In the Beginning

I have to admit that this is much harder to do than I expected, this blogging. It shouldn't be hard because I'm a writer. I've been writing for - well, since I was in grade school. I've written poetry, short stories, articles, essays, books, songs, and destroyed entire rain forests for all the academic papers I've written. But I've never done a blog. I don't even know what "blog" means. I know what it is, of course, it's what you're reading, but what does it mean? Blathering Loudly Obscurely Gratuitously? Bafflingly Ludicrous Outrageous Gossip?
But do I really need to understand the origin of "blog" to effectively use one? Of course not! It's not like my favorite book, the bible which is only properly understood when you get to the original meaning.
It's easy to get to the bible from any starting point, but especially so right now for me. Not only am I writing Christian fiction, but I'm working on a message about the Creator that I'm going to give on March 8 (at NHL in Waipahu). Both John and Genesis talk about the Creator and start with "In the beginning" and this is the beginning of my blog, so why shouldn't I talk about the Creator since when I write I am exercising my Imago Deo? (Writers do have convoluted logic. It's part of our charm.)
When I took Old Testament Survey in bible college, I learned about understanding the bible from the perspective of the original writer/readers. I was intrigued to discover that the Creation story isn't about science at all, so it can't be used to address evolutionary theory because that's like trying to tell someone they shouldn't like asparagus (gross!) because fried chicken is so delicious. Both may be facts, but they aren't closely enough related to have a bearing on each other.
The purpose of Genesis was to tell an emerging nation, God's chosen people, that they were no accidental byproduct of the wars of the gods or created for the amusement of said gods. Instead they were very deliberately and carefully made to be in fellowship with their Creator. Everything was crafted for God's pleasure and purpose, and his pleasure was to have an intimate, loving relationship with the pinnacle of his creation, mankind.
Genesis tells us that we were created in the image of God. Part of that image is a creativity that echoes our Creator. I've always known that I had a lot of creativity, not just in writing, but in cooking, sewing, crafts, etc. (I'm a regular Renaissance Woman!) Now I firmly believe that we don't fully live until we discover the one thing where our creativity shines through the strongest. In finally giving myself over to the creative talent of writing and crafting not just one book, but going on, and on and on .... (Five books and counting and I only started nine months ago!) In giving myself to my creative talent, I have a deeper love and appreciation for God.
One of the things I understand better is that it isn't always wise to give too much information to your "audience" too soon, for a number of reasons. One reason is that they may not be able to handle it yet. Another could be that they'll try to get ahead of you. Then there's always the keep-them-coming-back-because-that's-how-we-build-a-relationship reason. That said ...
I guess you'll just have to tune in to my next post!