how I am falling back in love with the Lord & with life

the story behind the new publication name "Dwell & Delight"

Oh look, it’s another rebrand lol!

And by rebrand, I mainly just mean a new title on Substack and maybe a new logo and color scheme. But in all seriousness, I just wanted to make a little note about what is going on over here and what this change actually means.

A Quick Backstory

If you are new to this newsletter, I originally had a previous publication here on Substack that was doing really well and that I was having a lot of fun with.

But in 2025, most of my focus was on trying to grow and learn how to create on short form platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

I used to work in social media marketing, and as a stay at home mom who was spending way too much time doom scrolling, I told myself that I either needed to get creative and start making things or just stop being on social media altogether.

All of last year I had so much fun learning the ins and outs of those platforms from a creator standpoint instead of just being a consumer.

But like anything good in this life, a good thing can become a god thing if you are not careful. I really was not writing as much. I was just trying to grow instead of bring glory to God.

The Substack Accident

Then I fell in love with the Substack community and began to take it more seriously.

However, right when I started taking it more seriously, I accidentally deleted my newsletter when I was trying to update my email.

I even got in touch with Substack support and they said there was nothing they could do. When something is deleted, it is gone. They could not even figure out how it happened. I think it was a glitch on the mobile app, but I lost all of my articles along with everyone who was subscribed to me and everyone I was subscribed to.

So in October I had to start fresh.

Trying to Do Too Much

I was feeling really overwhelmed trying to come up with a schedule that would work for me because I had so many ideas but not really enough time or bandwidth to post them.

I came out with a few different series and started repurposing some of my old content that I had backed up, even though I lost most of everything.

At the same time I also started working on my second children’s book and a digital product.

And in the midst of all of that, I started trying to make myself more into a brand.

I love the idea of personal branding and coming up with a way to cohesively tell a story through colors and fonts and images and things like that, especially as someone who used to work in marketing and branding.

I was trying to learn all these skills and eventually figure out how to make a little money through my writing and my creative work.

When Branding Started to Feel Like Pressure

But in the midst of it all, I started to feel like I was drifting away from my authentic voice because I was getting too focused on making myself into a brand instead of just being a person.

I wanted people who came across my work to feel like I had something valuable to offer.

But eventually it started to feel less like me sharing the things I have learned while rebuilding a softer, more intentional life after burnout and seeing how God has worked in my life and is still working in my life.

Instead, it started to feel more like I was trying to prove to others that there would be something worthwhile for them if I could just package and market my stories and my content more effectively.

I began to feel out of touch with how I was writing because I was so focused on making sure it would be useful to someone else instead of just sharing it like I would if I were texting a friend.

Why I’m Pivoting

Because on Substack, while you absolutely can build a business here and many people do, and I would love to do that someday, at the end of the day what I really love is connecting with people.

I love reading other people's journeys and learning from them through personal storytelling instead of branded marketing.

That is not to say that I did not learn a lot or that I did not have fun while I was doing it, because I really did.

But anything can slowly drift in a different direction if you are not paying attention.

So I want to reel it back in a little bit and refresh this newsletter.

Honestly, as a creative person, if you are not doing little refreshes every once in a while, you can start to lose your passion.

And since this is a personal newsletter and not really a business that I am running, I am realizing it is not that serious.

I want to take it seriously enough that it could lead to something more serious one day. But at the end of the day, this is a community building outlet.

What I Actually Want This Space to Be

While I do want to encourage others through my writing and my stories, I want to do it from the heart.

I want to share with you the way I would share with a friend, not the way I would share if I were the CEO of a nonprofit telling my story in order to get you to buy my product.

Even though I genuinely stand by what I have written and shared before, and even though I do have a digital product that I have been working on, I do not want to spend all of my time and energy marketing myself.

I want to connect.

And that is honestly the whole reason why I majored in public relations in the first place. At its core, it is about connection, and that really is the essence of who I am on a deeper level.

The New Direction

So with that, I am pivoting the newsletter away from trying to be this digital magazine that I was building and bringing it back to something that feels more like a little snail mail newsletter.

Something simple where I can share and encourage other moms and women.

All the advice I have heard from content creator coaches says that you should not create selfish content or content that focuses too much on yourself.

But at the same time, I lost my own voice when I kept trying to make everything about everyone else.

I just want to be open and share my journey and what God is doing in my life. I do hope it encourages others.

I also have a digital resource that I have been working on that gathers together themes that helped me when I was in the midst of burnout. These are themes I learned from other women, things I learned personally, ideas rooted in biblical principles, and practical and sometimes fun ideas that I have gathered along the way.

Why “Dwell & Delight”

So with that, I am calling this newsletter the Dwell & Delight newsletter.

And honestly, it might change again later. But right now it feels like the best way to describe the season I am in.

It captures my personal journey of learning to slow down and dwell with God in the mundane and savor the moments that I am in while I am in them.

It also means sitting with my feelings and actually feeling them instead of trying to rush past them. A few years ago my therapist told me that I do not really feel my feelings. I tend to intellectualize them instead.

So the content probably will not change all that much, but the delivery will. And I am hoping that this shift creates more connection between me and you, sweet friend.

Learning to Dwell & Delight

I am learning to dwell and delight in motherhood and in my faith instead of constantly rushing past things.

Sometimes it is hard to dwell when you are feeling burnt out. It takes intentional effort.

And sometimes it is hard to delight when life feels heavy or when you are walking through difficult seasons.

But that is my goal. That is the journey I am on as I try to live more intentionally, and I cannot wait to share more of it with you.

A Small Creative Refresh

I am also thinking about changing the color scheme a little bit and incorporating more yellow.

Yellow is not even my favorite color, but lately I have felt drawn to it now that it is spring. It just feels joyful and bright, and I want to bring a little more joy and lightness into this space and not take things quite so seriously all the time.

Delight as a Discipline

Because God delights in us. And we can delight in His law and His word.

Those things can sometimes feel challenging, and sometimes I think I have made the Christian walk feel so serious that it begins to feel like something I have to do instead of something I get to delight in.

Sometimes I even feel like God does not delight in me.

But I want to remind myself, and anyone reading this, that delight is actually a discipline.

And the discipline of delight brings us more in line with God’s design for our lives. When we engage in intentional rhythms, when we do the hard things now so we can enjoy the fruit later, and when we obey God’s commands, there is actually so much freedom in that.

We just do not always remember it.

So I hope you enjoy this little pivot for the newsletter and that we can learn to dwell and delight in the Lord and in life together, sweet friend.

Much love,

Sarah