5 years old

When I started blogging in 2006 (it was under a different name at the time) I had no idea where it would lead, no clear thoughts on what to write or who to write to, or if there was even anyone out there who was at all interested in what I had to say. Since then I have been amazed by the amounts of people who write, telling me their story, wanting to share with me some of the hopes and dreams they have, the struggles they have endured, and some have simply laughed at my silliness. Blogging has become for me a way of reaching out, talking to people out in the world that I don't even know, and it's become a way for them to talk to me. I love it, I love that people write and respond verbally to my writing, I love to hear about their lives and the places they live. I have heard from people who live in the deepest poverty in third world countries, people who live in opulence in the US or Europe or here in Canada, and everything in between. All have the same thing in common, they care and they want to be heard. Each has a story to tell.

I still have no real 'goal' or 'plan' for this Blog, I enjoy it for what it is, a way to express how I feel, a way to be heard, a way to share the things I have learned in life and to hear how you have learned through your experiences. I have been asked about writing a book, and I won't say I haven't considered it, when at such time the story is finished, but until then I Blog. Out of sheer joy, sheer love of the art form. I write to you these 'letters' and I await your 'letters' in return because then we know that we have been heard.

When asked why I don't take my Blog more public than just word of mouth, why I don't try to get followers I am left with no doubt in my mind that if this Blog should grow it will, and has, but I want that to be a natural effect of the Blog itself, not because I was selling it. This Blog is personal, it's a story about my love and faith, my hopes and dreams, my prayers and my deepest fears and it's a story about my struggle to discover who I am in the craziness of this world. If people are meant to read it they will find it, of that I am sure. If it grows then I know that it's because God is using it, and there is no better payment in the world than that, and I would be lying if I said that I don't hope that it does grow for that reason alone.

So, you ask, why are you writing this particular post? I guess I am trying to say two things...

1) This is not a Blog that is written to 'become' someone, I Blog because I love to do it, not to make money at it. (You can look up my photography website for that - nudge nudge, wink wink.)

2) I want you to know that I love to hear from you, your stories, your laughter and your tears. I will never get tired of the emails you share with me. Please, send more!


Thanks for listening to me all these years, for reading and enjoying what I write, and thank you for allowing me to enjoy your writings! My hope and prayer is that we continue to share with each other for many more years to come.