Life is a tapestry, blogging a thread.

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Life is like a tapestry.

In the same way dark threads weave together with other glorious hues to produce a custom tapestry, hard circumstances weave together with glorious circumstances to produce a customized life not duplicated by anyone else in history.

My week has been filled with both hard and glorious circumstances.

As I write today, I celebrate the glorious truth that my husband and I have reached 22-years of marriage. We actually made it!

My dear husband, I am more committed to this marriage and to you than I have ever been. The story we have is ours. No one else shares it and no one else knows it like we do, not even our children. I love this marriage simply because it’s our story to live. Happy Anniversary, my love.

We celebrated with our eleven-year-old in a quaint town for the evening. For some other couples in their 50’s and 60’s that might seem unusual but for us it is perfection. It’s our story. God has made no mistakes.

As I write today, I mourn the death of my 13 1/2 year old dog. My dear Doby had congestive heart failure that had gotten severe enough for the vet to start suggesting that I end his suffering. He was in a panting fight for every breath but he kept wagging his tail so I postponed the inevitable. This week he woke up one day with an impaired left side that prevented him from rolling over for a belly scratch and forced him to walk lop-sided. He chose sitting still instead of trying to walk and tilt over. It was time. Within one hour of the photo below, my little guy was gone.

Doby, I picked you out when you were one pound! I have no memory of you yapping, growling, nipping or biting. All you did was wag your tail and love me. You were a gift from God. I have bawled myself to sleep this week because, yes, I loved you that much.

As I write today, I have crossed the glorious one-year milestone of blogging. When I posted my first blog last year on August 11, 2014, I did not know if I would even like blogging, how often I would write, if anyone would read my posts or how long I would keep it up. I didn’t even know how to incorporate pictures.

I have now posted every single week for a year. I can’t believe it.

In my inaugural post, I expressed my purpose for blogging as making “room for God in cyberspace. In a crowded world with voices clamoring…with freedom of speech still a precious human right…I want to lend my voice in a way that gives God a platform with which He can do what He wants. That’s all.”

As I re-read those words today, I still agree with this blog’s original intent, but I now have additional reasons to blog. The discipline of blogging has calibrated my soul in two ways. First, my mind constantly has something profitable to think about. Second, my blog holds me accountable to live what I say. I am painfully aware every moment that my life better match my blog.

I have enjoyed having a place for my mind to go when life is difficult and I need a mental break. When I am in the car alone and need something productive to think about besides gossip, horrid news stories or ruminating on my problems, there’s always next week’s blog post to think about! I have settled into a routine of thinking about an idea by Wednesday night, creating a draft on Thursday, re-writing and adding pictures on Friday, tweaking on Saturday. As you all know, posts go live at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings, the Lord’s day (unless another day is selected on purpose because the post requires a specific date).

Because of blogging, I have lived out Philippians 4:8 more this past year than I ever have.

Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I have purposed in my blog to communicate boldly about Christian life and faith and sprinkle it with tidbits about my life. I have written what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. At least I hope so. I have certainly aimed for that to be true.

Because of blogging, I have lived out James 1:22 more this past year than I ever have.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Since I am saying so much publicly–whether people are reading or not–my sense of accountability has increased. Whoever reads my blog and then gets to know me had better see the same woman twice! I must live what I am saying.

This week I have been mulling over in my mind that

I don’t want to read the Bible.

Gasp.

I want to live the Bible.

I want to look like its pages.  Writing about what the Bible says each week has kept me living its pages better.

One thing that hasn’t evolved like I had imagined concerns people chiming in through the comments feature. That has not occurred. Perhaps it is because I have not tackled controversial topics as I originally imagined. Communicating on-line has scary limitations. People can’t hear my tone of voice, ask for clarification of sentences or words, or see my facial expressions. The print on white “paper” always leans toward harsh, cold, matter-of-fact interpretation. Very risky.

So on the one hand, it may look like I have taken the safe path, but on the other hand, I have not watered down any biblical principles. These days, biblical principles are becoming increasingly controversial.

My heart can still pray as I did in my first post, Lord, this space is yours.

My book has come out during this first year of blogging. Lord, the book is yours.

I have been piloting the companion study guide for the book. Lord, the study guide is yours too.

Blogging has been a consistent reminder of what my life is to be about, and how important it is that I live it well!

Blogging has been a thread in my customized tapestry of life.

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