I've written about this before but the subject of blogging still fascinates me. If one stops to think of it, blogging has been around only a nanosecond in the history of the world.It is quite hard for me to believe I have now been blogging for over 1 1/2 years now. My hearts desire has been to share any wisdom found through trials, great books, my obsession with a good cup of coffee, the beauty of "tea time", and mostly that God is real. Yes, He is...
There was a day when the generations lived together and the older taught the younger by their day to day activities. I often smile when I watch various Italian cooking shows. It seems they all talk about what Mama or Grannie (Italian equivalent) cooked and how she taught each of them carefully to roll out dough or carefully cut the pasta.
Families today are often isolated from those around them as well as each other. Church can be the most isolated place in the week with children going one direction, adults another, and teens in yet another part of the building. (Not as much in my present church but definitely when we were in a much larger congregation.)
I have never been in one of my neighbor's houses. Granted I don't have a lot of neighbors but when you share a country lane, you'd think you would... Come to think of it, when we had a large house in a suburban neighborhood, there were just a few doors I'd seen on the other side.
I believe that is part of the reason people love blogs. We truly do... as C.S. Lewis is quoted... read to know we are not alone.
I thought this an excellent post about blogging by Abraham Piper at Desiring God. Although it is written for pastors, the content is applicable for any Christian who wants to be Salt & Light to the world.
9 comments:
One of my favorite subjects, and one I am still trying to figure out. Why/how {I} we blog. :-)
Thinking on just the writing part of blogging ~ did people in past times, write old fashioned letters, for this? Writing. Putting thoughts and happenings down "on paper." The way most regular people used to write. {not true authors, I mean}
Writing long letters and in personal journals, of all sorts... Did this fill the need to write, which many bloggers find becomes an almost necessity?
Blogging is communication. Almost like the old throwing a letter in a bottle into the ocean... When we write openly, on the World Wide Net, we have no idea who will read it. Beyond the few faithful readers, that is. It's really sending our words, out into the Universe. More so than any other generation could have done.
And there used to be "over the back fence," as a way of knowing we are not alone. Hardly any more back fences, or people who lean over them, to chat. The Net is a big back yard fence. And we're all leaning over it, at our own keyboards, and "chatting away." Kinda' nice, come to think of it. :-)
The muse has not been sitting on my shoulder, for a couple of days. Those dry times, which come now and then. I think you have tweaked my muse. Maybe I'll take up the... "Whys of Blogging" in mine, tomorrow. Maybe...
And of course, if I do, I'll "leave a trail of crumbs" back here. :-)
Mari-Nanci
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/HoneyHillFarm
This is a fairly new blog, and is definitely new to me. Since I don't see it listed on your blog, I'm assuming you don't know of it. I can't remember now how I recently came across it. If it was you, sorry for not remembering! I wanted to let you know about it Brenda, because I think you would find it very lovely. The pictures of her victorian home are beautiful.
Take a peek!
jo :)
Hi Brenda,
I understand, really. I am sometimes wondering myself why I blog. I think sometimes, for me, it takes me away from working so hard at the every day relationships that are in front of me...BUT on the other hand is an incredible blessing because I have met true kindred spirits. I do love your authenticity in your writing..Thank You!
God Bless You, Brenda.
Carrie
I've given so much thought to these kinds of things in the past several years. I wanted to write a thesis on why civility and connectedness is lacking in today's world. For me, the entire "I don't know my neighbors'" can be attributed to incomes not being high enough to support a family in the standard of our grandparents and mothers having to work outside the home. Women keep the fabric of neighborhood and community together. And without that, we are losing a great deal. Why am I writing this all here? I should write about it on my blog! LOL!
Good thoughts. God is real, how true and how urgent and what a beautiful truth! Blogging gives us that space for our voice to be heard. Our homes and hobbies shared, as you put it so well. Reaching out to others, and popping over to visit....all over the world it seems. I enjoy it so much, and to think its free...thank you Blogger! I have gotten countless smiles from visiting homemaker's blogs. Thats something you can't put a price on, isn't it!
Blogging, although it takes up a lot of time, has so many benefits -- new friends, learning about new places, seeing new crafts and how people decorate their homes, reading about their families and their thoughts and musings on pertinent topics. It's a reaching out to a new community of friends from the confines of one's home.
I live in a small subdivision, 50-60 houses. Never been in any of them. Know the neighbors by name and to speak to. We help out a couple of them and they help us occasionally. That's about it.
Now, up in Michigan where we have our summer places, it's different. We have a cabin on a small lake in a little subdivision in the Hiawatha National Forest. Everyone's been in everyone else's place, full-timers have keys to the vacation cabins, people get together for work bees and pig roasts and dinners and campfires. Kind of a North Woods version of The Waltons and it's nice. Too bad this sense of community is gone from so many other places.
Perhaps someday the trend in families will swing back to women staying home more and families staying closer together geographically. My mother stayed home to raise me and the benefits were many.
Back in 2004 I started keeping a personal website that gave me a venue to share Jesus in what I feel is the new fontier in missions. Blogging I have found is like pen pals of old where we can give and take...share Godly advice or just listen as a friend.
Thanks for your words of wisdom.
~Susan
okay, i really love you now brenda...
xoxo
Again, your words leave me pondering my own thoughts. I've never met you and don't even know your name, but you blog is a favorite spot for me to stop by if even for just a few minutes. Thank you. God bless.
Post a Comment