and so it begins...

Well, this is one of those things that's probably been a long time coming, but just wasn't the right thing before now. A blog. My issues with blogging exist on several levels and are some of what has kept me silent in this arena of cyberspace before now. First and foremost, we talk FAR more than we listen already, and this forum provides for that freely. Secondly, many of us talk before we stop to think and once it's written and "out there" it's a bit more difficult to be conscientious of how we are impacting others with our sometimes well-meaning, but poorly delivered speech. Thirdly, the direct warning in Proverbs haunts me regularly and provides an appropriate level of fear for diving into this. "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." Proverbs 10:19. So, it is with much trepidation, but also with some expectancy that I venture into this area of "free speech".

It's no surprise to you, I'm sure, that God has created each of us differently. Many of us are verbal processors, while others of us are silent and reflective generally. Some of us are emotional and passionate outwardly, while others of us tend to simmer and stew at a slow boil beneath the surface. ALL of us however were created in the image of God, with a capacity for adoration and glorification of Him and, for those of us who've been redeemed, sanctified and justified by the blood of His Son, we are commanded to pursue holiness. It's not something that we get to elect like the courses we'll take in college or the amount of co-pay we want on our insurance. It's a command. "Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:15-16.

These verses have begun to absolutely shake me to the very core of who I am, disrupt my casual christianity and leave me stripped down and bare before their very simple words. BE HOLY. That's the reason for this blog. See, I am a verbal processor and over the last year (or three!), God's taken me on a very painful, very eye-opening, very humbling and very restorative journey. I'm nowhere NEAR the end of it and won't be until the day I close my eyes in death and open them in His presence. But, I believe the time has come to "go public" with the journey in hopes that maybe you'll journey with me and we can learn together what it looks like to BE HOLY in the 21st century. I have a feeling it won't look at all like I've let it look thus far. Pursuit. "an effort to secure or attain. quest. any occupation or pastime in which a person is engaged regularly or customarily." This is my holiness pursuit.

peace.