This is the very first sentence of what is sure to be a long and rambling post about nothing. There. Now that I have the dreaded first sentence out of the way, maybe I can put together a blog post. I have been blogging for 5 years. I know that these periods come and go when I don't blog. No big deal. But this time...

Here are my thoughts on blogging lately.

1. I love to write. I have since I was 11. That was the year that I took journalism as an elective I was convinced that I was going to become a famous author or journalist. Why was I so convinced? Because, as every good 6th grade journalism teacher should do, mine was very forthcoming with her praise. I remember thinking that I had finally hit on something that I was good at.

2. I love to express my opinions. And I have one about pretty much everything. The older I get, though, the more I realize that many of my opinions are not shared by others and, since they aren't issues involving sin, well, I just need to zip it.

3. The perspective of the reader. I don't know why this finally occurred to me, after all this time, but I recently realized that when I write something, like say "I struggle with keeping my house in order", what others think can vary greatly. Some picture a house that is strewn with toys, others, a kitchen that has 3 weeks worth of dishes sitting in the sink. That actually bothers me. Because if my next sentence is "But, life happens and sometimes we have to live with a little mess." I am concerned that the woman with 3 weeks worth of dishes is going to think, "yeah! It's ok for me to leave those antoher week, because I have more important stuff to do. I need some me time!" So that's a lame illustration, but it makes the point.

4. Where do people find the TIME to do anything other than the basics? Holy Cow. I was filling something out the other day and I saw a blank that said Hobbies. I sat and stared at it. Finally I put the dumb thing down because I didn't think that I could list the 30 minutes I read before going to bed as a hobby. The is the busiest season of my life. It's also the most fulfilling.

5. Hypocrite, I don't want to be one. I was reading an article written by Clarence Sexton for his college's publication, The Baptist Vision, and he mentioned that his wife often has to remind him to be joyful because he struggles with that. Amen! I struggle with being joyful. And yet how many blog entries have I written that talk about how much the bible commands us to be joyful? Physician, heal thyself!

So, that's what I have been thinking regarding blogging.

~Annemarie