The Face Behind The Screen

Deciding to start a blog was the most rash decision I ever made. I kissed my husband goodbye for work and the thought of a blog popped into my head. So I opened my laptop and began writing. Mind you, I don’t make decisions fast and without a minimum of 29 hours of though behind every decision I make. This includes what to eat for lunch, if I want to check Facebook or Instagram first, and what color mug I should buy at the store. But this was an easy decision. I suppose that’s because there was no risk involved, it was safe, fool proof, and I just plain felt like it. So here we are, you reading this from your couch, and me, typing at the library today. I sincerely hope that this venture turns out better than my attempts to journal daily, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy my rambles and rants.

So who am I? Well for starters my name is Courtney Winter. If you like coincidences, my maiden name was Winters, and my husband grew up 10 minutes away in the same small town as me, but we didn’t meet until I was 19 and he was 21. I am fiercely in love with him. He is my best and truest friend, my rock, my role model, and I don’t mean any of those words lightly. I’m sure he will often come up in my writing, so you’ll probably know the name Russell pretty well. We have been married for 4 months, and time is already flying by. I promise to tell you all about the wedding, the honeymoon (in EGYPT!), and what married life is like at a later time. Russell and I are also new homeowners and as such, I am immersing myself in conjuring my inner HGTV star to upgrade our 1930’s home. If you like DIY projects then I am sure you will be visiting here often, because there will be a lot of blogs about that.

Being a 20 year old girl, I’m sure a lot of my articles will sound straight outta Pinterest, but what else do you expect to read? Well I’m glad you asked. I have experienced a lot of things people my age have yet to go through, so I’d like to think I bring a little something extra to the table. Planing a wedding before I hit twenty has actually taught me a lot about myself. I enjoy the pace, the creativity, and have begun to help at friends weddings running day-of events. I also really like photography, and am expanding my experience to begin a business. I have traveled to Egypt and learned a lot about culture, travel, history, and people. I have a deep love for the eighth graders I lead on Wednesday nights, and am pursuing work in youth ministry. Learning Spanish and the guitar are just two items on my bucket list, that may just forever get put off to the side. I am a New England Patriots fan til the day I die (I live in Illinois, so my death may come prematurely from local Bears fans) and get extremely competitive at the weekly guys basketball group we play at.

The core of who I am is a Christ follower. I’m not the most diligent Bible reader, not the most humble leader, nor do I always have all the right answers, even if I’ve always been seen as a goody two shoes. But that’s the best part about being a Christian is that I can recognize my flaws and seek forgiveness, all while recklessly seeking to fix those flaws. There is hurt and chaos in the world, but the best part is seeing the small little rays of sunshine in the darkness. I want to share with you my ah-ha faith moments, the triumphs of my middle schoolers in discovering their faith, how making God the base of our marriage has given us a better relationship than any other couple I know, and how even when I am failing to actively seek Him, He is still showing up and reminding me of His faithfulness.