When I set up this blog, I didn’t announce it to the world. Well, unless you count posting entries on Twitter and Facebook. I guess that’s a pretty loud announcement. But I just started posting. I didn’t say, “Hey world! Listen up. I have a new blog and you must read it!”

But, as you might imagine, a few friends here and there (and even a stranger or two) have found me. The reality of blogging is that it’s a tiny bit voyeuristic. Many of the people who read your blog never talk to you about it. They don’t comment in the comments. They don’t reply on Twitter or Facebook.

What I have found most interesting, though, is the people who see that I’m blogging, but aren’t really blog readers. They’re the ones who respond to me in person, when they see me around town or talk to me on the phone. And they have one question that they ask me:

Why in the world did you start a blog?

Our former rector and his wife have five children. Years ago, I learned something important from Beth. By all accounts, her life as a pastor’s wife and mother of (then) four was quite chaotic. If you took a look at her calendar, the activities that filled her days, many would say her life was really busy. But Beth would never describe her life as busy. She always spoke of her life as very full. I love that. And I’ve adopted it. My life is very full. I mean very full.

So, when my friends ask me the question, I know exactly where their coming from. In fact, if I’m honest, I ask myself the same thing each day:

Why in the world did I start a blog?

In many ways, I’m still trying to figure that out. But I’ll tell you today what I’m thinking about. [Oooh. That rhymes!] I have always enjoyed writing. Once upon a time, I wrote a bit of poetry. As a child, I wrote short stories that I was convinced I would publish as a children’s book. And over the years, there have been a few topics that I thought I’d like to write a non-fiction book about. More recently, I have the opportunity a few times a year to write an article for our church’s electronic newsletter. In fact, I might occasionally borrow them and bring them on over to the blog. The fun thing about writing for the e-news is that I’ve re-discovered that I love to write.

In a moment of poking fun at my husband, I told him I’d started a blog because I didn’t think he was listening, so I needed to find someone else who would. [Just to be clear (and kind), that isn’t at all true. He is a really great listener.]

But really, I think my main reason for starting a blog is what I said to a friend by phone the other day. And, if I may be so bold, I think it’s the reason anyone who writes anything writes at all.

I think I have something to say.

Wow. That’s bold. Even arrogant. But it’s also true. If I didn’t think I had anything to say, I don’t think I’d bother. But I have a voice. And something to say. I think. So, I’m going to try to figure out what that something is. And, for now, I’m going to do that on this blog.

So, if you’re interested in listening … stay tuned.