Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

I was tagged by Bill Williams over at Spiritual Oasis Saturday to do this, so am going to give it a shot.  I normally hate these things, but this one is interesting and shouldn’t take long.  Not that I’m one without words to write, you understand.  I’m rarely at a loss for words, as all of you who read my blog regularly know.

I began blogging in February of 2005 on a whim.  I had heard the word "blog," but knew nothing about them, where to find one or what it would look like when I did.  As with most bloggers I’ve met since, I started by Googling Mike Cope’s name because my brother-in-law in Abilene was "reading" him and it sounded interesting.

1.  Blogging opened up a whole new wonderful world to me.  I had no idea what I was getting into, but found it to be a wonderful place full of all kinds of people from all over the world.  I quickly went from "just looking" at Mike Cope’s blog (which he had with Blogger at the time), to setting up my own.  Not being that computer literate, my blog was rather plain, but I liked to think of it as being elegant and understated.  

 It was not easy for me at all to figure out all of the "rules" in Blogger and/or how to do anything, even import a photo for my profile.  Tom had to do it for me and it took him several hours to get it all figured out and how to do it.  

I’ve come a long way since then.  I "moved" over here to my current website in September 2006 with the help of TheoBloggers and have been very happy with it since. 

2.  I have a huge array of Christian friends from all around the world whom I would never have known if not for blogging.  Some of my best friends now are my blogging friends.  It’s been amazing to me to have met so many of you, either by your comments here or by you emailing me.  I love you guys!

3.  Blogging has given me my writing "voice" back.  With all of the different things I have done, degrees I’ve obtained, the careers I’ve worked, even as an attorney in the practice of law, I’ve always considered myself more than anything a writer.  So, blogging is an excellent forum in which to hone my craft.

I had not been writing very much and certainly not to an "audience" when I started blogging and this has been tons of fun, inspirational and a good discipline.  I consider blogging to be my special ministry, too.  

4.  Blogging has shown me I have an addictive personality!!  I’m not nearly as bad as I once was, but I’m definitely hooked on reading all of my friends’ blogs nearly every day, if not every day, and cruising to find new people through comments other places to check out and read.  It’s lots of fun, but time consuming, as all of you fellow bloggers know.  So, I have to force myself to stay within certain boundaries with reading blogs.  It can get out of hand very quickly.

5.  Blogging has given me all of you, who come here to visit and read, to count on in all kinds of troubles.  Because of all of you, whom I’ve met through blogging, I know that I always have friends who will pray with me, care about me and my family, comfort me and strengthen me.  ALWAYS!  In other words . . . blogging has been a tremendous blessing in my life.

  Cheers & Blessings to you all today!  Dee