Do You Ever Think About What You Post on Your Blog May Mean to Those Who Read It?

Do you ever think about what you post on your Blog means to others?

I want to tell you a little story ..........

Something that profoundly effected me and lifted my spirits greatly.

Shortly before Christmas, I was very sad and depressed over the passing of my friend , Rose Marie, and my friend, Lisa, moving away to another state.

Rose Marie

Lisa

I was wondering if all the decorating that I do for Christmas ( 17 trees) was really worth it and if my time would not be better spent doing something else.

I then received an email from Lynn, who found my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas, online.
I am going to share parts of this email with all of you, with Lynn's permission. I want all of you who Blog and put yourself " out there" to know that what we say and do on our Blogs are not only for us personally.

And PLEASE, do not think that I am doing this to "pat myself on the back" or "sing my own praises" .

In fact, Lynn's words humbled me so and reduced me to tears....

Debbie,

I came across your home on the Christmas Tour of Homes.....and I have spent the entire afternoon just on your beautiful home. I am in absolute awe and cannot get enough of it. I wasn’t even in the Christmas spirit this year. I lost both my Grandparents this year and its been very hard for me. I was in doubts of even celebrating Christmas this year but you have lifted my spirits and put a smile on my face, which hasn’t been there in several months.

I cannot get enough of your home! I am putting all of my decorations up tomorrow! You are such an influence to all of us!

As I mentioned before, I was questioning myself as to why I put myself through all that I do to decorate our home for Christmas and other Holidays.
Lynn's beautiful words lifted my spirits and made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I am meant to do this.

I did email Lynn back Thanking her and shortly after Christmas, I received another Email:

Hi Debbie,

I sent you an email back before Christmas thanking you for sharing your Debbie-Dabble Christmas blog, as well as your life. If you recall, I was going through a very emotional time due to the loss of both my Grandparents. Before I found your blog I had no intentions of celebrating Christmas at all. But, as I told you in the previous email, you changed my life. You gave me inspiration and hope. During the month of December I watched your blog every single day. Often, several times each day. I mustered up the energy and dragged out all my decorations and got my house in order. Although my Grandparents weren`t physically here this Christmas, I know they were spiritually right beside me the entire time. I even went to their home, which is a mobile home and is exactly twenty feet from my front porch, and got some of their decorations that have been around my entire life. I moved back to this area to take care of them and my Grandpa helped me build a small 800 sq ft house, right behind their mobile home. My house is small, but it works for me. Like you, I am pretty much wall-to-wall décor. I call my style Country-Victorian-Cottage. It`s somewhat a collection of all three styles, leaning more towards the cottage side.

With Christmas being over, I have been spending all my spare time reading both your blogs. I think I have watched everything you have ever posted. It’s a lot! LOL....I have loved every minute of it! I now feel like I know you and your family on a personal level. Isn`t it strange how someone we have never met can feel so close and so much a part of ones family?

My hobbie is going to yard sales, thrift stores, Goodwill and all of those wonderful places. Since I have started watching you, I have really been racking up! I have now done something I have never done before. I have decorated for Valentines Day! Mind you my decorating is no where close to being as beautiful and extravagant as yours, but I am working on it. Valentines Day is also my birthday, so I get to celebrate twice

I spent most of this afternoon looking at your "back yard" blog. I am so excited now for spring to get here so I can start buying flowers and yard ornaments. I keep having to remind myself you probably didn’t get everything you have overnight. Im sure its been years in the making. But, I want my home to look as wonderful as yours and I want it NOW.....lol

How many times have all of us been inspired by something we saw on someone else's Blog and we have tried to duplicate it in our own homes because we fell in love with it.

Imitation is the greatest form of Flattery in my book!

Again, I was brought to tears by Lynn's email. She had so touched my heart......

Shortly afterward, I received a package in the mail.

Lynn had decided to part with and gift to me some of her precious Grandmother's handmade items, along with some other treasures that made her think of me while she was out Thrifting.

Lynn's Grandmother's Embroidered Pillow Cases.....

So pretty....


Straw Berry curtains that her grandmother sewed herself....

Lynn knows that I do not have a kitchen widow and has granted me permission to recreate them into something else......


Lynn had pictures of this darling dresser scarf on her Grandmother's dresser from 1957 !!!!

Don't you just love this?????

And some treasures that she found that she said reminded her of me.....





I cried when I read her letter and realized that Lynn gifted to me some precious items that were her Grandmother's because reading my Blogs helped her through a " most difficult time in her life " and she felt that her "Grandmother would want me to have them."

I am sure that all of you can imagine how touched I was by this one gesture of kindness by a woman that I have never met.

Lynn, beautiful person both inside and out.....

Lynn and I have emailed each other back and forth and have become online friends.....

If you ever doubt the Power of Blogging........

If you ever think that no one is paying attention to what you say and do.......

If you ever think that you are going unheard and your thoughts are meaningless......

If you ever question the amount of time spent on your computer Blogging....

PLEASE remember this story that I have just shared with you.

Lynn feels that I have helped her and inspired her but what I want Lynn to know is that her very kind words have changed MY life as well.

When I was so depressed and saddened during the Christmas season , I actually thought that maybe I would stop decorating our home for the Holidays the way I do.

Lynn's words changed my mind and made me feel that maybe there was another purpose to my decorating insanity!! And maybe in the grand scheme of things, I am supposed to continue to do this.
So I will continue to decorate my home like the crazy woman that I am until I can no longer physically do it anymore.

If you are reading this and have been inspired by someone's Blog, PLEASE take the time to let them know it. You may change their lives as well!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, LYNN!!!!!

On a different note, I did go to the GI Dr. and he thinks all the problems that I have been experiencing is Irritable Bowel Syndrome brought on by a virus. An intestinal virus can irritate the lining of the bowel so much that it can bring on IBS. So I am on medication and I have to watch what I eat:
No coffee, chocolate, Caffiene, fatty fried foods, some fruits and vegetables, soda and some dairy products.
I have lost 8 pounds and with this type of dietary restrictions, I should be able to lose more. That is a good thing as I am grossly overweight and truly need to lose weight . Of course, I do wish that there was another reason as to why I am losing weight.

I am feeling better but still not myself .......

So I have been a little slow on getting things done. Watch for my Blog Anniversary Giveaway coming soon and when I decide the perfect places to display the treasures that I recieved from Lynn, I will share that with all of you also.

Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers!
It means the world to me!

I also want to Thank Cindy for featuring me this week over @ her It's a Woman Thing Link Party!
It is truly an honor, Cindy!

I am linking up to these great parties because I want other Bloggers to realize the impact they have on others:

Masterpiece Monday

Show and Tell Monday

Blue Monday

Mod Vintage Mix Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Cozy Home Party Tuesday

Home Decor and Organizing Link Party

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

Rednesday

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Open House Party Thursday

Homemaking Link Up Party

Home Sweet Home Friday

Show and Tell Friday

Potpourri Friday

Vintage Inspiration Friday

Thrifty Things Friday

Tickled Pink Friday

Pink Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best

Please take some time to visit these terrific hosts and all those joining in on the fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and every day that you take the time to visit with me!

Hugs,
Debbie