A blog is a funny thing. It can build relationships and foster communication, or it can build egos and shut down friendships. My blogs have done a little of all of that, but I prefer the former.
I've heard it said (or maybe I said it, I really don't remember; if you said it, please let me know!) that writing a blog is a little like standing in the middle of the food court at the mall and beginning a conversation with no one. You're just standing there talking and kind of hoping that someone will stop and listen to you and then even talk back. You're surrounded by people you don't know, whom you don't know from where they've come, and you're trying to say something relevant and interesting to them, and yet stay true to yourself as well.
If someone stops to listen, smiles at you and makes a comment, you're so thrilled that you practically jump them! You tend to grab hold and beg them to be your friend.
When you finally gather a few friends (followers, as blogger calls them; trail buddies, as I call them) you're able to breathe a sigh of relief and actually feel like you know a few of the people you're talking to. You still don't know if anyone's listening to your rantings and ravings on any given day, so you still kind of tend to sound like you're yelling in the mall...but not as much as before,....hopefully.
I actually remember when I was a young mom and didn't have very many other young mom friends (long story, we lived in an older community and James pastored a church with hardly any young people) and I desperately longed for some young friends. I would take my kids to the mall for an outing, sit in the food court eating my Chik Fil A sandwich and look at the other young moms with kids. I'd spot a friendly looking mom who looked kind of like me and think to myself, "I bet we could be friends."
But not once did I initiate a conversation with any of these friendly looking folk. And I never just stood up and starting talking!
So what in the world am I doing that for now?!?!
Ok, time to wrap this up. Here's the point...you've been waiting for I'm sure.
Enough of me just standing in the mall food court and talking out loud. I don't just want a platform for my thoughts. They're not that special, for pete's sake!
I want dialogue, conversation, two-way banter. I want to hear from you too. But guess what? I found out just this morning that I didn't have my comment form set up for many of you to talk back to me. I know of at least one friend who's wanted to comment on previous posts and couldn't because she couldn't figure out how to "select a profile." Well, it wasn't that she couldn't figure it out; it was that I didn't have it set up so that non-registered guests could comment. My mistake.
I've taken care of that now. Anyone can comment without having to sign their life away. You can just select Anonymous under the "select profile" tab and comment away. I'd love it if you'd at least give me your first name or some identifying title at the end of the comment so I'd know who you are. Otherwise, you're just anonymous. And that's still kind of like having a conversation with strangers in the mall food court, if you know what I mean.
Proverbs 16:24 says "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." This blogger would love to hear some of your words. I bet others would too.
Let's talk!