This summer was one of those summers where it was here, then gone in the blink of an eye. Summer is typically my most celebrated season because my birthday falls smack in the middle of it, but even with me turning the big 2–5 this past July, the golden rays of of summer time shine seemed to drip through my fingertips.The main reason why I failed to experience much of summer’s best this year (I went to the pool once and didn’t even watch Fourth of July fireworks!) was because I got engaged right at the beginning of the season. With wedding planning instantly taking 100% of my focus, all the delights of my favorite season went by unceremoniously.One milestone in particular that went virtually unnoticed was the 4th year anniversary of this blog.Recognizing this, I recently spent some time going over everything I’ve done with the blog and how its grown up until this point. While I laughed when reading some of my old post and relished in the memories behind all those crazy goals I set 4 years ago, I was sad to recognize and admit that over the last 2 years, I’ve let the blog get a bit stale.As I was clicking through the more recent post – taking note of their content and the amount of empty months in between, I sensed that my lackluster blogging emerged from something deeper than pure busyness. Something wasn’t quite “right” but I knew that “something” was causing an unnamed resistance between me and blogging the way I wanted to.At first I thought I had gone too far into the “natural hair blogger” realm, neglecting the “self-improvement” aspect that this blog was birthed from. I went back and read one of my very first posts and confirmed that this hunch was partly true - in my more recent blogging, I hadn’t devoted nearly enough time to all the non-natural hair categories I originally built this blog on. In fact, in that first post, I detailed that Think & Grow Chick would be about the following:

• Money/Employment
• Style
• Beauty
• Health/Fitness
• College
• Organization/Time Management
• Spirituality

Over the course of 4 years, these categories have, as expected, evolved but the gist remains the same. I’ve always been passionate about encouraging women to think about, and take responsibility for, their personal growth. So why wasn’t I blogging? Why wasn’t I taking responsibility for this blog’s growth?As I thought about what even prompted me to start this blog in the first place – reading the book Think and Grow Rich and getting inspired to apply the steps in every area of my life – I finally realized that the foundation for my personal development knowledge has shifted. I still love the book Think & Grow Rich and I’ve gained a ton of insight over the years from various self-help books, but I realized that up until now, there’s wisdom I’ve gained from one book in particular that I’ve left out: the Bible.In the last two or so years that I’ve gotten serious about reading the Bible on a regular basis, I have been inundated with all kind of insight and wisdom that has positively impacted my life. For instance, the book of Proverbs has taught me the importance of persistence, discipline and listening to wise counsel. And just the other day, I came across the promises that God laid out in the Book of Jeremiah, which thoroughly encouraged me and helped me get over a spell of self-doubt and fear I had concerning going after my goals.One of the biggest influences the Bible has had on my thought process has been in steering me away from wanting money just for money’s sake and instead, seeking to fulfill God’s calling on my life regardless of the money it brings. Even the people that inspire me now all seem to have that same mindset. Three women in particular that have done an amazing job of weaving their relationship with Christ into their creative work are Sunshine Abuwi, Nikisha Brunson, and Heather Lindsey. I love everything they have built and desperately want my creative work to reflect God in the same way.So what exactly am I saying? I’m saying that when I first started this blog, though I was a (new) Christian then, I sought to find insight for personal development and accomplishing my goals through self-help books and gurus, then figure out a way to make it relevant to the lives of young women on this blog. But now that I’ve been growing in my faith personally, a curious thing is happening. I’m gleaning less and less from pop-culture self-help books and more and more from the Word of God. Who would have thought! :-)So what does that mean for Think & Grow Chick? It just means that I’ll have more to offer you: I am now bringing a spiritual depth to the blog that I haven’t before. I am still an avid reader and enjoy seeing what popular authors have to say about self-improvement, (I just posted a new career advice book, Lean In, on the bookclub) but because Think & Grow Chick is more than a blog to me - it’s the beginnings of a movement - I can’t in good conscience continue to gloss over the real insight I gain on a daily basis from God. I have to share that too.

I am now bringing a spiritual depth to the blog that I haven’t before.

A few months ago, while browsing at Anthropologie, I stumbled across Darling Magazine, a new type of magazine for women that I have become completely obsessed with. Billing itself as the antithesis to typical women’s magazines, Darling seeks to present realistic, diverse images of women, promote fashion that is modest yet supremely stylish, and generally uplift women in a way that isn’t done by most women’s glossies.One of the things that really struck me when reading their mission statement is their belief that while typical women’s magazines are “often afraid to address spirituality, or regard the spiritual world as foolish or unnecessary,” Darling Magazine believes that “pursuing spirituality and a life connected to God is the key to personal growth, living well, and loving others.”I could not have said it better myself.