Brewing Up Some Piping Hot Doubts


I met Nicolette on Twitter. 

{Somehow that still sounds funny to me.} 

She’s a social media consultant in New York City and I answered her tweet for guest bloggers to write for her travel website. She liked my query and published my post, then invited me to join her weekly Twitter chats.

At first I observed the action from a safe distance, because I really had no idea what to do on a live Twitter chat. 

I finally figured out that the tweets fly fast and furious as travelers check in from all over the world to answer questions on a predetermined topic using the group’s hashtag. 

Although I felt intimidated, I told myself if I answered just one question, I would consider my effort a success. Then one week as I was liking other travelers’ tweets and they were retweeting my photos, I realized I was actually having fun. 

Maybe this foray into the Twittersphere wasn't so bad.




I wrote a few more guest posts and it didn't really strike me that they all featured what I cooked or ate during my travels until Nicolette asked me if I’d like to be the travel website’s food correspondent and contribute monthly posts.

That sounded like an assignment that could really whet my appetite! 

But before she got the wrong idea, I confessed that I wasn't much of a world traveler. France and Italy were the only stamps on my passport. 

She said that qualified me as far as she was concerned but then I didn’t hear from her after submitting some recent posts.  

I’ll admit I spent some time fretting that my writing wasn’t travel-worthy after all. Maybe my photos were too amateurish and maybe Nicolette just didn’t want to hurt my feelings.



So this month I wrote about coffee and when I submitted it to her I included a little note that I’d be happy to write about any topic she suggested.

She replied promptly that she didn’t know how it happened but during an unexpectedly busy summer, she’d somehow overlooked my last few posts in her email box and they'd completely slipped by her.

She said she was excited to share them soon. 

So when doubts about what you’re creating start brewing in your heart, when you aren’t sure you should press on, and when you think you have nothing to say or give or share, can I tell you this?




Keep doing what perks up your heart. Be faithful in your daily grind.

Because maybe everything doesn't look as muddy as you thought.

Maybe what's leaving a bitter taste now will sweeten over time. 

And maybe when you wake up and smell the coffee, the delightful aroma of something delicious brewing will revive you.

So grab a cup of coffee and come join me over at Nicolette's site, Culture with Travel

I'd love it {a latte!} if you checked out my post on how I break the international coffee commandments when I travel abroad. 

{Click the image below.}




I'm having coffee with my friends at Holley Gerth's place at Coffee for your Heart, where my blogger friends are sharing their posts.




Comments

  1. Oh gosh, I love this, Valerie! Your words, your journeys, your photos are re-tweetable, that's for sure! I'm so excited, yet not at all surprised at yet another door swinging wide for you.

    You're a very talented woman with a unique worldview and fascinating experiences. You're going to bring it big time, girl! Can't wait to follow along in the shadows ...

    ;-}

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    1. Hi Linda,
      You're such an encourager :) I can't imagine what I'd do without you here to cheer me on! xo

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  2. So true Valerie, that often we make stories in our head of what we 'think' is happening (maybe my writing wasn't good enough) when the truth is absolutely the opposite. I tend to wonder 'what did I do wrong?' when really it isn't about me at all! Hopping over to read about coffee. BTW...so far Iceland has had the best coffee of any of my travels. Very unexpected but true for me!

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    1. Oh Lynn I do that all time -- make incorrect assumptions and how that robs the joy of so much of what we do in life, doesn't it?

      Coffee in Iceland -- I've got to hear more of that travel story! Consider posting about that experience soon!

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  3. Congratulations Valerie! I knew that your food/travel/photos/writing combination was too beautiful not to be shared! I can't wait to see where God takes you with all of this! And thank you for sharing such good truths here--for coffee and for life. :) --Blessings & Hugs!

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    1. Hi Bettie,
      I think coffee just might be one of the truest pleasures in life! Having the opportunity to write about my travels actually forces me to travel more, because I'm really not an adventurous traveler at all. It's funny how things like that motivate us, isn't it?!

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  4. Congratulations, Valerie. :) You have such a unique and pleasurable writing style, I'm sure you will put smiles in many hearts. :) My eyes teared up when I read this - "So when doubts about what you’re creating start brewing in your heart, when you aren’t sure you should press on, and when you think you have nothing to say or give or share, can I tell you this?" Thank you for reaching out to me this week. God used you to give me the nudge I needed. Blessings and hugs to you!

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    1. Hi Trudy,
      I'm so glad you're thinking about blogging with us again -- we've missed you! xo

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  5. I really enjoy reading your blog. I especially love the pictures that you post with your blog. Are they all pictures that you have taken on your travels?

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    1. Hi Jim,
      Yes almost all of the photos are mine except for a few contributed by my sister and mother when they travel! :) Thanks so much for reading!

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  6. I just love this - I can't tell you how many times I get a wrong vibe or thought and it completely spins my mind into a tizzy (don't think that's even a word) of doubt and feelings of unworthiness. Your words helped me to put a fresh perspective on that way of thinking. Thank you for brightening my world a little with your weekly posts. I love each and every one of them!! - Shawna

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    1. Hi Shawna!
      Yes tizzy is most certainly a word because well --I'm always in one, it seems! :) haha It is crazy though how they spin us and we imagine all sorts of things that aren't necessarily true, isn't it? I'm so grateful that you read my posts and I think it's time to grab another cocktail at Nona Blue! :)

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  7. Valerie, this is delightful on so many levels! I'm going to share it with my daughter, who loves a good pun almost as much as she loves Starbucks. I also enjoyed your post on the travel site ... I had no idea there were so many rules about how to drink coffee in other countries! I shudder to think of all the culinary etiquette breaches I surely committed on our adoption trips to China (beginning with asking for forks at restaurants). Thanks for bringing some smiles to my world today. :-)

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    1. Hi Lois,
      Oh my goodness, I can't imagine the challenge of traveling to China -- and what an intriguing blog post that make if you wrote about asking for forks -- I'd love to hear about it! :) Thank you so much for reading my travel post, too -- I'm so grateful! xo

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  8. Hi Valerie! I am so excited for you! This is so great! What a great fit for you! I look forward to reading what you wrote about coffee ! Yay! Thanks for this encouraging post! This sums me up now pretty much perfectly-"So when doubts about what you’re creating start brewing in your heart, when you aren’t sure you should press on, and when you think you have nothing to say or give or share...” (its like you read my mind!! ) And my life does feel like a daily grind at the moment!! Thank you for pressing me on! I need these thoughts to get me going again- summer’s events have kind of sidelined me from my creative things and I am trying to figure out how to get back to it! Thankful for your good words and gracious spirit! Always feel blessed here- xo

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    1. Hi Susie!
      Oh I am so glad to hear that you might get back to being creative again and rejoin our little blogging community! We have missed you so! :) Thank you so much for sharing my excitement about writing travel posts. It's actually motivating me to travel more and dream up food adventures for my posts -- and I happen to think that might have been part of the reason for this delightful opportunity. :) Looking forward to see what you create soon -- lots of love headed your way! xo

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  9. This is so awesome, Valerie! I am a foodie and love pictures so this is "my cup of tea" right here. What a blessing to be able to share adventures with more people! Praying you are richly blessed in your daily pursuits with God. Thanks for being an inspiration and encouraging us!

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    1. Hi Meg,
      So glad to hear you're a foodie too! I love reading recipes in cookbooks, looking at pictures of food and of course eating delicious food -- but cooking it-- well, that's another story! haha :)

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  10. VAlerie!!! YOu are amazing how you write! A God given ability and gift. I love all the coffee terms. It made my heart happy. But I can relate very much so with this. I recently joined a mastermind group where everyone is so focused and have all these goals to be successful and I am in a spot of limbo because I think God is telling me to do something but not sure what or how or with who. But I just know. Even though I have this beckoning from God, I still feel like I am just floating on by in cyberspace. But I am still going to keep on faithfully write because it does perk up my heart.

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    1. Kristina,
      Your kind words are so appreciated! But if God planted a tiny dream in your heart or if using your gifts makes you connect with him and others, you have to keep doing it! I'm cheering for you! xo

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  11. That was punny! :)
    I am proud of you for venturing into Twitter. I will never understand it! That is so cool that she likes you, but none of us are surprised!

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    1. Sarah,
      I thought that was the nicest thing to say! :) You are too sweet!!

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  12. This made me chuckle because I have been in the exact same place as you writing wise - making submissions, being on deadline, and having all sorts of doubts about what I'm even doing. But then I remember that writing brings me joy and the only thing I can do is keep on trying - maybe even a latte! ;)

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    1. Kylie,
      I often think that I'd keep on writing in my little online space even if I'm just writing to myself because I like to write -- we'll keep on dipping the pen in the inkwell together, friend! xo

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