The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

Tell me about yourself.

My husband Aaron and I have two awesome elementary kids with a ton of ideas and initiative. (I just wish initiative wasn’t so messy!)

As a writer, speaker and friend, I am particularly drawn to kids and adults who feel like their deep thoughts and intense feelings are trapped inside. I totally know what it’s like. I help people navigate the deeper places of the soul in order to release their authentic voice and creative self-expression. I am currently in the editing process of writing a book about my own journey from soul-protection to soul-expression. Subscribe to my email list for resources and information.

I co-founded a special community with Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and John Maxwell Team member Laurie Hock. Born For This is a growth-minded community that awakens aspiring leaders, activates influencers, and amplifies the impact we can create together. The February 2016 Born For This workshop in Kearney, Nebraska will be a highly engaging, interactive weekend designed for you to experience with your group of friends. Registration opens soon!

When I chose my bachelors and masters degree programs, I had no idea that Music Education and Counseling Ministries would prove to be the perfect preparation for my work as a writer today.

When did you start blogging and why?

My life changed when I saw Frozen for the first time. No, I’m not being sarcastic!

To me, the movie was so much more than princesses, female empowerment, a cute snowman and fun songs. I started crying when Anna asked Elsa if she wanted to build a snowman. I literally cried through the entire movie and didn’t stop for days. I relate intimately with Elsa’s power, self-protection and ultimately the freedom she experiences when she finds out that Anna loves her unconditionally. The young motherhood years were incredibly difficult for me and I came to the movie feeling like a failure. In the end, Elsa offers all that she is within the context of actual relationships. That image calls to me. It took me a year to gather courage and get my thoughts in order so I could share what the movie means to me. I posted Frozen Top Ten in November 2014 and the next week declared myself a writer. It’s been a crazy-fun year of learning how to navigate the online world

What are some of your favorite sites on the net?

goinswriter.com

Jeff Goins is my go-to for writing, speaking and entrepreneurship advice and inspiration. The Portfolio Life is the best podcast for artistic Internet entrepreneurs. He calls out the best of each thought leader he interviews. I love it. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Honestly? I sleep in until about 7:30 some mornings. Messy initiative in kids is actually responsible initiative in the mornings. It’s awesome. The kids get themselves up and ready for school!

Now that our youngest is in kindergarten, I spend most of the time between 8 and 3 working. I threw myself into book-writing the first week of school and am still deep in that process.

3-8 p.m. I focus intently on my family and then I write or research some more before going to bed. We work hard and play hard.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to blog or share his/her story?

Journal! I had no idea that I was practicing to be a writer when I was a young adult, but I filled 21 journals in 8 years just to get things out of my head and heart and onto paper. You can journal to God or your future self. Get comfortable with how you express your thoughts and feelings. You’ll get used to writing and reflecting upon the stories of your day and then when you really want to share a story, submit to Her View From Home and start a blog.

If you don’t know how to start a blog, or if you want to tackle it strategically, join a Facebook group I manage called “Strategic Blogging From The Heart.” We share tons of ideas and free resources.

What story are you most proud of?

My first Her View From Home article. The assignment came just as my Grandma passed away so I wrote “This Too Shall Pass” as a tribute to her beautiful faith. But a close second is the one published here this week: “An Open Letter To Sandi Patty.” I was thrilled to have the opportunity to publically show her my loving gratitude for her impact on my voice. And she re-tweeted it! It’s fun to see the comments of others who feel the same way.

How can people follow you?

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Subscribers get the best of what I have to offer, including an excerpt of my book and other resources. I link to all of my articles and Born For This information. It’s also an easy way for you to interact personally with me because you can reply to the email and I will respond.

Click here to Sign Up! http://eepurl.com/brFfNz

I hope to hear from you soon!

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Andrea Wenburg

I’m Andrea, author of the bestselling book, UNFROZEN: Stop Holding Back and Release the Real You. I'm a wife to Aaron and mom to two beautifully creative kids. When they're not around I'm working as a writer, speaker and strategist for my company Impact By Design, helping people find and refine their "voice" in the world as a person and/or a Personal Brand. I love writing about the experiences and lessons I learn on my journey to find, refine and express the voice of my heart. I do what I do so others might be equipped and inspired to realize how they might be holding back so they can release their true selves for the sake of others. You can find more of my writing, audio and video, on my website http://andreajoywenburg.com You can also find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreajoywenburg?ref=hl And Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndreaWenburg B.A. Music Education M.A. Counseling Ministries

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

In: Friendship
Woman walking away

Ever since Ashley Tisdale wrote about leaving her toxic mom group, I have noticed something shift among women my age, moms in our 40s who built friendships through school drop-offs, soccer sidelines, neighborhood walks, and birthday parties. Here is the thing….no one wants to be labeled the “mean girls mom group.” Recently, I was out to dinner with a friend when she shared something that stuck with me. A woman had quietly left their local moms’ group and later treated them as if they were exclusionary. The final straw? She had sent a group text at dinnertime and no one...

Keep Reading

I’m Going to Tell You the Things Your Mom Should Have Told You

In: Living, Motherhood
Mother with three grown daughters

During my oldest daughter’s freshman year of college, I started being haunted by a recurring dream of an old-fashioned suitcase—one of those hard-sided ones that’s as big as they come. In the dream, when I open the suitcase, it’s overflowing with clothing, shoes, and all kinds of stuff that belongs to me and each of my three daughters. Everything in the suitcase is all jumbled together. Nobody else in the dream is worried about sorting through everything, but I am totally stressed about it. To top it all off, I have to deal with this suitcase while preparing for a...

Keep Reading

Your Worth Is Not Someone Else’s To Measure

In: Faith, Living
Woman looking over canyon

Insecurity is something we all carry in one form or another. For me, it has probably always looked confident and outgoing from the outside. But internally, it can feel heavy, complicated, and exhausting at times. And when someone comes along whose behavior reinforces those insecurities, it amplifies what was already there. There was someone I had hoped to genuinely connect with, but it was clear from the start that the feeling wasn’t mutual. From the beginning, their wall was up. No matter how kind I tried to be or how carefully I showed up, it never came down. Their distance...

Keep Reading

My In-Laws Don’t Like Me and It Breaks My Heart

In: Living
Family silhouette by the water

Since I was a little girl, I dreamed of what it might be like to gain an entire family when I got married. My parents were lovely. I never wanted for anything, and I had very involved grandparents. However, any other family was far away, and much of my childhood was lonely. I dreamed of brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law and their spouses to do life with. Maybe we would go on road trips together or stay in and play games and have a few drinks. I dreamed of raising our kids together and giving my children the cousin memories I only...

Keep Reading

We Fell Out of Friendship

In: Friendship
Woman gazing out window with coffee

It was just a normal Monday afternoon, sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. I had one kid reading her Kindle quietly, one loudly proclaiming facts about the different fish in the large tank, and one arguing with her just because he could. I had completed all the forms online before our appointment, so we were simply waiting. Then you walked in. You, who used to be the sister of my heart.  Summers of sleeping in tents in my parents’ backyard, while you told me terrifying stories. The smell of hairspray from ’90s dance recitals while we twirled...

Keep Reading

There Was a Shooting at My High School; Can I Keep My Kids Safe Anymore?

In: Living
Kids with backpacks in front of school, view from behind

It is enough. I have had it. I had thought this year would be better. I tried to will it. I tried to convince myself with my resolutions during that first week in January. I typed my goals up in a neat little list. I was specific. Looked at it each morning. My goals focused primarily on being a good person. On prioritizing spending time with the people I love and the people I am responsible for. My goals focused on seeking the good while I feel there is a foot in a heavy boot on the center of my...

Keep Reading

Every Neighborhood Needs a Baby

In: Living
Woman playing pat-a-cake with a baby as toddler looks on

My grandmother was astounded when I told her I had met so many of her neighbors after we had only lived in her house for a couple of weeks. Grandma had decided to move into a senior citizens’ apartment building, and the timing was wonderful. John and I had been renting a townhouse, but once our baby, Christopher, was born, the situation wasn’t ideal any longer. Christopher was very fond of being awake and vociferous during the night, and the paper-thin walls of the duplex were horrible. When Grandma broached the idea of us renting her small two-bedroom home as...

Keep Reading

God Carries Me Through the Deep Waters of Change

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood
Woman at the beach as waves come in

“Ahhh!” My underwater scream garbled in my snorkel tube as the manta ray’s cavernous mouth swept a hand’s distance from my face. My fingers tightened around the surfboard until my knuckles ached. My arms trembled. I jerked my head side to side, searching for my daughters, Mia and Megan. Recent college graduates, they had joined me on one last mother-daughter vacation before launching their adult lives. They floated easily on the vibrant Hawaiian water, relaxed, trusting. I wanted to borrow their calm. Earlier, our guide had explained that the LED lights built into the surfboard attracted plankton the way college...

Keep Reading

When Did We Change, Mama?

In: Living
Elderly mother and daughter

When did we change, Mama? Was it a moment? Or a gradual shift? When did I stop coming to you with my burdens and fears, and make room for you to come to me with yours? When did I sense you needed more comfort and guidance than I did? That it was time to present only my best side? My confident, reassuring, everything is fine side? So you wouldn’t have to worry needlessly, obsessively, like always before. Was it when I first began to notice you struggling to ease out of your favorite chair? Or the times you started forgetting...

Keep Reading

My ‘Dusty Son’ is 5

In: Living, Motherhood
Little boy holding out dandelion bouquet

As moms, we categorize everything. Girl mom. Boy mom. Wine mom. Outdoor mom. Farm mom. City mom. Now there’s been an uptick in social media trends about exposing our girls to worldly and fancy experiences so someday they’re “not impressed by your dusty son.” I won the parenting jackpot (in my humble opinion) and have an older daughter and a younger son. He’s five. Not a grown man making real-world decisions. Not a college kid learning how to adult. He’s five. He loves dinosaurs and Mario. His big sissy and his Great Dane. He is incapable of cruelty and is...

Keep Reading