I am so honored to be featured all week on the homepage of FaithBlogs:
and to make an appearance on their blog here, and with this familiar guest post.
It is a great joy to be included in the company of other inspiring, insightful, and creative blogs written by godly folks. However, to be featured as a blog and blogger has brought into focus a question no one ever asks (me), but I choose to answer (for myself) each day:
“Why do you blog?”
Why do I consciously answer this each day? Because there is a question that many DO ask me regularly:
“How do you do it all–craft, cook, raise kids, minister, and blog on top of it all?”
In honor of my special week as the first week-long featured blog on FaithBlogs, I thought it would be a good opportunity to be vulnerable and real, and to share my answer to the question no one asks, and the question many do. So…
Why do I blog?
The simple answer is that I truly enjoy it. Here are some reasons I do:
1. Blogging goes hand in hand with my desire to be a blessing in other women’s lives in Titus 2 fashion, without overextending myself in multiple ministries outside the home during this season of childrearing and schooling.
2. I love writing and conversing with adults; and right now, my days are filled with people under 9 yrs. of age.
3. I love the discipline of cataloguing my thoughts and images of what might be small moments in life. I mentioned this in a previous post.
4. I’m obsessed with the challenge of making everyday life one that is deliberately Grace-filled, and an unexpected blessing to others…I love that blogging is in some ways, online hospitality.
Like I said, no one really ever asks me that question. I think people assume that the answer is obvious: that I must have a life worth blogging about, that daily living is lovely and beautiful in my home, and that God’s Word overwhelms me to the point of overflow. Or that I may have too much time on my hands and am addicted to the internet. 
…which is why I think I am often asked the question:
How do you do it all–craft, cook, raise kids, minister, and blog on top of it all?
The simple answer here is that I prioritize and make choices. Blogging cannot take precedent over serving my husband or caring for my children, or praying for and counseling those hurting in my church…otherwise I’d be failing my higher calling…and I’d have nothing genuine to blog about. Because I’ve chosen to make blogging a discipline, I choose to forfeit other forms of entertainment oftentimes, and prioritize time to write at the end of the day.
My blog reflects my life; it can’t be the other way around. Undoubtedly, blogging for an audience that includes more than immediate family and friends can be fertile soil for the temptation for 1) seeking the approval of others, 2) the pride of appearances, or 3) even the deceptive sin of self-absorption. If one allows that trifecta of fleshly self to take root, she will quickly find all joy lost in the process of blogging. That’s my experience and my conviction.
Rather than forming my life to look as polished as my blog, I seek to make my blog the resonating heart of what I hope to live everyday. My blog is not an online diary or a show and tell; it is the best representation I can give to the world of what God’s doing in and through my life.
Art imitating life, not life imitating art. That is the only way I can make blogging an important part of my life:
It’s simply that blogging is not that important; living is.
I know you all didn’t ask these questions, but thank you for allowing me to answer them. Being honored by a network of blogs that seeks to make much of faith in Christ, compelled not just an acceptance of that honor, but an honest look at why I’m here in the first place.
Have a lovely day, friends, and thank you for dropping by here. You are a blessing in my life.
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Ruth, Thank you for this well written and honest post!
Well said. I am thrilled to find your blog through Faith Blogs! I blog for very similar reasons. Thank you for your online presence — it is a blessing!
Wow,Ruth, you’ve done it again! You’ve so clearly given the reasons for blogging, I strive for those to be my reasons as well. But, you’ve also convicted me (again). I just started a new blog (I used to leave comments as “MCA”) and the hours that it has been taking to get it up and going has been more than I desire. My house is a wreck and my kids neglected. For the last few days, I have felt a weighty conviction of this. Thank you for putting into words where blogging should be in my life. Yes, you are indeed a blessing! Isn’t it wonderful the timeliness of the Lord’s work in us?! Thank you.
@WillingCook: Thanks for your honesty. Just like everything else, blogging can be a wonderful thing, but if it is an idol, we must call it like it is…and refocus. Looking forward to checking out your new blog!
Dear Ruth,
I now understand this mysterious inclination, deep in my soul, to call you “Ruth Jie Jie”. It’s because I am one of those younger women in Titus 2!
I want to affirm that in my life, you have in the most lovely ways achieve your goals through this space.
Thank you. =)
@Seda: I’m so humbled and your sweet comment has brought tears to my eyes. I have always wanted a little sister. Thank you for making me a part of your life!
=) As I was writing it, I thought, this is going to totally freak her out!
I am the oldest of four daughters, so the inclination to call anyone “jie jie” is foreign to me. But with you, it seems so fitting.
As a young mom, I am still learning to tune into my “motherly instincts”. I see things from a distance and still dimly in certain places. Your words cast light in these dark corners and help me to know things that I need to think about or pray for.
*sigh* Praise be to our Lord who works in such wonderful ways.
You have a beautiful blog and an even more beautiful spirit about you. I love the way you put your reasons for blogging — beautifully put! I too am a pastor’s wife, mom of 3 littles, homeschooler, and blogger. I can’t wait to get to know you better.
xo,
Michelle
Michelle-Thank you for visiting! I so appreciate your kind and encouraging comment! I I look forward to visiting your blog as well. Blessings!