The Reason I Write

Since I first began blogging, I have frequently been asked how the blog got its name.
Why is this referred to as my sitting room?

I began blogging in a season of life when I was doing a lot of sitting.  The sitting began back in the spring of 2005 when I shattered my left ankle.  Seven months, multiple surgeries, and many hours of physical therapy later, I had surgery on my right knee, all of which resulted in a lot of sitting.

I spent the better part of a year just sitting, eating a lot of yummy food brought in by family and friends, and getting to know the Food Network and the Travel Channel much too well.  The end result was a new habit - sitting.

Unfortunately, all that sitting did not result in any profound new thought processes or anything really worthwhile.  It mostly resulted in a broader backside and a more-sedentary-than-ever lifestyle. I wasted countless hours just sitting, doing nothing or watching mindless television.  And I read a lot of books, many of them not worth reading.

When I entered the blogosphere and was trying to decide on a title for my writings, it seemed appropriate to refer to it as a Sitting Room.  After all, sitting was a habit of life! But as I began writing, my goal became for my sitting to be "on purpose", an opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus, to hear from Him, and then to share what He was teaching me.

Some days it seems no one pays much attention to what I write.  And that's OK.  Because some days, especially the days it seems no one is paying attention, are the days what I write is more for me than for anyone else.  On those days, what I have written helps to articulate to me more than to anyone else what God is speaking to my heart on that day.  I hope that doesn't sound selfish; it isn't meant that way at all.

From the beginning, this blog has been about sharing what God is teaching me.  Some days what I write is very serious; some days it may be mildly amusing.  On some days it may be exactly what someone out there somewhere needs to hear.  And on some days, it turns out to be just for me. 

Every post is not deeply spiritual or theological in nature.  Some posts are focused on something I read or some anecdote from daily life.  Occasionally I go "off script" for a rant about a pet peeve.  And sometimes the posts stem from some crisis or another in my life, like a dead car battery or the time I started the coffee maker without first emptying the carafe and ended up with coffee all over the countertop and floor. There are life lessons to be learned even in those moments.

It is always my hope that what I write will in some way encourage someone.  It is my deep desire that what I write will "be good and helpful, so that [my] words will be an encouragement."  (Ephesians 4:29 NLT)

Whether a day's post brings huge numbers of readers to the blog, or only a few, or even none on a given day, before I write a word, I want to sit and listen.  To ponder.  To hear Him speak to me.  Then I want to share what I have learned in a way that honors God and encourages others.

It's the reason I write.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."  (Psalm 19:14 ESV)