Why Do We Blog?

A while back, someone asked me why I blog. I am curious now, why do YOU blog? People have blogs about countless topics and for a wide variety of reasons, and it might be neat to find out what are some of them. With that in mind, I have decided to created this meme.

The Question: Why do you blog?

The Rules:

1. Comment below to answer the question with five reasons.

2. Create your own blog entry to continue the meme.

3. Give credit and link back to the original blog post and to the blog where you saw the meme shared.

4. Tag your friends and encourage them to participate.

Part of the fun of this is seeing how many people keep the chain going and seeing all of the different -- or similar -- reasons that people give, so be sure to read other people's blogs to see what they say!

I will start by answering my own question. I originally posted an answer to this question last summer, yet as time goes by, my reasons have grown. Be clear that they have not changed, yet I have even more reasons now. In addition to what I posted last year, here are five more reasons why I like to blog.

Why do you blog?

1. To Learn. I like to learn, and sometimes I learn new things when researching for what I want to write.

2. For Fun. Sometimes I like to do or write or share something simply for the enjoyment or the humor of it.

3. To Read. I sincerely enjoy reading people's comments. It makes me feel good to know that people care enough to read my blog and comment on it, and it is even better when I see people commenting off of one another's comments.

4. To Share. When someone tells me that they have "gotten something" from reading my blog, I feel blessed to know that God used me to touch that person.

5. For Friends. It is neat to meet and get to know people via our blogs. Some of these people have even gotten to be my buddies outside of the blog world. How neat is that?

I am going to tag Dawn, A.Marie, Kathy, Lisa, Julie, Jennyfer, and...if you would like to be tagged, just let me know.

Your turn!

Quiet

Today is one of those days where everything seems quiet. It seems like the world outside of these walls is not even there. It is peaceful. Do you ever have those days?

I do not mean that it is literally quiet. I can hear Hubby getting ice out of the freezer, the dog's tag jingling as he moves, the air conditioning running, the birds are talking, and other "life" noises are happening. However, everything feels quiet. It is a feeling that everything is calm, everything is good. The worries of life are not affecting me at this moment -- and, yes, there are some doozies right now. I just feel at peace.

It is time to head off and do some cleaning, but I will leave you with this....

Fun Friday -- Pink

What can you get to know about someone by a color? Recently, I posted on Facebook and asked people to choose a color. With St. Patrick's Day being this week, or because it is my favorite color, did people choose green? No. The color most commonly chosen was pink, so I went around the house and took pictures of things that are some shade of pink. Finding things pink was not easy, though, because, frankly, I am not a fan of pink. Still, I made the effort, and here are some things in my life that are pink.

This is a picture frame that our sweet Boy made for us for Valentine's Day. He is so precious and giving and loving. How could we not adore that beautiful face?

Johnson's Baby Lotion. Since having Boy, this is usually in the house, and everyone uses it.

Pasta. Mmmm. This box happens to have pink on it because a portion of the proceeds was to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation.

A well-worn pair of pink, plaid sneakers.

Chunky Bible. I also have a blue one, a green one, and an orange one. They are fun and like a big block. Now, that's Chunky!

What home does not need duct tape?

Grams' sweater. Grams died on 9/13/2004, and even though I am not a fan of pink, I kept this sweater of hers. It is getting old and may not fit perfectly, but I wear it and think of her when I do.

Hats. I have lots of hats, dozens of them. I like a hat on my head or a flower in my hair. No, I do not have any pink flowers. I will say, though, that more people should wear hats!

There you have it. Some things "pink" from my life. Whew, that was not so easy. I had to go searching. Who knew that I so much that is pink when I do not even like pink?

If you are wondering why we have pink, of all colors, duct tape, it is because it is left over from the G.A.L.s Wearing Hats duct tape purse party. Here are two purses that I made.

Yes, those are more things pink, but who knows what ever happened to them? Not me.

What about you? Are you a fan of pink? What do you have in your life that is pink? All that I think that I have left to say now is...YOUR TURN!

Christian Blog Crawl

Sooo...I saw a "blog crawl" on someone's blog, and, while I was not exactly sure what that was, the idea seemed excellent to me. What a neat way to share thoughts and words and lessons and ideas from and with other people on a regular basis. My mind started working, I came up with my own idea of what this could be, and I created the Christian Blog Crawl.

Participating blogs are based on Christian values but do not need to focus on any specific subject. As a matter of fact, we aim for a variety of types of blogs. Please check out all of the blogs listed below, and feel free to return to read and comment on them as often as you would like.

RobSorbo.com

http://robsorbo.com

Purposeful Pathway

http://purposefulpathway.com/

Find Your PATH, Live with PURPOSE, Walk God's Way

Faith Notes

http://www.faithnotes-dottie.blogspot.com/

Thoughts on faith, family, life, marriage, reading, writing.

A House Upon the Rock

http://ahouseupontherock.com/

To encourage you as you build your house upon The Rock.

Brvan

http://brvan.com

Faith. Family. Writing.

Certain Christian

http://www.certainchristian.com/

One Man and His Journey with God

My Money Mission

http://www.mymoneymission.com/

http://www.mymoneymissiononline.com/

Taber's Truths

http://www.taberstruths.com/

Spiritual insights for the common man.

Homeschool Circus

http://upatdawnreadytowork.blogspot.com

What else do you call a homeschooling house of six?

Mike Print

http://mikegprint.wordpress.com/

Thoughts on life and faith.

Apologetics Guy

http://www.apologeticsguy.com/blog/

Words from DUG

http://wordsfromdug.blogspot.com/

"A bit of faith, a bit of inspiration, a bit of humor, a bit of the every day."

If you would like to join us on the Christian Blog Crawl list, ask! We commit to posting the above badge on our blog with a link to this page for the list, we commit to reading one another's blogs and commenting on posts, we commit to sharing about CBC occasionally on our own blogs to try to share our readership with one another, and we commit to being encouraging over all. If a blog contains anything that may be questionable or not in line with the Word of God, then please do not ask to be added. Thank you, and happy blogging!

NOTE: Each blog is of the individual blog writer's thoughts. While I am a Conservative Christian, you may find something a bit more liberal posted among these blogs. (If I see it, you may very well see my comment.) While we aim to spread the message of Christ's love by our messages and our actions, we also can learn from other's points of view.

Popcorn? Who Knew?

Who knew that there was an entire world of popcorn about which we could learn? Seriously! Okay, okay, there is an entire world of just about everything for us to learn. More specifically, I guess the question should be, who would think to make an entire study about it? Well...someone did.

A new blog that I discovered, Walking Home..., had a post about this study and then a contest. Guess what. Wait for iiiit....

I WON!

Oh, My Goodness, I was so excited. Most of us would probably say the same thing about winning anything, right? However, I won!

This is going to be such an interesting study to do as a family. Hubby and Boy both really like popcorn. What neat things will we learn about it and do with it during this study?

Day 1: Popcorn—What Is It?

Day 2: The Story of Popcorn

Day 3: The Flavors of Popcorn

Day 4: The Science of Popcorn

Day 5: Fun With Popcorn

Another fantastic thing about winning this contest is that it introduced me to UnitStudy.com, which I hope to utilize for more interesting and thrilling learning experiences for our family. Thank you so much to Walking Home... for the gift and for the adventure on which my guys and I will be going right here at home!

Why Give God Credit?

Do you give God credit for everything? I mean EVERYTHING? If so, why?

Now, before you go giving me grief, hear (read) me out.

There are some people who give God credit for everything, and I mean everything, whether it comes from Him or not. Yes, that is correct, not everything comes from God. The enemy also "gives" to us.

Did you ever do something that you were unsure was the right thing to do because, if you had to be honest, you really wanted to do it? Were your motives selfish, or was it really right? Did you justify the decision by saying that you know that it was what God wanted you to do because if He did not want you to do it, then He would not have let you?

"Let you?" That is a bit of a lame excuse because God gave us free will. You are capable of making your own decisions and taking your own actions. Yes, God will most certainly "let" you make mistakes.

I have heard it said that people ask God, if something is not meant to be, to please put up roadblocks. Then, when obvious roadblocks appear, they do what it takes to get around them in order to do what they wanted in the first place. God would have prevented a person from getting around a roadblock if He did not want them to have or do that something, though, right?

We are not marionettes! God does not control us. He does guide us and give us direction. Do we really want His guidance, or do we just want to feel "righteous" for asking?

Think about this:

The evil one tempts you with something that you want. Let us use a car as an example. You want this car. You pray about it and ask God if this is the car that you should buy. When you go back to look at it a second time, you notice a paint drip on the fender and ask why the car was painted. The person selling the car says that it was in a minor accident but is fine. RED FLAG? Your spouse does not think that buying the car is a good idea. CLUE #2? The bank will not approve your loan for the car. HINT #3? You really want this car, though, so you do whatever you can to get the money to buy it. After all, the car was fixed after the accident, so it is probably fine. You buy the car.

You are so excited, and you thank God for making it possible for you to buy that car.

Then it turns our that an axle is bent, the frame was damaged, and several other damages must have happened in that accident that you did not realize when you bought the car. The car is costing you more money that you can afford and lots of stress, and it is causing problems in your marriage because your spouse thought that you should not buy the car in the first place. That car is causing you more trouble in your life than it is worth. Why? WHY? WHY?!

God, why would you let me buy a car that was going to cause so many problems? I prayed and asked you about it, and you did not stop me!

Huh?

Is it possible that God gave you at least three reasons not to buy the car? Is it possible that you did not pay attention to God? Is it possible that the evil one gave you that car because the evil one wanted to mess with your life? Is it possible that the evil one brought that car to you in the hopes that it would make you question God? Is it possible that by thanking God for this car, you gave Him credit for something that the evil one did?

Now I will go back to my original question: Do you give God credit for everything? I mean EVERYTHING? If so, why?

Weary

February 6th was our son's third birthday. Yay! Happy birthday, Sweet Boy!

February 6th, G'pa died...yes, on our son's birthday.

February 10th, a friend of ours had surgery. Sometimes stress comes simply from being concerned. (I will not say worrying since we should not worry. Hehe.) She is well, PTL.

February 11th, we were supposed to go to a marriage weekend and have our first "adult" getaway since Boy was born. A crisis caused us to not have child care. Trip cancelled.

February 13th, Hubby fell sick.

Boy got sick.

February 23rd, Hubby had surgery.

Then a different friend got very sick, had a lung collapse, wound up in the hospital on February 25th.

On February 26th, my father fell ill. He almost never even gets a cold.

We were back and forth and back and forth to the hospital, almost an hour away, for the friend who was admitted on Friday. She had surgery on March 2nd.

I cancelled my birthday party on March 5th. We had lunch and went to the hospital that day.

On March 10th, one of our dogs did not seem to be doing well. Hubby took him to the vet on March 11th. X-rays and tests. On March 12th, more tests. Parasite? Cancer? Auto-immune? Tests.

On March 12th, the friend who had surgery for her lung phoned. Back to hospital with a fever of 103. (Foreigner's "Hot-Blooded" came to mind as I typed that.)

Aaah...those are merely the highlights and not even everything that has gone on since last month.

Today I am weary. With all that has been going on, my heart is tired. I feel like I am always trying to be there for others, praying for them, thinking about them, running around, taking care when I can, helping where I can, extending a hand, reaching out....

I tend to be one of those people who tries to see the bright side of things. God has a plan. There is a reason for everything. Sometimes, though, and lately, I simply feel tired. Sometimes I wonder, What is the plan? Sometimes I feel lonely. I am trying so hard to be there for others. Is anyone trying to be there for me?

Then I feel guilty and ponder, Am I selfish to wonder that? (Insert dramatic groan.)

Saturday Search

Rather than me putting my thoughts out there today, it might be neat to read yours! With that in mind, I invite you to share anything that you want to share today in a few sentences or less. Experience, humor, scripture, embarrassment, prayers...anything. Go!

You May Not Mind Your Manners...But I Do.

People are rude. It is as simply as that. I miss a time when I did not exist. I miss an era where people knew their neighbors, cared about the people around them, did for others, and were not as self-absorbed as they are today. In my mind, that time is the 1950s. Maybe it is earlier.

In my mind, and from what I gather by reading and watching old programs, people had manners in the 1950s. I dare even say...etiquette...courtesy. Here are some things that, in my mind, are different about the time from when I did not exist and now.

THEN: Supper was a family event. Families supped together each night. They talked about their days. No one left the table until everyone was finished eating. Children would not even think of asking to leave the table. Then, quite possibly, they even helped clear the table.

NOW: How many families do you even know who dine together at supper time? Of those who do, how many have children who dash away from the table as soon as they are finished shoveling away whatever food they are going to eat? How many people are sitting at the table answering texts, reading the news, not even paying attention to the others at the table? It is rude and un-courteous.

Side Note: In the 1950s, "Breakfast is the one meal at which it is permissible to read the paper, mail, or anything else that suits your fancy." -Amy Vanderbilt, Complete Book of Etiquette, 1954

THEN: Children's behavior. Please and thank you were compulsory. If a child did not say them, an adult present would tell them right then and there that there were being impolite. All teachers were addressed as Sir or Ma'am. Boys knew not to wear a hat indoors, and when they were talking with or met a lady, their hats would be removed. A child would open a door and let someone go through it before they did.

NOW: Manners? What are those? "I want, I want, I want." Respect for teachers? According to what I have heard lately...not so much. If a child is disrespectful nowadays, not much seems to be done to discipline them because people are so afraid of the repercussions. Have you ever heard older adults use the expression, "If I spoke to my parents that way, I would get a whipping, for sure!" As for the door thing, pay attention the next time that you go someplace where there are children. Do they hold the door for their mom, or do they rush inside and let the door close behind them?

THEN: Ladies wore hats. If you know me, you know that I adore hats. That is not the point here, though. The point is that ladies dressed like ladies. As a matter of fact, women cared enough to take the time to dress like a lady. "Casual" may have been a pair of slacks or capris.

NOW: Sweatpants, jeans, leggings, bra straps showing, thongs showing out the tops of jeans...sloppy. I know, I know, whatever is comfortable, right? Ugh. What ever happene to a woman looking feminine for her man? What happened to wanting to look pretty for yourself? Why have we become a kind of society where so many people seem to take no pride in their appearance anymore? Did people forget that looking good also helps you feel good?

There is so much more about today's society that is just not cool.

~When a new cash register opens at the supermarket, does the person at the back of the line rush to that register, or do they make sure that the person who is next in line is aware?

~When someone moves to a new neighborhood, do people rush over with a plate of cookies to welcome them or watch from behind a curtain to see who the new people are and make judgments about them?

Oh, I could go on and on. I will not, though. I am not complaining. Life is good, and we have so many blessings here and now. Simply, I am wondering why things are so different now from a time when, in my mind, they were, in some ways, better.

Now, now, someone is bound to take offense at something that I mentioned. If you do, then I would refer you to Are You Offended? Nothing that I said was geared toward anyone in particular. Some ladies dress quite lovely. Some people's children are very polite. Some people still enjoy a good, family meal as quality time together. I mean, I am sure that they do. Right?

Suicide

Someone that I once knew pretty well committed suicide last week.

Many thoughts were running through my mind. Will he be going to Heaven? Did he think about the people he left behind and how his actions would affect them? Did he really want to die? Did he leave a note?

Yes, that last one may seem off, but Pump Up the Volume, an old Christian Slater movie, came to mind. "Did you at least write a note? You have a reason, don't you? You're not going to be one of those people who kills themselves, and nobody has any idea why they did it? Hey, that's why we need a note, Pal!"

I know that is crass. I am not insensitive to that. If you have seen the movie, then you know that Christian Slater's character did not think that the guy was really going to commit suicide. He thought that the guy was merely having a tough time and feeling down, maybe looking for attention.

Was it like that with our old friend? Did he reach out to anyone? Did they not take him seriously? Did they let him down when he may have needed them most? How alone and miserable must someone feel to go so far as to take their own life?

Back to my first question: Will he go to Heaven? There are an array of thoughts on the matter of whether one will go to Heaven after taking their own life. Some believe that you must ask forgiveness for your sin, and if you are dead, then how can you ask forgiveness? Some believe that once your have Jesus Christ as your Saviour, your sins are paid for and covered. The Sixth Commandment tells us, "Though shalt not murder," or "Though shalt not kill." Does this make suicide a sin?

I will admit that I do not know the word in its original Hebrew. In today's English, Dictionary.com's first definition of murder is, "the killing of another human being." Does that mean that you cannot murder yourself? Dictionary.com's first definition of kill is, "to deprive of life in any manner." Wait a minute, that means something different.

Here is what the Bible tells us.

God's Word says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God," (Ephesians 2:8) and that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:37-39).

NOTHING can separate from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. That is, as long as we have a relationship with Christ Jesus. Did my old friend have a relationship with Jesus? I am sorry to say that I do not know.

Do we have people in our lives who might be reaching out for help? Are we extending a hand to give them something to grab? Are we sharing the Gospel with them? Are we emphasizing John 3:16? Are we paying attention to what people are not telling us? Are we working to be sure that the people around us are exposed to Christ's love through us?

Most of us are not equipped to deal with a person considering suicide. Hopefully and thankfully, most of the people in our lives are likely not going to even consider it. Probably, though, we do have people in our lives who are feeling bad in some way. What we are equipped to do is to love someone who is sad, to comfort someone who is hurting, to listen when someone wants to talk, to simply be there when someone is feeling alone.

Not only are we called to, but it is also so important that we share the rewards of Christ's love with others. Bear in mind that if someone is in need and is thirsting for something, then the Living Water could sound realllly good.

After all, "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" -Romans 10:14

Hey, look...this song fits again. Thank you, Casting Crowns.

NOTE: If you know of someone who has a serious problem, and you are not able to be what they need, then I encourage you to find someone who might: a pastor or a doctor or someone professionally trained to handle serious, emotional issues.

Gossip

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. -Proverbs 11:13

Gossip is wrong. We know that, right? Gossip accuses people. It charges others with wrong, and people love to talk about the alleged wrongs of others. People love to put others down.

Proverbs 16:27 tells us:

A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire. (NIV)

Mean people spread mean gossip; their words smart and burn. (MSG)

A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. (ESV)

An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire. (KJV)

No matter how you say it, gossip is not good. When it is brought to your attention that you have been a victim of gossip, it may cause you to wonder. "What have I done to this person? Do I even know this person? I actually know this person. I thought that we were friends." ...or so many other things.

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. -Matthew 18:15

...so if someone had a problem with you, why did you hear the gossip from someone else?

More directly, why did they gossip in the first place? Do people think about the results of their gossip? Do people intend to hurt others? Sometimes, possibly, they do.

"They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear." -Psalm 64:3-4

Oftentimes, I would suspect that people do not think of the results of their actions.

People gossip to feel superior. People gossip to try to impress others by being the person to have "the dirt." People gossip out of jealousy. People gossip for attention.

One of the damaging things about gossip is that it is often untrue or based on other gossip. You remember playing the telephone game when you were younger, right? One person would start by whispering something in someone's ear, and then they would whisper is in the next persons ear, and so on and so on until the last person would say it out loud. Usually, what the last person said out loud was not what the original person said.

Gossip is much like that.

When the message gets to you, what do you do with it? Do you continue to talk about people behind their backs? Do you even bother to find out the facts, or do you continue to spread the gossip?

...OR do you nip it in the bud and say, "I do not want to hear that gossip. If you have an issue with that person, then you need to go talk with them directly."

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." -Proverbs 12:18

We can be cruel, hurtful, catty gossipers, or we can be the positive example and treat those around us with respect. Which is the kind of person that you would rather be?