Wow! The This Odd House blog turns 5 this month! Can you believe it? I sure can’t. But here we are—celebrating what-feels-to-me-to-be a significant milestone.  

Anniversaries are a perfect time to reflect.

So if you’ll indulge me, I’ll do a bit of that…

I created this space in July 2013, at the beginning of a sabbatical year from my teaching job—a wonderful twelve months during which I had oodles of dedicated time to think and pray and read and write. (Doesn’t that sound lovely?! I am currently and officially jealous of my former self.)  

Anyhow…when I started This Odd House, I had no idea how to run a blog. What I did know was that God had done (and continues to do) an amazing and transformative work in our family’s life. I did know that God had called me to write about it. And I prayed that He might use my words to help and heal others.

So I muddled my way through, posting long, irregular, heartfelt, and sometimes deeply personal essays. And lo and behold, you responded! You shared these posts with friends. You made comments, sent emails, and replied on Facebook to say “me too,” “thanks for giving words,” “here is my journey…,” and “have you thought about this?” Your feedback has confirmed my belief that blogging continues to be a significant way to serve one another. Even digital words have power. And even internet connections provide some sense of community.

But let’s be honest, over these past five years, I’ve also allowed long periods of silence to settle over this space. Usually that’s happened when our crazy life has completely overwhelmed me or when other writing projects have screamed at me to be prioritized. At times the dust has gotten pretty thick at This Odd House before I’ve managed to pull out my cloth and give her a shine.

In spite of my fumbling, though, God saw fit to bring two books into the world that were conceived right here: 20 Things We’d Tell Our Twentysomething Selves and Pierced & Embraced: 7 Life-Changing Encounters with the Love of Christ.

He has also opened the doors for me to meet and speak with many of you in person—at retreats and conferences and over coffee. No written communication can compare to those face-to-face conversations!

So here we are, praising God for the past five years and all that He has done in This Odd House and through her. I am truly amazed!

But if anniversaries are a perfect time to reflect, they are also a perfect time to recommit.

So today I’m doing that as well—recommitting to this space and inviting you to join us on the journey ahead.

This month is a “relaunch” of sorts for the This Odd House site. Plans are underway to make this place a more vital and vibrant source of encouragement for you.

So I invite you to join us on this journey! Here are at least 5 reasons why you should come long…

1. Weekly stories and encouragement. 

You’ll receive more of the same sort of content you’ve seen so far at This Odd House—essays and stories about life, family, and spiritual growth. We’ll share what God’s teaching us, where we wander, and how He turns us around. But now we’ll be posting at least once each week. (Keep reading to see why I say “we”…)

2. More help with writing, speaking, and communicating.

Moving forward, I’ll also be sharing more information, stories, and posts about writing, speaking, and communication, in general. Teaching in the field of Communications is my “day job.” But so far, I’ve only included a few communications-specific posts at This Odd House—like this important and timeless one from January (“A War of Words: What the Current MBI Crisis Can Teach Us All.”) But I have received a growing number of requests for advice in these areas, so I’m excited to be more intentional about sharing these things!

3. FREE eBooks!

Plans are underway to create an eBook Bible study to accompany both 20 Things We’d Tell Our Twentysomething Selves and Pierced and Embraced. You can use these books on your own or with a group. Many of you have already downloaded the free 20 Things studies from www.peterandkelli.com. But now we will be putting them into a more user-friendly format. They will help you truly get the most out of your reading, and they will be available here soon.

4. More from Peter!!

My beloved husband will be making more appearances at This Odd House with writing of his own. Many of you let us know how much you appreciated his most recent piece, “When We’re Torn between Two Places.” And I’m excited that he’ll be sharing more of his heart and mind with all of us here.

5. NEW Podcast on Marriage!

Peter and I are also excited to announce that we are creating a new podcast on marriage. This will be a part of a much bigger project entitled Live from the Chapman Center, done in partnership with several of our colleagues at Moody Bible Institute, and aimed at many different aspects of life. We will post more information as it’s available.

All of that to say, we’re excited to connect with you more. We’d love to have you visit regularly!

If you haven’t already SUBSCRIBED, please do so below so you don’t miss a thing.

Invite your friends as well.

See you back here soon!