I’m a firm believer in faith and religious beliefs being an integrated part of ones daily life. And thus, I don’t believe ones religious opinions need to be regulated to private conversations amongst those you are sure you agree with, rather then openly discussing even with those with whom you do not agree.
That being said, I have to attribute my lack of thoughtful blogging lately to my inability to be too open with my faith, both my beliefs, and my struggles and doubts. A while ago, I attached my blog posts to my facebook notes, thus sharing my most recent thoughts not just with those interested parties who’d opted into a email or rss, but with long lost high school friends and college acquaintances. In some ways, it’s been a rewarding experiment. I’m a different person in many ways then I was in high school, and it’s a chance to share my current place with those who’ve been a part of my journey in earlier years.
At the same time, I’ve found the publicness (just made that up) to be a little too intimidating for me. Trying To Follow started as just my personal blog, but I’ve tended to write primarily under a theme of what I understand to be Christian values. The audience, you, have been faithful fellow sojourners, encouraging me along my walk, while hopefully being similarly encouraged and challenged in yours. Now, I was sharing thoughts with people who hadn’t even asked for them, and might not be as interested or as receptive. The intimidation caused me to freeze up and not really write anything at all.
So, why am I sharing all this with you? Mostly to say that I want to continue on this journey, this conversation about trying to follow, and I’d love for you to come along with me.

(Details: Here’s my current plan, I’m going to blog about faith specifically here on trying to follow. Most everything else I’m going to post at ariahfine.com/blog. I’ll cross post if it’s relevant. Plan subject to change, batteries not included).