What do think is the most difficult part of getting to know someone? Do you find the initial meeting to be super awkward, or the long stretch to become close friends to be arduous? I believe that the way you answer this question says a lot about you. There are some people that excel in small talk, but don’t enjoy digging deeper. Then, others hate the small talk of meeting someone and love all of the following meetings that knit together an amazing friendship.

I tend towards the latter. While I don’t hate small talk and I’m not necessary shy (anymore), I find it very difficult to keep asking question after question, hoping that I can even walk away remembering the person’s name! Ugh, remembering names…that is totally one of my weaknesses.

Anyway, since I hope this will be just the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship, let’s get started with the introductions.

Hi! My name is Laurelen Müller. Yep, my first name is a doozie…it’s pronounced “LOR-uh-lin.” I really do love my name, but you can only imagine all of the pronunciation varieties I’ve heard over the course of my life!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been writing in my free time. I had the biggest imagination as a child. I used to ride around my neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri on my Razor scooter (oh yeah) and make up countless, elaborate stories. I’m sure my neighbors didn’t think I was “that weird, homeschooled kid” at all.

As I got older, I began to write down a few of these crazy stories. They’re no bestsellers, but hey. What 9-year-old sits down to write in her free time? My parents were happy.

Fast forward a few awkward years of braces, a REALLY bad set of bangs, and a move from Kansas City, Missouri to Louisville, Kentucky.

I became a Christian when I was in eighth grade. Some are surprised to hear that it was so late in my life, as I grew up in the most amazing Christian home. My dad was a pastor for many years, wrote several books at the same time, and now is a professor at seminary and teaches at conferences almost every weekend. To say I heard the Gospel almost every day is not an overstatement. However, it took one cross country practice for the Lord to open my eyes to my sin and his grace. After practice, I overheard one of my friend’s moms talking about how many parallels there are in scripture to running (e.g. “running the race set before us in Christ Jesus,” etc.). God opened my eyes in that moment to see that I was not even walking with him, let alone running! That night, I read and believed the Gospel, and prayed and asked God to save me. I didn’t tell anyone for a few months, but finally did around Christmas of that year. I was baptized the following July 4th (Independence day…yup. Independence from the weight of SIN! And, like, England.).

As I entered college, that’s when all of my “extracurricular writing” went away for a while. I suppose when writing becomes a daily academic exercise, you lose your fervor to do any more than you must. To be honest, I think I really lost touch with who I was during this time of my life, and failing to write down my thoughts was a big part of that.

While in college in Indianapolis, Indiana, I met the most amazing man. We went to the same church, and eventually ended up in the same bible study. I remember how nervous I was, sneaking my way over to his side of the room, trying to strike up a conversation with him. We were both so awkward around each other, it took an entire year for us to start spending time together. A year!! (Ladies, please have more courage to pursue the man you’re interested in than I did. But also, don’t be crazy.) We started dating in the fall of 2013, got engaged in August 2014, and got married in March 2015. Then…surprise! Our son, Trippe, was born in May 2016.

(Pictured Above: My husband, Michael, and son, Trippe, while vacationing in Charleston this past summer)

I stayed in a writing drought throughout most of that time. I think it was such an overwhelming season that it was hard to add anything else to my plate; even something I enjoyed doing. Along with my busy personal life from 2013-2016, I also was a full-time choir teacher. And by full time, I mean 60-80 hours per week. It wasn’t until the spring of 2017 that I decided it was time to start writing for my own sake again.

It’s been a long process to get to where I am now. It feels so good to finally be doing what I’ve dreamed of doing for so long: sharing my heart with other women through a daily blog about the beautiful things God is teaching me and cultivating in my life on a daily basis. For me, writing down my thoughts and expressing ideas is like therapy. I enjoy it, and I hope others enjoy reading it. I think most clearly when I am writing. There is great beauty in letting words flow out of your soul, sometimes expressing ideas and emotions that you didn’t even know were there.

So, that’s me! I’m sure throughout our time together, you’ll discover many more quirky things about me, such as my love for bright colors, adventure, coffee, musicals (have you seen Hamilton yet?), and coffee. Did I mention coffee?

Alright, time to go change a diaper and fold some laundry. I can’t wait to get to know all of you, and I am so excited for the future. Blessings!