why i blog

I've been thinking about the whole wonder of blogging lately. I love it a lot. I love getting thoughts out there and I like reading what other people are excited about on their own blogs. I often describe a blog as a personal magazine column...like we each have our own daily column and the editor doesn't really care what we write about. "Just express yourself," this kind editor says.

I have taken these words to heart and I write about whatever is on my mind. Often at the end of a week I'll look back on my posts and laugh about the different topics I have covered. Last week I ranged from tropical fruit to American Girl books to an inaccurate tutorial on RSS feeds. Laughing out loud as I type.

But I keep writing, because scattered or not, I like this medium of communication. And the motivation to keep writing comes from the moments of PURE JOY I experience when I find out about a new reader, like I did just a moment ago.

I just received a comment from a friend of mine from back in the day. We knew each other from church and school. She just wrote about how she reads this thing. I had no idea. But I LOVE that she is here! I remember going to camp with this friend one summer, and laughing hard. I mean, hard. Our humor was so crazy-similar. And because of college and life and time we haven't kept in touch, but here she is. And I'm so glad we're connected like this!

Connection. This is why I blog.

I got a similar email recently from a friend I worked with at camp. She reads daily. I didn't have a clue. But I love that she's reading, and if we lived closer I know we'd be living room friends, talking for hours on each other's couches. But we don't live closer, so I tell my stories from my own couch with my laptop on my lap and she can read them on her couch.

I'm going to keep blogging. (No, I never really was considering otherwise). But it's going to be scattered. Because I am scattered.

The interesting thing is that I think my Umbrella Topic is emerging. Like my, catch-all-this-is-what-I-blog-about topic. And it only became visible after getting so many of these super-fun-make-my-day emails and comments from friends and strangers alike. My catch all topic is this: I like community. I like people. I like life. And I want the world to be less of a lonesome place. I want people to appreciate life and family and friends. For me, I appreciate life most when I am with people, when I am listening to and telling stories, when I am creating something fun and new, when I am spending my time in faithful, meaningful ways. And I guess, those are the things I blog about. Scattered, but so good.

So thanks for reading. I know there are lots of you out there and I am so excited to keep connecting and sharing with you in this way.

Here's to community.