Why blog?

Recently several of my blogger buddies are either closing down their blogs or taking a break. This has led me to ask myself the question, "Why do I blog?"

I have seen some of the comments around the blogosphere, and I know that some people set a goal of reaching fifty or more followers. Others get discouraged if there are not frequent comments made on their posts. Sometimes bloggers run dry in their creativity and just need a break. Most of the time I think it is a matter of life just getting too busy to keep up the way they want, so they just give up. I'm sure there are other reasons that people quit blogging that I'm not aware of.

I started blogging in February of 2009. Blogging has opened up a whole new world for me. I really feel it is a gift from God. I've always wanted to write, but never really had an outlet. Blogging has become a very inexpensive hobby, and has blessed me with new friendships from all over the country, and once in a while, from other places in the world as well.

I've learned a lot along the way. One of the hardest lessons I've learned is how public the blogosphere is. I've learned this is not like writing in a personal diary. I've regretted some of the posts I've written. Hopefully I've learned to use greater sensitivity. I think blogging has sharpened me and has made me think more about my potential audience, not just about myself.

While I enjoy comments, I don't find my self-worth in whether or not I receive them. I once thought it was important to have a lot of followers, and it was exciting each time someone new showed up on my page. Soon I realized that it was more meaningful to me to have a few blogging friends who I connected with fairly regularly than to have 40 or 50 faces on my page who I really know nothing about.

My daughter-in-law once told me that more people read your blog than you are aware of. They just don't leave comments. I have found this is true...Every now and then I run into someone who tells me they read my blogs, or it comes up in a social setting.

I'm sure there are as many reasons that people blog as there are different personalities. And if you maintain more than one blog, usually it is because each serves a different purpose or a different audience. My main blog, "life between the buns" is a documentation of the stage of life I am living right now. I try to think how blessed I would be if I had access to this kind of information about my own parents or grandparents. It sort of says, "this is my life" and maybe someday my children or grandchildren will be interested in what my daily life was like.

My "mistress of my domain" blog zeros in more specifically about my personality as I am basically a homebody and have loved being a wife, homemaker, mother, and now grandma. I also enjoy mentoring younger women and while I'll never leave a huge mark upon the world, I enjoy passing on things I've learned on the homefront. The title comes from an in-depth Bible study I took years ago, and have actually taught a few times, called The Five Aspects of Woman. It was a life-changing study for me which helped me once and for all accept who I am as a beloved daughter of God, and revel in my femininity. (I think I'll blog about that sometime!)

The third blog I have, gingersnaps and black licorice, is basically a tribute to my dad, who left me the gift of many notes of his life story in his own words. Family was everything to him, and this blog is my way of sharing it with anyone who might be interested, especially family members and posterity.

So, I'm curious. Why do you blog?