Why?

There is a reason behind everything we do. Nothing is random. For example, how do you deal with confused thoughts? Or decision making? Or worries and concerns? Or even issues you care about deeply like religion and faith? That’s a good place to stop for now. So, how do you deal with the doubts or questions that arise from your deep seated, long held, beliefs? It’s a big ask and no small task.

Some will involve a professional counsellor if the problem is deep enough. Some will talk to a trusted friend, and let’s face it, we all need trusted friends. It has also been known for some to call into TV or radio help shows. When you go shopping for your groceries, what do you do? I for one will make a list because I want to make sure I get everything I need. It also gives me some peace of mind because I have already given my outing to the shop, some significant thought. That makes the whole operation easier.

Similarly, my way of handling my thoughts about the things I care about is to write them down, a bit like the shopping list except on a bigger scale, and for a much more important purpose. The name for people who do this nowadays, is a ‘blogger’ and the things they write down is a ‘blog’. When the blog is complete, and is something you don’t mind sharing with others, it can be published online to one of the sites that are for that very purpose. If you are a thinker/blogger it can be a help if there are others out there who have come across the same things, or are going through it now. Those people who a add constructive comment will contribute to the level of help, support and growth needed.

I know what some are thinking. Why write it down like a journal at all? Why make it public? Are you feeling insecure? It has to be said that not everyone who reads these thoughts will think or comment positively. It’s a risk, so not done for a sense of vanity. Think about it this way, if you read a blogger’s thoughts, you are seeing into their heart. You may or may not agree or like what you read, but then again, you may read a thought you have already entertained. As I said, it’s a risk. However, for the most part the good and helpful comments will outweigh the negative and bad, so the judgement is that it is worth doing. Welcome to my world!

Blogger's Block

You have heard of writers who get writer’s block, well its distant cousin is Blogger’s Block. There is little known about what causes it, but apparently it can be a small thing. I don’t know how you deal with the things on your mind, for my part I tend to write it down. I suppose that makes me a blogger of sorts. Not so much to get a response, but as a kind of therapy to face the issues that mean something to me.

I usually end up writing about matters of faith, because that is the subject that means
the most to me, and in a normal week about 2 or 3 blogs will be written and possibly
published on a couple of systems. Responses are good for the most part, and even those
who would not claim to be of the same church or faith group will be positive in their
comments. So, what has happened during this month’s dry spell?

When something rocks the foundation of your belief system, it drags you down, and in
dragging you down you stop doing those normal routine things. The bottom line is that
you don’t see a way to work through your ‘problem’, and so the Blogger’s Block happens.
Fortunately this doesn’t happen often, and my solution is to give it enough time to
percolate through my subconscious and convince myself the thing I worried about
was never really a problem in the first place. Was it? Or is it still there?

Blogging

You can make friends and enemies when you put your thoughts down in a blog. That is understandable, because all bloggers have opinions, which they freely express, but the reverse is also true because readers have opinions too. Sometimes differing views on the same topic, and sometimes the lines cross, and we end up having a better understanding, even when not in agreement, than when we stood alone in our thinking.

As you may know, this particular website will cease in August, and be replaced by a new and hopefully better signpost to our local church at: http://portnazarene.wix.com/portglasgownazarenes and we hope you will join us there. It is impossible to know how many people read the blogs, but we can say with certainty how many respond with their own comments. Sadly, there can be little interaction so it is  impossible to gauge any general thinking on any subject whether inside or outside the local church. The new website already has links to the blogger within its pages, so you can still read, and either ignore or reply on the blogger’s original website:  http://pics-mphoto.blogspot.co.uk/. I do not expect the traffic to increase just because there is a new website, but I hope you will continue to pop in occasionally to see what’s going on in our local church and community.

I mentioned responses, and at this point, I feel I must thank Anon for his contributions over a period of time on same sex marriage in Scotland and the UK. We do not always agree. In fact we seldom do, but I recognise the depth of feeling he expresses, and the frustration that the law is not changing as fast as he would like. On this subject, I reckon we will always be in opposite corners of the debate, but I am getting to know Anon a little better each time there is a contact. It may come as a surprise, but I prefer it when someone is open and says what they think (even when anonymous), to silence when guesswork is needed. This is a church website and blog, and so I think the vast majority of readers will be mainstream Christian. So, the question I have to ask myself is, why are there no other responses? I think Anon’s opinions would represent the minority of readers, and yet he expresses himself for us all to read, but there is no alternate view to act as a balance. It is no longer an argument/debate between Anon and me, it is more like a conversation where we know what we each think, and allow our opinions to be aired, and in the process get to understand our belief systems. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so, after all we are told not to judge, even when we disagree. Now that the UK law is being altered to allow for same sex marriage, I don’t think I will hear from Anon again, because it seemed to be a one story comment response. I hope I am wrong.

So, all that to say thanks to Anon (whoever you are, and wherever you live) for your openness, and even your frustration with my own opposing opinions. I do not see you as an enemy, but just like me, a sinner in need of God’s grace! In that respect, we stand on level ground at the foot of the cross, and as individuals before the judgement throne!

Loneliness of the Blogger

There is a movie called, “The loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”, and I have to say that blogging is a bit like that. The blogger takes a chance by putting his or her thoughts into words, perhaps badly, and placing them in open view for all to see. No exceptions, except those who do not own a computer, and if that was true, you wouldn't be reading this right now! There is also more than one website which carries my blogs, so they do reach a wide and varied audience.

As a Christian, I have a Bible based worldview, or big picture type of thinking, obviously founded on years in and around church, Christians, and church folks, although not exclusively. I do have some experience of life in general, so I hope that can help me give a balanced view. There's the problem! My worldview as a Christian, can be worlds apart from another Christian, who will take an opposite view on some of my thinking. Is that a problem?

I am still learning. I have not “got it all together” even yet. I like to hear other's views and opinions, so I don't mind disagreements or other thoughts being expressed reasonably, logically, and well. I suppose that's “non judgemental compromise or negotiation”. However, for that to work, each side has to be prepared to move. It is not my job to judge. That lies with the great Judge, who will make His verdict known perhaps in this life, but certainly in the next.

So what has prompted this blog? Just the fact that I have had recent responses which have taken a different side from my own views, and maybe, just maybe, I have offended someone. I would not want that. I hope we are all, as adults, able to listen to each other's thoughts, agree or disagree, and move on. Now I come back to the title of the blog, and that's where it can become lonely. My only defence is that my own worldview is made up from my convictions, both spiritual and physical. I cannot change the good and bad lessons of life I have been taught, but maybe I can change the way I react to them.