Those of you who subscribe to my blog were probably scratching your heads a couple days ago as a random-looking email from me appeared in your inboxes with the same photo you see above.

I want to clear the air, respond to any silent befuddlement, and confess that I goofed (although, perhaps you enjoyed that beautiful, Hawaiian, sunset picture of the sea turtles coming ashore to sleep for the night).

Allow me to explain…

My website was completely redone recently and I was taking a self-guided tour of all the brightly-colored tabs, fancy bells, and new whistles that are now available for me to use as I craft my weekly blogs.

Being the techie-challenged person that I am, I sought the help of a younger friend who is much savvier in website stuff to see if she could help me navigate this behind-the-scenes maze.

As we were pushing buttons, uploading photos, and changing settings, we accidentally posted our “test” blog – that we thought would be something only we could see.

Until we realized it wasn’t.

At that point, all we could do was laugh at our mistake.

Mistakes.

They happen to all of us, don’t they. On a daily basis usually.

I used to be afraid to make mistakes, honestly. I thought people might look at me differently, even negatively, if I made them.

I equated mistakes to failure.

The truth is, though, that mistakes are incredible opportunities for growth.

What can we learn from our mistakes? What can we do differently so that we don’t make those mistakes again? How can we get better?

History tells us Thomas Edison tried 1,000 times to create the light bulb and that each of those attempts were unsuccessful.

He is quoted as saying, “I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully found 1,000 ways that will not work.”

What an incredible perspective! Definitely one I want to embrace more and more.

My technical mistake Monday taught me some valuable things about my new website including which buttons to push and which tabs I should avoid!

Which brings me to – MY. NEW. WEBSITE!

*Insert celebratory fanfare here*

I couldn’t be more excited to unveil it and invite you to take a look at it!

It can be found at kristen-west.com and has a completely different look than my previous site. There’s new information; new pictures; new pages; and new places to sign up for emails and weekly blogs!

There’s new links to my Facebook and Instagram accounts; a new email to contact me; and a new link to book me for your next event!

A huge shout-out to Market Refined Media for their professional work and expertise in building my new site and to Hannah Taylor for her exquisite photography that truly makes this site come to life.

I hope you’ll check it out; subscribe; follow; and share it with your family and friends!

Until next time, Grace and Glory!