Blogging for granted

"A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not."

A blog is whatever you want it to be. Mmmmm... Whatever I want it to be. I would have to ponder that for a while before I could put down in words what I want my blog to be. However, I don't have to think long about what the others' blogs ant the blogging community have meant to me.

To me, the central theme of life is relationships. My spiritual life is about a relationship with Christ. At the core of my social life is my relationship with my wife and my children. There are relationships at work with my peers as well as those above me. Business relationships, neighbors, close friends, casual acquaintances, family. Life is all about relationships. For me, even though my running and my physical fitness is much about a personal, inner struggle and quest, it's more so about relationships. I really believe that through a healthy lifestyle, I can be a better friend, a better husband, a better father, a better employee, and a better follower of Christ.

So, what do I want my blog to be? I want it to be a vehicle for developing relationships, creating new ones and so far, mission accomplished. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends that I have met and gotten to know through blogging. Thank you for sharing your lives with me, your struggles, your victories, and sometimes what may be Too Much Information. :o)

I know that blogging opens up parts of our lives to the world (literally). Also, blogging can become mundane. It opens us up to ridicule, critisism, flaming. But it also helps build relationships. We get to know each other. We get to encourage each other. I get advice from some pretty awesome runners. I learn from others' victories and from their defeats. By the very vulnerability that opens us up to critisism, we gain so much more in the building of relationships with friends.

So, thank you friends for not taking blogging for granted. Thank you for sharing your lives with me and with the world. Thanks you for opening up your lives to me and the world to see. Thanks for letting me get to know you. I truly count you as my friends.

God bless!!!