I didn't know what a blog was; had no idea they even existed. 

Eight months ago my husband surprised me with a laptop and for the first time in my life I started surfing the internet.  One night a search brought up this article and I read a blog for the first time.  I was totally hooked.  I loved reading all about this woman's life and her thoughts and views; after awhile of reading I felt like I really knew her.

So that was the beginning.  I soon found out that once you find one blog you like, you can find a hundred because all the blogs have a list of at least half a dozen of their favorite blogs. 

So I kept searching around and came up with several that I really liked. I felt a little crazy though. Was it okay for me to be doing this?  Was it just a waste of time?  I discovered quickly that it could be a HUGE time-sucker if I wasn't disciplined about it.  But then my husband introduced me to the Google Reader, and all of the sudden it was SO easy!

All along he kept bugging me, "You should let me make you a blog!"  But i just couldn't do it.  I felt like that would officially make me a lazy housewife who spends all day on the computer, and also I was pretty sure no one would care what I had to say.  AND, I think something about the word "blog" was very unappealing to me so….. But secretly I kept thinking it could be fun.  I used to write all the time.  I was obsessed.  A husband and three kids later, time and energy for writing dissapeared.  But I do still love to write.  And having my own blog would be a great motivator, right?

Then I started thinking about what it is that made reading all these blogs appeal to me.  They're all completely different, but there must be some common thing that draws me. 

Finally, looking through the ones I read the most I realized, they all inspire me.  Either with new things that they bring into my life, or the ways they make me appreciate the life I have.

This one makes me appreciate and find joy in my life as a homeschooling mom. 

This one encouraged me to be more creative with my kids AND inspired me to try sewing for the the first time since Jr. High.

This one made me cry uncontrollably for an entire evening over the deep sorrows of life and the great love and peace of our God.

I liked reading because I felt like I was meeting new people.  Some that were so different from anything I'd ever known and broadened my views of life.  And some that I felt like I could relate to which was a really big deal.  Sometimes it's really easy to feel like you're the only one with this life, and whether things are good or bad, it's always encouraging to find someone out there who you know would understand. 

So I wondered: could something in my life be an exciting new world, or a comforting encouragement to someone else?  Something trivial or meaningless, or maybe some profound personal experience.  Either way, if I could inspire or encourage someone the way these writers have done in my life, that would be a really special thing.

So I finally gave in, and here it is.  My first blog entry.  WAY TOO LONG, I know.  But I felt a need for explanation. And about the title. It came from a quote by Elisabeth Elliot that was so provoking the first time I read it, and has stayed with me ever since:

There are times when the entire arrangement of our existence is disrupted and we long then for just one ordinary day – seeing our ordinary life as greatly desireable, even wonderful, in the light of the terrible disruption that has taken place.  Difficulty opens our eyes to pleasures we had taken for granted.

I hope you'll be blessed by a glimpse into my ordinary days.:)