Join Me On the Journey

Why I Blog

Tuesday, July 17, 8:17 am

I want to take a moment to welcome you to my blog.

This has been quite an experience over the last several months.

I began this blog in February after attending an online writer’s conference and realizing that I had a burning within me to share with others what I have learned over the years.

I read a lot!

I have always been a reader.

When I was a little girl, I read pages and pages of fiction. As I grew older, I began reading about different subjects: psychology, self-help books, personality types, success, time management. A great deal of what I read in these areas was written by Christian authors.

Today, I also read widely about subjects that are important to me. I read books about prayer and Bible study and quiet times. I started reading about homeschooling before my oldest daughter was even born. I read about marriage building. I read about how to be a good mother and how to keep house.

It has also been my habit that each time I got interested in a new hobby, I bought books about that hobby. Consequently, I have a library in my home with large sections on photography, gardening, quilting, and numerous other subjects.

Like you, there is usually one or two points in a book or article that I read that really stick with me. However, when you add that all up, it gets to be a head stuffed full of tidbits about a diversity of topics. All those little tidbits are arranged in a manner peculiar to me. In the history of time, there is only one person who has read all the words that I have read and had all the experiences I have had.

That puts me in a very unique position; a position of sharing what I know with you from a very singular perspective.

On the other hand, I’m very much like most of you. I’m a Christian. I’m a woman. I’m a wife, a stay-at-home mom. I used to work outside the home in a fairly high-pressure job. And so, the wisdom that I have gained in my years on this earth will—I trust—translate easily into your life.

And that is why I have begun writing here. I have so much inside my head, it’s just bursting to get out! I feel like if I don’t begin sharing, my heart will explode. Writing here has been like a spillway letting pressure off the dam inside my head.

Writing here is also causing me to shift my paradigm from that of learner to that of teacher.

Now, some of you may not be familiar with the word paradigm. It’s an awesome word that simply means the set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that dictate the way you view your world. In other words, you are a product of your beliefs and decisions. The Bible puts it this way:

For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he: Prov 23:7a (KJV)

A paradigm shift is that “aha” moment that you experience when you connect the dots in your mind. It’s that moment you finally learn that lesson that God has been trying to teach you. It’s the moment you read a scripture and it speaks something totally different to you than the last time you read it. It’s that moment that you realize that your husband really does mean it when he says he’s thinking about nothing. (see my entry In the Box With No Words)

I have come to realize this forum is a paradigm shift for me. I am going from the mindset of a learner, or a gatherer of information; to the mindset of a teacher, or a sharer of information.

Now anyone who has prepared any type of a lesson knows that when you look at information with a mind toward teaching the material to someone else, you look at the material differently. You actually learn information more thoroughly when you know that you are going to be teaching it to someone else—whether formally or informally.

For that very reason, I look forward to great changes in my life from this website. As I share with you, I expect to become more focused and accountable. I look forward to feedback and critique. I know that sharing with you will make me a better person, and I pray it will benefit you as it does me.

God Bless You On Your Journey!

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2 Comments »

  1. Lundie says

    Thank you for sharing the delineation (learner v. teacher). I spend a lot of time trying to teach, but I don’t think I’m ready for that shift just yet - I still have way too much to learn. But I will share my learning as I learn it. The trouble is, it takes me a really, really, really long time to learn some lessons…. Thank you for continuing to write, and I will really try to delurk! ((hugs))

    July 23rd, 2007 | #

  2. Tamera says

    Lundie,

    I know what you mean about taking a long time to learn a lesson. I’m really struggling in an area that has frustrated me for such a time. It seems I’ll never overcome it!

    July 23rd, 2007 | #

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