A New Direction

Well, I've been alluding to this announcement for some time, but here it is in all its detail: my goals for this blog are changing. I hope you’ll join me (even though the only time I have to post seems to be in the middle of the night when I'm having trouble sleeping).

Originally, I had only a few goals when I started this Blog:

• Efficiently update concerned family and friends who wanted to know about Brynn’s critical condition.
• Inspire by sharing the blessing of God’s peace during challenging times
• Record my life in a convenient form of journaling

Over time, I added more goals:

• Educate (prematurity, deafness, and other odd topics are difficult to just write about without explanations)
• Entertain (though I confess I didn’t know why anyone would find my rather average life entertaining)

Then, last December, I read Sharon Slater’s Stand For the Family and Skousen’s 5000-Year Leap and something inside me ignited. I also read a few books by H. Verlan Anderson and the feeling became consuming.

I realize I may not be a person of any real consequence in this world, but I’ll tell you: I wanted to take a Stand.

So I did.

In many respects, it was my first time really Standing for anything. And being so new, I made some mistakes that were unforgettably, excruciatingly painful. I worried I had embarrassed not only myself but also those dearest to me.

I thought how easy it would be to sit silent. I could post pictures of the kids, report on trivial news, and joke about diapers and spit up. I told myself: it’s all that my readers want, anyway. I thought about how easy it would be to just keep living my wonderful, comfortable life instead of painting myself as a “crazy radical.” Couldn’t I just keep my thoughts between God, my husband, and the voting booth? I wondered if I was risking my reputation. And if so, was it worth it?

I prayed. I studied scripture. I consulted with my husband. I went to our sacred LDS Temple.

Yet my desire to take a Stand kept getting stronger. I read BROKE by Glenn Beck, watched I.O.U.S.A. several times, and reviewed Egonomics again. I even added None Dare Call it Conspiracy just in case I wasn't already “radical” enough.

I cried. I lost sleep. I worried. I wrestled. I questioned. I cried some more.

And now, here I am. This blog is changing. Sure, I will still keep my 2011 Resolutions, report on big news like Brynn’s surgery, and post pictures when it is convenient. But this blog is decidedly not about my daily news. This blog is about finding Truth and Standing for it.

My Isaiah project is part of this. It is almost as much political as it is religious (I know…could anyone possibly cover more controversial topics at once than combining religion and politics?)

I hope you, dear reader, will not be passive if you disagree with what I think is true. I hope you will challenge me and point out the holes in my logic—because you may know some Truth that I don’t have. I hope I can improve in my ability to listen to criticism. I will love you still even if we have to agree to disagree. But in the end I will do my best to stand.

Will you join me?

2011Res: To Matt: I love that you got on board with my FHE idea to bake cookies...and then did all the baking by yourself. To my girls: today I savored Brynn's first big success on potty training. Hooray! Dear Mr H: today I made an extra big effort to be cheerful even when both girls were crying all evening long because I love you.