Hello Reader,

Ten years ago, I started a website called Balancing in the Holy Mess. I expected it to be a tiny little website (3-4 pages, max) to promote a new business as a public speaker.

At the time, the women's Bible studies I led at our church were growing, and I received invitations to speak at other places, too. A website seemed like a good idea, so I asked my husband and a friend from church to help me create one since I had no clue how to do anything techie.

God has taken those humble beginnings and grown them into something extraordinary, including:

• The Holy Mess website that reaches over 1.5 million people per year
• Ownership of two corporations
• Challenges and events for 40,000+ people
• Courses, workshops, and programs
• Emails (like this one!) that help 85,000+ people every week
• A business that spans four brands, websites, and social media channels
• A team giving consistent work to six people and multiple contractors
• National feature magazine articles

As big as that sounds, The Holy Mess is a small business. Most of the action happens from the same place where I'm writing this email today—my dining room table on my laptop.

While stuff like fancy photo shoots sounds big and exciting (and they were!), as I look back over the last ten years, I'm most proud of the quieter things, like:

• We respond to every email we receive (hundreds per week), often with prayers, encouragement, and support.
• Over 100 free products, including meal plans, Bible reading plans, printable journals, and more, plus thousands of free recipes and articles.
• A community that cares. In our Facebook groups and programs, I see people offering encouragement to one another daily. Many people comment that our community is one of the most caring that they have ever participated in.

At the risk of sounding like I've got it all together (ha!), let's get real for a bit.

I've learned from the school of hard knocks what NOT to do, including: 🚫

• ways to mess up your business's accounting
• stupid things to spend too much money on
• writing emails you'll regret sending tomorrow

And let's not forget other hard-learned lessons like: 🙈

• how to ignore Sabbath rest and completely exhaust yourself
• ways to waste time searching for files on your computer because you can't remember the name of the folder you put them in
• when you talk about your website so much, your family's eyes glaze over

If you've owned or worked for any business, you know that most don't last very long. You have to have grit, or what my parents called my stubborn streak. 😉

The Holy Mess has survived through all of these tough times, plus my move across the country, raising children with special needs, and years of debilitating digestive issues.

Through all of this, the last year has been one of the most difficult from a business standpoint. Most people in the website owner/creator industry are closing up shop and returning to corporate jobs. Shifts with Google's algorithm and corporations essentially stealing our copyrighted content for AI models have completely decimated many businesses like ours.

God has blessed us with the ability to keep going and thrive. I'm incredibly grateful.

And friend, we are just getting started. We have even bigger and better things planned for 2025 and beyond; I could not be more excited.

Most of all, I'm thankful for YOU. None of this would be possible without you, and you are who we serve.

So, let's party! 🎉

From September 8th to 13th, we are celebrating The Holy Mess's 10th anniversary in style with an entire week of live videos, mini-challenges, prizes, games, and giveaways.

​Will you join us? It's 100% free!

I'll see you there,

Sara

P.S. Not interested in this event? No problem. Simply click here. You'll stay on our list, but we won't send you any more reminders to join.