer, I knew that God was pushing me to shift my focus from working on this blog to working part time for Young Life again. Though I’d had a seasonal part time job with Young Life over the last few years, this new job would require more of my focus and attention year round. While I was sad about setting aside this space I’d worked so hard to build, the ministry of YoungLives (YL’s outreach to teen moms) captured my whole heart and ignited my passion. By December I knew it was time to let go of the blog completely. I walked away completely for three months. I don’t know whether or not my voice here was missed, but I felt like my subscribers and followers deserved an explanation.

I will still post here occasionally, but I promise it will only be when I am truly moved to write by joy, passion, or need. The content on the blog will stay up as long as it makes financial sense to continue to pay hosting fees. We no longer depend on the blog for income, and the freedom that brings is unbelievable. I will still be sharing about our life – mostly on Instagram. Please feel free to follow our adventures there @barefeetonthedashboard. Thanks for being part of our story.

05
Mar
2015

Four Ways to Work from Home Efficiently

categories: blogging, tech

If you are stuck in a cubicle all day or in a job you hate, working from home might seem like a dream life. Working from home definitely has its perks, but it can also be a major challenge and a huge adjustment. The truth is that while working from home is amazing and awesome, it is not always quite as glamorous as you might think. I work part time from home running this site and as an administrator for a non-profit called Young Life. While I love getting to be home with my kids and taking Downton Abbey breaks during the day, it can be very difficult to get things done with two small kids running around. In order to work from home efficiently, I have to be diligent and disciplined. I have to set boundaries between work and family, just like a regular job. Lately I’m trying to implement the four tips I’m sharing with you today to help me be more efficient and keep my work/life balance in check.

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19
Oct
2014

Best of DFW: Must Follow Dallas Fort Worth Bloggers #DFW

categories: blogging, DFW

Living in a huge metroplex like DFW has its perks, one of which is an awesome blogging community. I love connecting with other folks who understand this weird job I do and understand making a living in the digital space. They each have a unique voice and website with fabulous content and resources applicable to life in DFW and beyond. I hope my favorite Dallas Fort Worth bloggers will become your’s, too. Check them out and follow along.

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29
Jan
2014

The Great Migration from Blogger to WordPress

categories: blogging

For the last two weeks I’ve been hard at work switching this little site of mine from the blogger platform over to wordpress. I’m making the switch tonight after agonizing over the transfer and the design details and a million little things. If you subscribe by RSS or Bloglovin’, nothing will change for you but it may take a day or two for everything to show up on the new site. I just want to give a heads up in case you visit and things look wonky. My site address will not change, you will still find me here at barefeetonthedashboard.com. Thanks for your patience and support.

With this change comes a bit of a refocus of the ole blog. I hope to bring more frugal living posts, and possibly a frugal living link party hosted with some other thrifty bloggers. I will tell more of our own story of getting out of debt and living on one income. As my life now is focused on raising my kids, I’ll more posts about kid activities and family entertainment. I’ll share stories about our travels and DIY projects (some with tutorials from my handsome handyman husband), as well as my own crafts and creations. Meal planning is a huge component of our food budget, so I’ll share more about that subject as well. As always, my own faith is the backbone of everything I do, so I’ll continue to share my quest for Life to the Full in Jesus. I hope you will continue to visit Bare Feet on the Dashboard as I make this transition.

22
Aug
2013

Love Letter to Blog Readers Everywhere {Especially Mine}

categories: blogging

Dear Blog Readers Around the World,
Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to read what we, the bloggers, write. I’m not sure if you know how important you are to people like me so I’m taking a minute to make sure you do. Without you, everything we write would fall in to empty space and never be heard. Every time you click on a blog post you are listening to someone’s voice. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Many bloggers write to tell a story, to share their lives, to help others, to reach out. I hope to do all of those things here in this space. Without you, it all falls flat. Thank you for reading my stories, and those of my fellow bloggers. Thank you for listening. Thank you for letting us share way too much about our lives because we need to vent, long to share, are desperate to open up. Thank you for responding, for leaving comments, for sending emails. I love hearing from each one of you, as do my fellow bloggers.

Like many others in this arena, I try to make a little extra money through this site to help support my family. Without you, that doesn’t happen. Every time you click on a blog post you give a page view, which helps that blogger widen their influence. As influence widens, opportunities to make money materialize. Thank you for making it possible for us to live on one traditional income (Jed’s job) by supplementing it with blog income. Every time you click on an ad, read a post, enter a giveaway, or leave a comment, you are helping a blogger provide for their family. When you take the time to share a post you love on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter, it helps that blogger tremendously. Did you know that? You being here, on my site, matters to my family. Thank you. Seriously, thank you.

I am forever grateful and humbled that someone would take the time to read what I write, much less that I would be able to supplement our income through this little space on the web. Thank you for making it possible.
With Love,
Becca

Category: blogging