To Blog or Not to Blog?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had more ideas bouncing around in my head than time to make them happen. I think the difference between people who are perceived as “creative” and those who are not, is that a creative mind lacks a certain amount of rationality that says “that’s probably not possible”. It keeps trying and creating and exploring different avenues until the vision in their head matches the reality in their world. I’m blessed like this. But my brain make-up has a difficult side, and I’ve talked to many “right brained” people who agree. My imagination is so active that it gets me in trouble… I can imagine and pursue a good outcome as easily as producing a bad one in my mind, and it makes me prone to overthinking symptoms… second guessing people’s motives… all sorts of things that are not positive. (That’s a subject for another day). For this reason, I have to stay very busy making good, wholesome and beautiful things a reality so that there are no voids left that the dark can fill.

The catch is that we NEED the void sometimes…. God wants to be what we are filling the void with. We need to make time to hear and be heard. We need to clear the spiritual clutter rather than create more of it. And for this reason, every time I think about new ways to create or design, a certain amount of conviction warns that I should be clearing my plate, not putting more on it. Blogging has always seemed to be the last thing I needed to clutter my life with. As much as I’ve wanted to share what I’m doing, I worry about filling my last spaces up with meaningless things.

Lately after a lot of thought however, I’ve come to a different conclusion. You see I have dealt with anxiety through the years and the one thing that God helped me with is staying busy and focused to avoid my brain going to bad places. A dear friend of mine gave me a hanging on my wall with Philippians 4:8 on it. It says “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” When my Dad visited recently, he commented on that scripture being the antidote to depression, anxiety and turmoil. To think on things that are true, virtuous beautiful and lovely. And I have SO much in my life, PRAISE GOD, that I can call all those things. It hit me that essentially if my goal on a blog was to channel these things to other people… that it was okay! I could actually record the things that I do and see that are beautiful, true and of good report.

I feel like other people would benefit too. Things that make my life better, and my family’s lives better. Things that I love to share and pass on. Things that I feel could help other people in their homes and businesses. And mostly testimonies about the amazing ways I see God dealing in my day to day life. He is not a relic to me… He has made His presence known so clearly to me…and I see him in everything. I want to share all of it.

The other obvious concern is the impact on my family. My sister and I photographer a wedding in New Jersey together a couple of years ago and during that trip we starting discussing what it would be like to have a blog that showed more than just photography. That shared the different projects we do. We had both concluded that it was too much to put on our plates… but then we thought of sharing it. It was a way where we could share the load and not put a burden on our families by robbing time from them to do it. It’s been a two year period of pondering. Thinking. Praying. I don’t do things half way, I knew if I did it… we would have to do it right.

I felt like I found a peace with an answer God gave me. I felt like I got a “move forward” with a clause… to do everything as unto Him. Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

So as I move forward with blogging, I want people to know that Omi nor I intend to “show off” or flash our skill sets cheaply in front of the internet. We feel privileged and blessed with amazing families and encouraging husbands and we feel like the things we share can maybe bless someone else here or there. We have been given talent and we want to use it and publicly give glory to Jesus who gave us the gifts. If we make money it’ll help us to share vacations together, perhaps bless someone else…. once again if we’re to give glory and thanks in everything to God, then the way we make our living is no exception.

So yes… I decided to blog after all. It may be for a short season, or a long haul. It may grow or shrink, be something or nothing… but ultimately I want to stay in a position that keeps me focused on the right things.  I hope everyone that participates is blessed.