about me and friending info

I've seen a lot of people putting future dated posts up for the sake of those who might be looking at their LJs with interest in friending them. I have written quite a bit in my profile but thought I might do this as well since sometimes people don't go to the profile. If you're looking for some basic info about me because you'd like to decide whether you're interested in reading and perhaps adding me as a friend, please click the cut. (The cut is here to save space only.)

I write public posts from time to time depending on the topic and my emotional state. I began this journal as a public journal but found over time that I made friends and also wanted to use my LJ space for personal things as well. So I use a mixture of public, friends-locked, and filtered posts. I write about a variety of topics: my experiences as a person with disabilities and multiple health conditions which are not always under good control; my experiences as a seminary student and active church member; my theological views; thoughts about current events; daily life in general and amusing things that happen; meaningful relationships in my life, including my animals; and my thoughts about political and ethical topics and other things that just happen to come to mind.

I have strong opinions, but I also accept the fact that other people have strong opinions that differ from mine. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from respectful dialogue, and I enjoy having friends whose viewpoints may vary. If your faith is different from mine and you can respect our differences, meaning you don't make a habit of putting down Christians for what they choose to believe, we should be able to coexist with no problems--I am not in the habit of putting down others for what they choose to believe. I do ask questions, and there is often quite a bit that I do not understand. I appreciate those who are willing to answer without ridiculing me for my ignorance just as they would want me to do. I think that our society becomes a better place when we learn how to dialogue with each other and live with respect and understanding for each other's needs.

LiveJournal is a place where people share pieces of their lives that are often very personal in nature. My journal is no exception. In my public entries, my goal is to share pieces of myself that I believe are acceptable for the stranger to view. I don't expect comfort or support in these entries, though of course encouragement is a nice thing regardless of who gives it. These entries are posted in order to be informative. In my friends-locked entries, however, I share things that are more personal in nature, and I expect some level of interaction from time to time. Adding someone to my friends list indicates that there is a common interest or potential for trust and friendship to develop. By "friendship," I mean a degree of personal affinity that causes me to be concerned about the goings-on in the other person's life, to be interested and to miss the person when they are absent. I don't friend lightly, and I do not unfriend unless there is an unresolvable dispute or something posted that indicates to me that to continue reading would be emotionally unsafe for me. If someone chooses to unfriend me, that is something I accept, but it is not something that is emotionally comfortable for me.

All of this is to say that if you are visiting and you are slightly interested in my posts, please take a bit of time to read some of my public posts and interact with me a bit. It would mean a great deal to me if we established some communication and I knew something about you. I tremendously enjoy meeting new people. I've just learned to be a bit cautious about sharing too much of my life too quickly.