Confessions

This article was originally published here, on August 28, 2008.

I have a confession to make. Actually, I have a few confessions. First, I have wanted to start a blog for a couple of years now, but I have been reluctant to do it.  Second, I wanted to come up with a name that was witty, clever, or mysterious--a title that caught people's attention and made them curious about the content--however, I have discovered that I am not as witty, mysterious, clever, or cool as I had hoped.

I must also confess that I have wanted to write for as long as I can remember. Of all my childhood dreams and ambitions, being a writer is the only one that has aged with me. It clings to the recesses of my mind and heart unwilling to let go or to be shaken loose.  When it comes to my desire to be a writer, the "want-to" has never died.

In thinking about this project, I was reminded of Jeremiah. The Lord gave Jeremiah something to say, but Jeremiah dreaded the ridicule he faced and vowed not to speak.  However, he found the Word burned within him. He said, "But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in, indeed, I cannot" (Jer. 20:9-10, NIV). I do not mean to imply that I am a prophet sent by God to blog. The only revelation I have is the Bible. I simply mean that I, much like Jeremiah, have also felt a fire in my heart from a word unspoken (or in this case unwritten).

The task of writing in intensely personal. It reveals the inward thoughts and feelings. Not only does it bring them to the forefront of the mind, but it brings them out into the public for others to view and dissect. Blogging allows others to interact with the writer's thoughts, which can be good and bad. That interaction has the potential to correct errors, to motivate a shift to a different point of view, or to encourage farther discussion and study; but there is also a potential for rejection. However, I know that no matter how people respond to this blog, I have to write because of the burning word in my heart.