If you’re reading this, you know what a blog is. You may even have one of your own. If you don’t, perhaps you’ve thought about creating one but worried that you wouldn’t have enough interesting things to say, or that no one would read it, or maybe that too many people would read it and it would be an invasion of your privacy!

I avoided blogging for many years because frankly, I thought it was stupid. Why would I want to share my private life with a bunch of people I don’t even know? Eventually though, I was convinced to give it a try. I’d been sending out a weekly email to members of our family and some friends, and I decided the same end might more easily be accomplished if I used a blog format. What started as an experiment in dissemination of information to our extended families evolved over time to become a creative outlet for me, and a way to preserve my story. I’d been writing in my journal on and off for years, but the feedback I received from those reading my blog motivated me to write more regularly. Over time, I had people emailing me to let me know how much they enjoyed reading what I was writing and having the chance to live the big family life vicariously through me. :) Gradually my “readership” has grown to include quite a few people, and I’ve come to enjoy sharing my life – parts of it, anyway - with others.

Especially during our adoptions, blogging has been a great way to keep friends and family abreast of important milestones, delays, prayer needs, etc., and it allows us to share pictures and information with people who care about us and are sources of support. Even though most of the readers of my personal blog are people I’ve never met, I find that we have much in common. They discover my blog because they happen to be LDS, or adopting, or homeschooling, or a large family, or any combination of those things. And because these common denominators exist, these unknown people often have insights into problems we encounter or have understanding on a subject that not even our own families can have. It’s helped me tremendously to be able to develop a support network of people who have already traveled the roads we find ourselves on, and conversely, I appreciate being able to be a source of information and encouragement to those who are just starting out.

So besides a blog being a place to “gather” with your loved ones, it may be that you have special experiences or knowledge that will be of help to others. And if you aren’t in a position to be of help to others, you may find that your blog attracts the help YOU need to you! And if nothing else, you’ll be taking up a pastime now enjoyed by over 50 MILLION people. ;)

If you’re interested in setting up a blog, please visit part two for information about blogging location options, privacy settings, and other important blogging tidbits!