The Theme of My Blog

It seems like most people who write blogs stick to one theme—something that defines them as a person, something that they enjoy. As I came up with the title of my blog, I tried to think of which subjects I most wanted to write about. Parenthood? Homeschooling? Africa? Life as a missionary wife? Theology? Bible devotions? Political and social themes? 19^th century literature? I could have separate blogs for each subject, but that would be too complicated and it would probably take me years to go back to some of them. So I decided to write about what matters to me.

I absolutely love learning. I liked school (most of the time) as I was growing up, and I never really stopped. I love watching documentaries on the History Channel, I love reading nonfiction books such as books on educational methods. My husband and I share that passion for learning—often the same subjects, though not always. (I can’t imagine how he finds much of interest in WWII battles, and he would probably get bored with books on motherhood.) I also have a passion for teaching. As soon as I learn something, I want to help others learn it, too! I would hate to learn things that other people need to know, and then hide it where they will never find out. This is one characteristic that inspires me to evangelize—everyone needs to know God! It’s a matter of eternal life or death! This matters to me more than anything else. But I also know that people’s daily struggles are very real, and I want to be able to help where I can. Therefore, I am committed to learning about life and teaching others so that I can better help people.

I believe strongly in absolute truth. That doesn’t seem to be very popular in America today, but logic tells us that truth is truth whether we know it or like it or not. I haven’t figured out all the answers to life, but I do believe that there are answers. Sometimes when it seems like there are multiple answers to a question, the truth is that we’re not asking the right questions. Some things are black and white, and others are full of other colors but are just as real. Red may not be black or white, but it is red. Red can’t be whatever you want it to be. We can’t say in life that just because everything isn’t black or white, it doesn’t have an answer and you can do whatever you want. For instance, I believe there can be a tremendous variety in what works in parenting. It’s wonderful that people raise their families in different ways, and we should be sensitive to the diversity and not be judgmental of others. However, there are principles that should guide everyone. I believe that the Bible is unchanging, the perfect inspiration of God, and should guide us in all matters of life. (That will probably turn off some potential blog-readers.) The fact is, God made us and knows more about life than we could ever figure out, if we lived for a thousand lifetimes. He is wise enough to know what is best in each situation, and loving enough to desire what is best for us. I don’t believe that the church, or Christianity, has all the answers. Studying history and current events, I’ve come to realize that some principles of life that the church has promoted are not what God wants for us, according to the Bible. The closer we draw to what God is really teaching us, the closer we will be to absolute truth. It is a passion of mine to seek after that truth, to figure out answers to both abstract and practical matters of life. I’m the kind of person who loves both math and literature. I love math because I love logic and I love literature because it is full of relationships and life. My life is sort of a combination of those two things—trying to figure out how to make logical sense of life and apply absolute principles in the fluid setting of life.

I believe that true wisdom is an honorable goal to strive for, and the desire to share truth is a worthy motive. But without love, I would be nothing. It is not my desire to be proud or to know-it-all, or to lack compassion. I believe that we all can learn, teach, and love each other. I love learning from other people, and I hope that something I say someday can make a difference in someone’s life. If Christ does not guide my thoughts, my words, and my actions; if I do not listen to the Holy Spirit as He teaches me how to serve others; if I am full of myself instead of sincere love for God and others, I will fail. May we all fill our lives with truth and love, which always originate from God.

Learning, teaching, loving. What am I going to talk about in this blog? All of the subjects I mentioned in the first paragraph, and probably more. Whatever new lessons I have been learning in the school of life, I’d like to share about. I’d like to post some of the more important topics first, but I never have time to prepare things the way I want, so I’m going to throw them onto the blog as I get them finished. Some blog entries I could write in one sitting (as long as the kids are sleeping) and others may take weeks to finish. But the kids are waking up now, so I’ll wrap it up. Time to go love and teach my kids!