You don't have to thank me

You will say the wrong thing

   if you talk too much--

   so be sensible and watch

   what you say. (Proverbs 10:19, CEV)

Don't you just love those facebook statuses?  You know, the ones like this: "Eating breakfast." "Just went through the car wash."  "Brushed my teeth."

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating. A little.  And I'm guilty of that myself, more on twitter than facebook.  It does seem that we have all developed a compulsion to share every little detail of our lives.  Even the ones that are so routine as to be, by definition, uninteresting to anybody.

But that's forgivable.  Hey, it's just a few words and I can skip over it if I want to.  To me, the biggest danger of boring people to death online is not the mundane tweet.  No, it's writing a blog post without having anything to really say.  Writing just because you feel it's time to post again.  This is a trap I pray I can keep from falling into.

You see, I've only been blogging for about six months.  I began partially because I had so much to say about my experience in Africa.  And then I realized that I saw funny or interesting things in life that someone else might want to read about.  I enjoy it, and I hope most of you have enjoyed reading it.  And then came last night.

I made a big mistake last night.  I had some time on my hands, and I looked back and noticed that I had only one post so far this year.  Yes, I actually counted the frequency of my posting.  Big mistake. And for some reason, I decided that it was "time" to post again.

So, I booted up my Macbook and logged in to blogspot.  I sat and thought.  And thought.  And thought. And then I started to write.  Fortunately for the entire free world, I stopped and deleted it.  Then I thought some more.  And started to write again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

I finally realized, how nuts is this??  I began doing this because I wanted to share interesting, funny, exciting things with my friends; maybe even occasionally something that would help them grow.  If I ever - ever - write just to be writing, I need to shut it down.

You know, this applies to life offline as well.  How often have I talked just because it seemed the thing to do?  To avoid awkward silences?  Because I wanted people to know I existed?  Just to hear myself talk?  The Scripture at the beginning of this post is right on point: we should talk only when we have something to say.

So, you're welcome.  I did not expose you to the drivel I tried to write last night.  It was horrible and boring - even to me, and it's my life!  And if you ever wonder, "Hmmm, why hasn't Donnie posted in a while?" know that it's not because I've stopped blogging.  It's because I'm waiting until I have something that I really want to say.  Hopefully, that will keep you reading.

No, seriously...you do not have to thank me. :)