Let’s be honest…as I always tend to be… I’ve been putting off this whole writing thing for quite some time now for a lot of different reasons.

For a while, it was mostly my ridiculous excuses that had to do with my poor time management skills…the struggle bus I ride on most days is very real. But then, after more time passed, I started essentially drowning as a new business owner in the world of overwhelming amounts of electronic information and social media, not to mention the list of “tasks” that there didn’t seem to be enough hours in any day to complete. I think this is a common place many of us 21st century Americans and Earth-Citizens in general find ourselves in and are desperately rushing to what we hope will be “the top” for air. In this season and place, I sadly found myself bitter.

I was bitter about everyone else’s soap boxes and platforms. Bitter about too many words. Bitter even about the lovely artistic poetic ways that people presented their words. Not only did I find myself becoming someone on the inside that I definitely did not want to be; I also convinced myself that the world didn’t need any more writers… there were plenty of them, an over-abundance actually, and I didn’t want to be one of them. I didn’t want to add to the noise that was in my opinion the result of anybody and everybody believing that simply because a platform exists (social media or the internet in general) that they are for some reason magically at that point an expert that people should listen to… I know guys… ugly right?

Everyone has something of value to say. Everyone has an important story to tell. And each person has his or her own unique voice…a voice that can carry a message in a particular way that may speak to someone’s heart like no one else can. So, instead of embracing this truth, I got bitter, failed to tell my story, and on occasion sat around in filthy judgment of others who did. Yuck…

So now that you totally realize how pure my heart has been toward “bloggers” and people in general, I’m sure you’re rip-raring ready to read my stuff right!? Let’s take a brief pause for a semi-sarcastic eye roll and let our hearts flood with a little bit of God’s good grace that is needed for Kalettey right now.

So that’s the truth ya’ll! I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. The truth is the truth, and how we feel about it doesn’t change it. I think the truth is always a good place to start. They say the first step to solving your problem is admitting that you have one. So here I am. I’m a recovering bitter blogger.

I’ve always loved writing. As a kid in elementary school, English was my favorite class! As I got older, my passion for putting the pen to paper only grew. I promised myself that I’d publish a book or two one day. The bitterness that was growing inside of me in this era of easy online self-publication even started to convince me that this dream too was for naught.

Six months ago, I felt God tugging on my heart to begin to write…like seriously…it was time. I knew deep down that I had put it off for far too long. That much time has passed since then, and here I am…

A couple of nights ago I picked up a book that has been recommended to me strangely by countless friends and mentors independently of each other over the last 10 years… I’ve owned it for quite a while and have picked it up for a paragraph or chapter here and there a time or two over the years, but this week, I hit the good stuff… Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard is the book. I finally started the chapter where the poor little lame creature (main character) finally starts on his big journey with the Good Shepherd up to the ‘high places’. It was in the little quiet moments that evening reading Ms. Hurnard’s poetry that I felt the little ‘bitter writer chains’ start to fall off of my heart. It was in that moment that I realized, were it not for Hannah and her particular wording to express these particular concepts, I maybe wouldn’t be experiencing that particular freedom at that particular point in time.

I needed Hannah. I needed her specific words. I needed her to be faithful to the calling that God put on her life to write those words down and publish them for others to read and enjoy. I needed this writer. And maybe, just maybe, someone else is waiting for me to be faithful too.

So, my story is a crazy one…full of faith miracles some might struggle to believe if they don’t know me personally. I’m going to tell them anyways.

I’m an honest gal, and you’ll get to know and trust that too if you haven’t already. I’ve been through a lot of challenges and failure in my life, and one thing I’ve learned is that “honesty [in Love] is the best policy”. Either an elementary school teacher or a parent taught me that one. And it’s true. I’ve rarely learned important life lessons from people who are hiding their true identity from me.

So welcome to our Beautiful Feet Studio Blog… I say “our” because my fellow artistic partners will contribute from their beautiful hearts from time to time as well. We’re a community of people (artists, teachers, mothers, believers) who work together daily in a common mission to “bring good” through the arts! Our business name and mission inspiration come from Isaiah 52:7.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news…”

Thanks for walking beside us on this journey. And welcome to where the rubber meets the road.