'Welcome' says it all!
It was well-said by my good friend 'Spongey' that today is the birthday of this site. I do have to admit that the start of this site is long overdue. I have been considering starting a personal journal for some years. In fact, I have tried many times with great enthusiasm to get into the habit of jotting down ideas and inspirations that can somehow capture a little bit about what I am going through in my faith. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm always faded and my goal always failed soon after. I consider now that a shift has taken place in my motivation for starting a journal; whereas I once believed that the strength and degree of growth of my spiritual life is measured by the number of hours spent in prayer, reading my Bible and a number of other solitary exercises that I myself have the power over to control and regulate in my life, including reflective journalling, I have come to realise a deeper reality that has a greater sway over my Christian walk.
As I write my first post welcoming others who are willing to spend the time reading this site, I realise further that the welcome is not just for others. It is for myself as well. Normally a welcome is thought of as being extended to others to 'move from the outside in' so to speak. But what if this concept were to be turned around and applied to oneself as well? What a profound result it would be if the welcome became an invitation to share myself with others...to 'move from the inside out'. As I ponder this, I must acknowledge that perhaps the concept of community has a deeper influence on the Christian journey than the concept of the individual with regard to faith and experience. What I mean by this is that, surely, Christians grow far more fruitfully by embracing the community of their faith than if they were to walk this journey alone? Surely my desire to journal must in some way reach out to the 'other', and not simply be for myself?
Far too much of the Christian Church, at least in the western world, suffers from a stagnating hedonism where we only seek to take part in the things that gratify and satisfy the individual self. I hope that, through this blogging site, I can reach out to others and share some part of myself with them. I hope to extend an invitation to us both, the 'individual' and the 'other', to share in the experiences that make us truly Christian. Welcome, one and all!
