Tuesday, July 26
I've been thinking lately about why I blog and about why I read blogs.I'm a 35-year-old married, working mother of two. I work outside of the home because our finances dictate it. But, for me, there are great benefits of working in an office.
There are aspects of my job that drive me crazy, of course, but there are also aspects that benefit both me and my children (I tell my friends who are experiencing motherhood for the first time that the best mother is a happy mother. We teach our children a lot, I think, by the way we show them our own contentment). There are certainly days when I wish I could stay home with the kids, but there are also days when I love being at work and using the talents God gave me.
I've always kept journals, but as I've gotten older, I've had less time or inclination to do so. Blogging, for me, is now a quicker, easier journal method than pen and paper. I wanted a way to write essays that help me to keep my faith in perspective while dealing with the issues of any particular day. This blog provides that for me.
While my blogroll is in no way comprised exclusively of Christian blogs, I do make it a point to only list blogs that I find meaning in, for whatever reason. I am thankful to have found these blogs that touch me tenderly or encourage me or challenge me or just make me laugh.
When I look for new blogs to read, however, I am mostly looking for Christian blogs. I want my faith to be encouraged and challenged. But I so often become frustrated as I look for new blogs because so many of the ones I find (and I readily admit that I might not be looking in the right places) don't speak to who I am now.
I'm very driven by my relationships, and I readily admit that I see things in terms of heart over head. I want to read stories about women working to make it through their days, who are struggling with all of the different aspects of rearing children and maintaining grown-up friendships and nurturing marriages and excelling at jobs and finding creative outlets, all the while growing (hopefully) in their faith.
In essence, I want stories that mirror my own in order to encourage me that these struggles I face are both normal and temporary.
I make a concerted effort to find and read blogs of people with whom I do not completely agree because I think it's important that I consider different viewpoints. That's something we try to teach Griff... that everyone has a voice and a unique perspective and that we can learn things from those who are different from us. But I also long for that sense of community that comes from sharing common experiences.
So, for those reading this, if you have any suggestions of blogs I should check out, feel free to share them with me.
[ posted by Chel on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 ]
[ 0 comments ]