Hello All, and welcome to my official blog. First, I’ll start off by stating that my posts are just my thoughts and opinions. They are not meant to be directives or absolutes by which you live by, but I hope that they inspire you in some way. I am not here to change the world; but maybe my words can help someone somewhere that may need to hear them, or in this case, read them. That said, I look forward to embarking on this journey with you into the unknown and seeing where we end up.
So now that we’ve gotten the formalities out of the way, I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Jude Julien. I’m married to a wonderful wife and mother, we have a beautiful baby girl, and every day I pray I can do right by them both. My daughter has been the blessing that just keeps giving, but fatherhood was not the smoothest transition for me early on; marriage even less so (and maybe I’ll talk about that someday), but for now I will say that I am finding my bearings, and patience. I’m learning that you need A LOT of that. Nevertheless, I look forward to the journey ahead.
I struggled writing this initially because of where I was in the most crucial parts of my life when I began. So, for a while I just stopped writing and focused on improving those areas of my life that needed improvement. The process is difficult and never-ending, but I’m optimistic about the future. As a result of that optimism, here I am, writing again out of a sense of joy and hopefulness. Needless to say, what I’m writing today is not at all what I began a few months ago. I want my writing and my words to be deliberate and intentional. There is to be no misunderstanding about what I am saying or trying to say. I do not want my emotions to dictate what I write or share with you, but I cannot always promise that will be the case. After all, I’m only human. I don’t know what this blog will be or how it will develop over time as I continue to put “pen to paper”, so to speak, but I hope you can find some solace in the messages that may come with it. I’ve never considered myself much of a writer, and I still don’t. As a matter of fact, term papers and essays were always the bane of my existence. So, the fact that I’m even writing this is a major achievement for me. The thought of starting a blog never occurred to me until I was encouraged to do so by family and friends who thought I might have something to share; so here I am, hoping that I don’t embarrass myself.
About 13 years ago I began what has now become a tradition, and an expectation, among those in my circle. Throughout the year I send holiday messages to those in my phonebook. These messages usually fall on holidays such as Mother’s and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and News Year’s Day. I won’t bore you with the details of how or why I began sending those messages, but they were meant as a way to connect with those I don’t see or speak with often, to let them know that I was still thinking about them. Every year the messages change but the intention remains the same: to uplift and encourage those around me. Not because I am a wealth of wisdom or knowledge, or that my life is any better than theirs, but because I know that there are moments in our lives when we need someone to reach out to us and tell us something that we need to hear, at a time when we need to hear it. Because in those moments, we may not have the courage or ability to reach out to someone and let them know what we’re going through. And for that reason, I was pushed to start this blog, and although I was reluctant to do so, I began to truly understand what my text messages meant to some of those closest to me.
So again, I welcome you to the world of my inner thoughts, a lot of which, I will be expressing for the first time. I hope that you get something out of it. I’ll finish with a quote that I read today about perseverance that I believe resonates with many of us:
“If your path is difficult, it is because your purpose is bigger than you thought.” – Unknown
Keep that in mind as you move through your daily lives. Tough times will come and go, but the only way to get through them is to keep moving forward until we’ve arrived at our purpose.
Cashmere Thoughts Blog 