I’ve struggled for years with the decision whether to blog or not, wondering      a) if I had the TIME to do it,      b) how to categorize it – I didn’t want to limit my subject matter to one focused area as “How to Blog” articles suggest,      c) if I could handle the criticism,  but mostly      d) why I would be doing it.

I used to write articles for our home schooling newsletter, which I believe really ministered to that segment of society, however personal circumstances created a decade long writer’s block. My writing is a tool God has given me, but I need His inspiration for what and how to write.  I’m convinced He put that gift up on the shelf out of my reach for these past years because I had other areas I needed to resolve.  Just a couple of years ago, I got a few closely-placed signs that my writing might be called back into practice and suddenly the ideas started flowing again.  Still, I had to do some soul searching on the above questions.

Finding the time will resolve itself.  If I’m inspired, I will make the time to write.  Today, I think I’ve resolved the categorizing issue.  I am a dance-to-the-beat-of-my-own-drum kind of person – always have been.  Rules can be useful, but I’m not averse to breaking them.   The thought of dealing with criticism so publicly is still a bit daunting, but I trust I will grow thicker skin if need be.  But the real question I’ve been chewing on is “Why”.

What are the reasons I feel led to blog?  What makes me feel like the world needs to hear what runs through my mind?  Am I seeking self-gratification?  Honestly, I do love hearing when people like what I’ve written, but this is not a good reason to start littering people’s lives with words.   Yet another question – am I doing this in the hopes of making money from it?  Well, money is a good motivator.  Still, that’s the wrong motivator in this case.  What I’ve come to realize is that I’ve got things to share that I think can bless those who read it.  One day during a sermon, our pastor used the phrase “bless and build” and it went straight to my heart.  Thinking those words so succinctly summarized what I was hoping to do with my blog, I realized that I’d just been given the name I needed.  So that is my purpose – to bless my readers and to build them up with encouragement as they journey through life.

Our Family 2014

I will fight the little voice that keeps telling me it is arrogant to assume people will want to read what I think.  I will write as I am inspired and we’ll see if it falls into a neat categorical focus.  I will share ideas about womanhood, motherhood and sisterhood.  My life experiences have taken me down roads in parenting, creating, reading, cooking, event organizing,  and home schooling.  I have walked through years of depression, discovered beauty about life as a “messie”, struggled through learning to forgive, learned the value of relationships and found out about the different ways men and women think.  I have known the good, the bad and the ugly of perfectionism, legalism and fanaticism.  I have raised five sons who have in turn raised me to new levels of understanding and maturity.   I have walked with my husband through the challenges and rewards of a 30+ year marriage.  All these subjects will no doubt turn up in my writing.  I look forward to sharing with and hearing from my readers.  My hope is that we will mutually bless and build one another through our communication here.