A Beginning

My reasons for blogging are primarily selfish. I don’t put my thoughts into words as much now that I’m not a student. My inner nerd has this confession: I miss writing research papers. The requirement of presenting newly acquired knowledge in a finished product, of weaving together arguments and viewpoints from multiple authors, gave me a reason to be curious. It forced me to dig deeper and make connections between the things I observed. I take in a lot of material, from books to sermons to blog posts. Despite all of my introverted qualities, I am also an external processor, unable to be at peace with conclusions drawn merely from solitary thought. Journaling is too much of a rough draft, not suitable for refining and polishing ideas. Discussion with friends provides no record to look back on. I want an environment where I can engage the ideas I consume, wrestling with them and processing them in hopes of coming to a more polished conclusion.

I also keep stumbling across Paul’s charge to Timothy to not neglect the gift that was in him. Writing has always been one of my gifts. I don’t believe our talents are fully formed at birth or by the end of adolescence. Blogging is my attempt to develop one of my abilities. I appreciate everyone in my life who has asked me in the past few years if I’m doing any writing—you have all encouraged me to not neglect the gift that is in me.

My hope in using this outlet to pursue these personal reasons for writing is that others will be blessed as a byproduct. I hope that some of my thoughts and struggles will resonate with those who read them, that I can connect people to good resources and prod them towards new ideas.