I never thought I would ever say that I was a blogger. But I am. I could look at my blogging in two ways: I could be disappointed that I don’t have a vast audience by now or I could be thankful that anybody reads my ramblings that are not always coherent and sometimes a little odd. I opt for the latter.

I try to be me. I try to be honest and open and transparent, because that’s what people like me can relate to. I never have been able to relate to someone who had their world figured out and never struggled with anything and issued edicts from on high for how to live a godly life. God knows I can’t begin to relate to perfection. I can relate to failure and fears.

I don’t want to be one of those believers who use their faith for political means. I don’t want to be one of those whose god is made in their image and hates all the same people they do (thanks to Anne LaMott for that one). I want my God to transcend political parties and issues. I want people to know that God loves them passionately and can take any brokenness and make it beautiful and can turn anyone’s mess into their message (got that one from Cross Point Church!).

Yes, we are all sinners in need of grace. We all deserve hell. We are all equally broken and scarred, though some show it more and some are better at hiding it. None of us has the right to point at anyone else and write them off or despair on them.

Yet all of us who trust in Jesus find that He is more than able to take care of us, to meet our need, and to be all that we could ever hope or want and to do for us what we could never possibly do for ourselves. He is able.

So yes, I say and do stupid stuff. I am afraid and I am doubting. I have regrets of chances not taken and blessings not opened. But I have been so blessed by my God. His love has transformed me so radically that I am often amazed when I look back at my life. His love is my life.

I hope and pray you find that Jesus love can heal you, too. Maybe you will have a song to sing, a story to tell, or a blog to write. If you do, do it for the glory of God and be yourself, with all the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wierd. May God shine through you more brightly than ever so that whoever looks at you sees Jesus. That’s my prayer for me and for you.

Amen and amen.