Meeting up Again...

From the beginning I have tried to make my blog as transparent and about who I am and where I am at a particular time in my life as possible. I have dabbled a little in creative writing, poetry, and quite a bit of political commentary. But the things that generate the most response and are the most therapeutic for me are the random postings of what I did on a particular day and what I thought and felt throughout the course of those happenings.

The advantage of this type of blogging is that those who are around me, those who are an immediate part of my life, can read my posts and say “Yep, that’s Craig,” but also know that I am so much more than what I can write within a thirty minute period of time. The disadvantage is that I am taking a huge risk that someone who is not a part of my immediate world will read my words and say “That’s Craig,” but will have no other frame of reference from which to draw a mental picture of what type of person I am right now.

For example, someone could read my posts from Saturday night and reasonably come to the conclusion that I have an alcohol issue. Truth is, I have moderated my views on alcohol quite a bit over the past few years. And, after a few years of tweaking, my actions regarding alcohol have moderated as well. In the past two months I’ve probably consumed 5 alcoholic beverages, max.

You could also scroll down and find a handful of f-bombs peppered throughout my posts and conclude that I have a potty mouth. Truth is, I have moderated my views on language that can be considered offensive. And, after a few years of tweaking, my language…. Oh, who am I kidding. I have a potty mouth.

Why am I writing this? In trying to promote Kyle’s book to everyone in my contact list I have reconnected with some friends that I haven’t seen or spoken with in years. Knowing (and happy) that I’ll renew a relationship with some of them, they are bound to find my blog (since I like to put my address on my emails.)

So to my old friends that I hope and pray will, in some way, become a part of my life again, I say this: I am a different person than who I was 2, 5, 10 years ago. I hope you are as well. I have different passions, different friends, different ideas, different direction. You can look at my words and decide (as some have in the past) that the October 25, 2004 Craig just isn’t as good or spiritual or the same as the Craig you once knew. You can put me on your prayer list (which I hope you would do anyway) and ask God to restore me (i.e., make me a theological conservative again.) You can "remove your endorsement" of me (as has been done.) Or you can rejoin me on this path I’m on.

I am still just a person stumbling after God. There are people with me who I love deeply who are stumbling as well. At one point in my life, possibly when I was walking in closer proximity to your world, I thought I had my feet firmly to the ground, eyes set like stone toward the goal. It made me feel closer to God to speak in stronger terms. But I was just stumbling then as well.

If you want, you can stumble with me. The invitation is open.