A Blogaversary, An Announcement

I started blogging just about a year ago. I had no idea what I was doing. I was so shy about the fact that I had started a blog that I told no one, not even my husband.

I used the URL www.plainsongfarm.com because I already owned it. I bought it in 2001, soon after my husband and I moved to our property. I renewed the domain name annually, but had never built a site for it. We had never created a farm, though we still imagined one in our future. Maybe, I thought, the site could become a blog?

I hit “publish” on the first post in late November. I kept posting occasionally for the next three months, still without telling a soul. Then, I went to a gathering of leaders and was emboldened to go public. At the end of February, I not only hit “publish” but also shared the post on Facebook. I told my husband. I added the blog site to my Facebook and Twitter “about” pages. I started thinking of myself as a blogger.

Being a blogger over the past year has led to some amazing blessings. Because of this blog, I was invited to become a curriculum reviewer for Augsburg Fortress/sparkhouse. I was invited to blog for Building Faith. I made new friends through the Episcopal Church’s Acts 8 Moment. I was even appointed to the Bishop Search Team for my diocese. (Volunteering to build the search website probably helped.)

When I started managing the online presence for our Bishop Search, this blog went on the back burner. I had a website to build; I had a search blog to update. I kept thinking I would revive this blog when things slowed down a little. But then, even when things slowed down a little, I didn’t revive the blog. I’ve hardly posted since June. And after some thought, I figured out why:

When I bought the domain www.plainsongfarm.com more than ten years ago, I intended it to be about the development of a place called Plainsong Farm. I believed God had called me to make a place called Plainsong Farm, and I trusted that eventually this place, whatever it was, it would need a website. I didn’t intend for this to be a site about church leadership and administration, but that’s what it became, until I realized it wasn’t headed in the right direction… at which point it just stopped.

I believe God is still calling me to embrace that original vocation. So, over the next few months, this site will be returning to its roots, here in the place where we live. This blog will focus on discovering the beauty of life in Christ at home and in harmony with creation. We’ll still be practicing resurrection, but with a different focal point.

And, an announcement! A new website is in development: www.churchwork.com will provide a place for my reflections on church leadership and administration, as well as some new resources for God’s mission in the 21st century. I believe contributing to the conversation about the church’s future is also part of God’s call to me. Just not on this site.

It’s probably a little nuts to start a second blog because you’re not writing on your first one. But the best decisions I have made in life have been a little nuts… so… I’m willing to try it again. Nut-filled birthday cake can be pretty delicious.