Simplify

I've just spent the past 4 days at our district's family camp in my role as district women's ministry director. It was a great time of fellowship, ministry and praying and chatting with different women.

I had a good conversation with a friend about my ministry, writing and blogging and what I could do to bring in some extra money. 

I love blogging and the blog posts that seem to get the biggest response are the ones on simple living, frugality and how to make our dollars stretch. The idea that she put in my head is to start a website on those things where I can monetize some of the information in the form of training, cooking and canning classes or downloadable pdfs of tips or recipes, YouTube videos or podcasts. 

As I mulled that over, I didn't want to give up the blogs I do where I give words of encouragement or some lessons that the Lord is teaching me because I know that people find those helpful as well. 

So I think the place where I've landed is to keep this blog and then set up a separate website and blog which will be solely devoted to the ideas mentioned above. It's still a work in progress and muddled in my head so I am formulating a plan for that.

The reason I would do a separate blog and website for those items is that I find this venue has too broad of a focus and subject matter. Many people who are looking specifically for frugal tips and simple living ideas won't wade through other subject matter. The other thing is that blogspot is kind of an outdated mode of communication and while it works for what I use it for, it seems that if I I want a broader audience, I need a more up-to-date platform. This would simplify things in my mind a bit. Hearts in Service will continue to be a blog where I can write about my faith, ministry and bring some encouragement to you all. The other site would be specifically for simple living and frugality. I would link both sites so people can find either. 

I want to bring in a source of income that will allow me to continue to minister alongside my husband, but also helps pay some of the bills! The money I brought in from my sewing didn't make me wealthy, but it did help with haircuts, clothing and some spending money. So I'm missing that extra income.

Anyway, that's where I'm at for now. Please feel free to share your ideas of blog posts you would like to see along the lines of simplifying, sustainable living, etc.

Stay tuned for more! We will see how this all shapes up.

#frugalliving #simpleliving