Why?

Why am I writing this blog?

1. Share the gospel.  
1. I believe in God.  I hope through this blog to show how He influences my life in hopes that it may help others recognize His hand in their lives as well.  
2. Grow personally.  
1. Similarly to a journal, I hope that by putting my thoughts down on 'electronic' paper, it will facilitate my own spiritual growth.
2. Putting thoughts down in words can bring clarity to a subject.  If I blog about significant events and decisions, it will clarify the direction of my life.  "The unexamined life is not worth living." (Socrates [via Plato, Apology 38a)])
3. If I document life's learnings, perhaps I will better remember them and not need repeat whippings.  
3. Benefit the world.
1. I hope to better the world in some small way through my life's efforts.  If I capture my thoughts here they will be made available to future generations and available to others currently living.  Even if nobody else ever sees this blog, by electronically capturing thoughts I have along the pathway of life, they will be more easily retrievable by me later in life when I have better figured out what I am doing.  
2. The world includes my posterity.  If I can capture some of my life's learnings in this blog, it will hopefully help my posterity avoid some of the pitfalls that have beset me.  
4. Draw closer together as a family.
1. By sharing this blog with family members, I hope it draws us closer together.
5. Enable people to get to know/trust me.
1. The farther I get in life, the more I understand the importance of personal relationships. If I can capture the thoughts and desires of my heart in this blog, it will enable others to get to know me, to an extent, and thereby come to trust me.  Hopefully this will facilitate relationships. 

In the Beginning

Well, I have finally decided to move into the 21st century and start blogging instead of journaling.  For today, we will declare victory just for having set this thing up and registered a domain name for our family's website: www.bc-p.us.  It was the shortest url I could find that somehow tied into our family (my first initial, Chris' first initial, -, last name initial, 2-letter tld that applies (we live in the US) and signifies our family (us)) and had some degree of rememberability.

Update 1/22/11: There is no substitute for journaling. Blogging does not replace the NEED to journal.