Bionic Hearing

I don't know about this.

Are the lights off?

Do you hear something?

I don't know about this.

Is someone knocking on the door?

Can't you hear that?

I don't know about this.

That's me...right now, heart racing, blogging for the first time right here at Adding Zest.

There is nothing in my resume or writer credits that would suggest that I belong here as a blogger. In fact, I'm a subscriber and a commenter. I read Adding Zest because I treasure the information the ladies give. Why am I here?

Because God asked me to.

Most people in cyberspace know me as Julie Arduini: The Surrendered Scribe. My own site chronicles surrendering whatever it is that holds us back from living free as God created us. It's a shared journey and my posts and other writing credits usually boil to one area of surrender: fear.

If you have a pulse, chances are you know fear, and you've experienced it in marriage, in the bedroom area of life. That's why I'm here. Maybe I went through the same thing, or am going through it right now. I'm a voracious reader, so perhaps I can touch on a subject and offer resources to help. Whatever the zesty issue that we need to surrender, I'm the cheerleader that says in Jesus' name, we can do this.

What makes me equipped to blog here? Not one thing the world would be looking for. I don't know Oprah and I've never been on Dr. Drew. There is no MD next to my name and I haven't written a book on the subject.

But the Lord equips the called and He's called me to be here, to share the surrender angle with each of you. I bring to the table a variety of topics I plan to share:

-I'm wife #2. He's husband #1. I could write a year's worth of posts on that topic. I had so much to surrender with that statistic, and bottom line, that was all it was. A statistic. I made it a mountain. I'll share more next time.

-I was diagnosed with one of the worst cases of polycystic ovarian syndrome. This wreaks havoc on several levels and I know many of you who have this same label attached to their medical records. I plan to share all PCOS was in our marriage, what it wasn't, and everything in between. There is so much to cover-from infertility to menopause in my late 30's. It all rocked my world...the bedroom? Well...stay tuned.

-I'm a Gen X'er. He's a Boomer. Does it make a difference with an X and a Boom together?

This is just a taste of what I plan to blog about, and anything else God lays on my heart. I take marriage seriously, it's a covenant to me. When we were engaged at at our first FamilyLife marriage conference this was the promise God gave us: He'd take us not around the fire, but through it.

He's been so faithful with that promise. The fire waxes and wanes in my life, especially when it comes to the zest. No matter what, God is there. Always.

What else is there to know about me? I've been married over 13 years and we have two children. I'm also a step mom to two adults who live out of state. I'm a writer and public speaker, my work is of course on surrender. I write once a month for the Exemplify Online Marriage Channel. I'm the moderator for the Christian Women Take Root Love Dare group. I love submitting to the Cypress Times and I'm a member of FaithWriters 500. One of my favorite challenge entries was about zest after a cancer diagnosis. It was fiction and I wondered if I could write an emotional story with a sizzling backdrop. I'm a graduate of the Christian Writers Guild. Simply put, I love to write.

I'm a die hard romantic that never tires of watching Return to Me and I swoon over the soundtrack. I'm enchanted with the Clark Kent/Superman/Lois Lane saga, to the point of wanting the Superman soundtrack playing when I gave birth. I cried when Christopher Reeve was on Smallville and they played the music in the background. My husband knew this trivia and married me anyway.

He also knows chocolate is the answer to my laughter and my tears. My weight may change but my spunk won't. He knows I have bionic hearing and if he has any romantic notions at all, he has to scope out all noises in a five mile radius, no kidding. I can hear dogs barking when my mind should be focused on the love at hand. My poor hubby!

So that wasn't so bad.

It's ok to turn the lights back on.

I'm not going to run away.

I hope you don't, either.

Thank you for reading. I look forward to surrendering the pesty stuff that takes away the zesty fun in our marriages. How about you?