Just a Few of My Friends…

So as we approach the holidays, we also approach the one-year mark for the Losing My Religion blog. And as we approach that mark, I’m contemplating how blogging has changed and expanded my thinking and indeed my world. Last month, Cindy at Run With It asked us how blogging has changed us. I didn’t respond then, mostly due to time constraints and being generally behind my blog reading. But I guess I’m answering it now: blogging has helped clarify my own journey, sharpened my writing skills, and connected me with a whole range of new friends–people who in some ways think very differently than I do, but who are in other ways quite connected with one another in this journey. I think these emerging relationships are the best part of my blogging experience. (Do you like that I used the word “emerging”?)

So as a way of providing some overdue link love, I thought I’d introduce you to just a few of my blogger friends. This list includes people whose blogs I frequent; people who are regular responders on this here blog; and even some folks I know outside the realm of blogdom who have reconnected here. As I began compiling this list, I quickly realized there are too many to cover in one post; so this is a sampling, and forgive me if I missed you this time.

So…without further ado…allow me to introduce you to:

• Jim. Jim writes Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief, and was one of my first new blogger friends. Jim likes to ignore me when I am philosophizing, but is quick to respond when I write about real-life kind of stuff. Jim is into computers and cooking (both of which make me wish I lived closer to him–but especially the cooking part). Jim is very honest about his feelings and opinions, has a great heart, and greatly values what is real.
• Sarah. Sarah writes Accidental Blog (which is an apparent contradiction), and always makes me think. Sarah and I have differing political views, and we like to discuss them. A lot. Like whenever I post something political (which I try very hard not to do). The great thing about being blog friends with Sarah is that she reminds me that Jesus is neither Republican nor American, that there are other views of the global situation than northeast Oklahoma, and that my citizenship in God’s kingdom supercedes my American patriotism. She also demonstrates a deep compassion for the world’s poor that is admirable and challenging.
• Doorman-Priest. (Not his real name–I don’t think.) We two are so different in our viewpoints, I have no idea why he reads this blog. Or why I read his. But we do. And we seem to genuinely like each other. 🙂 DP often posts pieces I find very provocative, sometimes offensive to my sensibilities. And sometimes my reaction comes out on his comment page. But it is a healthy exchange of ideas “across the pond” when we share them. My online friendship with DP is another one of those that reminds me that mine is not the only perspective on the planet, and one that sharpens me and challenges me to know why I believe what I believe.
• Kathy of carnival in my head. Kathy is the only new blogger friend I’ve met in person thus far, when last week my wife and son and I traveled to Denver for a conference she was hosting. We spent some time at her house. It has an Obama sign in front, which I almost removed. But even though Kathy is wrong is voting for Obama, I found her to be every bit the same loving, thoughtful, compassionate person as her blog writing indicates. Kathy has taught me, probably more than any other blogger, how to show an amazing love and acceptance of those who are different than we. The entire weekend was a great picture of people from diverse viewpoints getting along in community.
• Mark (or Mork–which is it?) of Pragmatic-Eclectic. I was reading his blog long before he began commenting on mine. Mark/Mork is an Aussie, and is the only blogger friend I have whose sense of humor is drier and more tongue-in-cheek than mine. On his blog you will find numerous examples of the absurdities of churchianity, occasional outbursts of passion, and a great deal of heart.
• Aaroneous of Aaroneous Findings. Aaroneous and I were friends in another life, and have reconnected online. Aaroneous has a Seinfeld-like ability to find humor in the mundane, and in the next sentence drop a mind-blowing insight. He’s recently taken a second job that prevents him from blogging as often as he’d like, but he’s added a depth to this conversation that I would miss otherwise.
• Heidi of To Be a Fool. Whereas I spend a lot of time on this blog spinning theories and ideas about this journey of religious deconstruction…Heidi is walking it, and just shares her honest thoughts and feelings along the way. To me, her blog is like a set of snapshots that reveal what it looks like and feels like on her journey. I don’t even think she does this on purpose; she just blogs about life in general. But I always like to check in and see what’s going on with her.
• J.R. Miller of More than Cake. J.R. started chiming in when I reviewed Pagan Christianity?. I had to include him here because he is one of the best question-askers to visit this blog. His questions are consistently challenging, but always respectful, forcing me always to rethink and refine and clarify my viewpoint. And he has some good things to say in his own piece of the blogosphere, too.

Again, this is just a sampling of the online friends who have participated in this conversation, and have allowed me to participate in theirs. Thanks to all of you, and to the others I was unable to mention, for helping me grow and giving me fresh perspectives. It’s a pleasure to be on the journey with you.

More of these to come… 🙂