Let the Sojourn Begin

I have often heard that a very helpful spiritual discipline is journaling. Unfortunately, I have never been one to sit down and consistently journal my spiritual progress or digression. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I find it personally unfulfilling. Basically, I have often wondered at people who are able to go back and read their own thoughts with surprise. More often than not, I do not wish to remember my state of mind because it is often appallingly erroneous. Secondly, I already know what I think, so it is redundant to read thoughts that I am already thinking. If my thinking has changed, then hopefully I have gone from bad to good, so I do not want to go back and read the bad. It's embarrassing. If I have gone from good to bad, or bad to worse, then it is unlikely that my own writing will be able to convince me to return to a more sound mind. After all, my own reasoning led me away from such a sound position, how is it that later my own argumentation would be able to overthrow the state of mind that once overthrew the very thoughts that I would be reading? (See what sort of mind I am dealing with here?)

So why begin a blog? It is because, as the title suggests, I am a sojourner. I am an alien in this world. My destination is the Throne Room of God and the City that He has prepared through the work of Jesus Christ. The guide for my sojourn, the Bible, teaches me that my own reason is not to be trusted, and that if I want to reach that celestial city, I am going to need help. I need my thoughts examined by others. Sometimes, by the grace of God, I may have encouraging things to say to my fellow sojourners. Sometimes, my fellow sojourners may have encouraging things to say to me. (Or they may have sound rebukes and reproofs.) Seriously, I have studied much over the last years, and I know that God in His goodness has given me some gifts. I hope that through this medium I am able to share that with others.

Also, there is one last reason why I am beginning this blog. I am tired of living with my own thoughts. They sometimes excite me, and at other times they disturb me. I need some help in dealing with my own brain. Hopefully, this blog will help. Let me now lay out my purpose statement:

1. To converse here with God.
2. To put down some thoughts pertaining to theology and my sojourn.
3. To interact with others about all of the above.
4. To use this as a medium as an encouragement both to myself and others on our journey to our
heavenly home.

I know that is not really how mission statements are supposed to look, but I am making this up as I go. Maybe it'll get fine tuned later. Welcome to the sojourn, I hope that we have fun along the way.