To All My Blogging Buddies and All Who Read Mine

I've been thinking...and that's often potentially dangerous, smile. But, I think it could be helpful, so I thought I'd share.

About blogging.....I love to blog and I love to read your blogs and catch up on what's happening in your lives. I've realized something, though, about blogging that is a problem. On a blog it's easy to pretend like life is great and everything is beautiful and to lie or deny that anything's wrong. Often this takes the form of only blogging when there's something positive going on. Not all of you have this problem and there has been many a time when I've read your blogs and been encouraged to know that I'm not the only one struggling; whether it's with discouragement, or job issues, or the future. But, for those of us who do have this problem, and I'm lumping myself in with that group, I'd like to make a challenge to us.

My challenge is that we be authentic. Not that we 'hang our dirty laundry out to dry' or anything like that, but that we be honest about life, whether good or bad. I think especially as Christians it's important that we are real and not pretenders.

As I write this I think about where we are right now. We're in transition. And transition can sometimes be frustrating. R. has particularly been struggling with discouragement as he waits for a job opportunity to open up, with no opportunity yet within our line of vision. (And when he's discouraged it often rubs off on me.) In the meantime we wait and keep waiting. Sometimes it feels like life has been put on hold and we're stuck in a place short of our goals and dreams.

Life is hard sometimes, and while the Lord is always faithful to uphold us and carry us through, that doesn't mean life is without problems and struggles. We need each other for support, but how can we give and receive that support if we're unaware of each other's struggles? Too often I forget this. Let's be committed to authenticity!! Let's give each other the opportunity to know the joy of ministering to each other! Let's not hide behind a facade anymore. I'm committing to being real, even if all I can say is 'please pray'.

Thankful for all of you! You are greatly appreciated and much loved!
Blessings!