A (Medium-Length) Disclaimer That is Written In a Humorous Vein But is Meant With All Love and Sincerity, Because My Mom! Is Nervous About This Blog!!

This blogging stuff makes my mom nervous.

She was brought up (and thus I was brought up) to "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" and not to navel-gaze or air your dirty laundry. My grandmother, Mildred "Johnnie" Anderson had about as tough a childhood as you can imagine. (Mom & Bea, correct me if I am wrong): I don't think she saw a counselor one time in her life. She read her Bible. She prayed. She was a farm wife who raised seven children (and did a million other things, too). There wasn't time to ruminate on what did or didn't happen and how it did or didn't harm her.

So this blog makes my mom nervous. (Hi Mom!)

I am committed to only writing things that I would say to my family and friends (and only writing it after it has been said to them and their permission to write it has been secured!). My purpose in this blog is simply to write what I think and feel about my life, how my faith has informed my life and how my life informs my faith.

It makes my mom nervous! (Love you, Mom!)

I hope it sparks discussion between my family and me and my friends and me. I hope it helps me be more present with people, because I struggle with that a lot.

Most importantly, I hope I glorify God in what I write. At its foundation, this blog is a love letter to God from me. At the next level up, it is a love letter to my mom.

My mom? She is soooo nervous about this! (Squeezing Thad for you, Mom!)

Mom? Don't be nervous. After all, it was you who taught me: That which does not kill us makes us stronger. A blog can't kill us!

So on to the strengthening! (And don't hold my mom responsible for anything I write here, because SHE IS SO NERVOUS ABOUT THIS!) (Hi, Mom!!!)