Every blog has a beginning

Well… Most people begin a blog because they have a lot going on in their lives and want to share it. For me, however, this blog comes at a quiet and uneventful time in my life, a time when I am unsure of what is in store next for me. This blog, is a creative outlet of sorts; a place to share my random thoughts and dreams.

If I would have started a blog years ago, it would regale you with tales of adventure and excitement, tales of interesting people I’ve met in airplanes or while waiting for hours on end in every airport imaginable across this country and abroad. In these blogs, I would have shared interesting anecdotes about staying with complete strangers, in strange cities with strange food surrounded by be a set of strange circumstances. I would tell of my voyages into far off lands- lands where I found life, found pieces of myself along with a deeper understanding of the world in which I am a part. I would recount numerous stories about traveling the nation on a tour bus with a group of incredibly talented musicians and dear friends. Certainly I would report on countless speaking engagements I have had around the world- and my gratitude for my career as a speaker.

I wish I could remember some of my experiences with more clarity, but they flew by so quickly that I didn’t have time to stop and take note, to write them down or savor the moment. So many names have been forgotten and stories have slipped my mind. Although, some of those busy adventures of my past have been put on hold for the time being, I now have a brief moment to stop and reflect and maybe even share some of my most treasured snapshots of life with you. All experiences in my life until now, has shaped much of who I am, even though my story is one met with a mixture of pain and joy, tragedy and triumph, brokenness and life- one thing remains true- hope always prevails. My story is defined by hope- a hope that is found solely in Jesus Christ and His unfailing love and faithlessness. Although, personally life seems to be at a standstill while others around me get to live out their dreams and experience new adventures. Yet, I remain confident that this is only the beginning for me- there are so many new experiences and new stories yet to unfold.

I begin this blog without any specified goal or purpose, but perhaps author, Anne Lamott says it best, “The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.” Besides being a reward Lamott also says, “Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs; our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong.” Therefore, I write, because I know it will become a guide- a guide on this journey into the deeper places of my heart and it will reveal, who I am and who I am becoming. It may not always come out right or with the most graceful or articulate words. In many ways, I am still learning what kind of writer I am, but this is a small taste of all that is me- the good, the bad and the ugly.