It is out of the ordinary that we write

A few years back my personal blog was treated to a new header design thanks to the generosity and talent of internet acquaintance of mine. In the course of our email exchange regarding design elements and such the designer suggested I develop a tagline to more fully identify my blog's focus. Up until that point I was writing under the plain ol' heading "Lisa writes..." which I thought pretty much encapsulated what I was doing with the blog (though admittedly "Lisa writes, but only sometimes" may be a better descriptor).

In an effort to jumpstart my tagline quest my designer friend suggested I consider my niche, what makes my blog and my voice unique. After a few days' thought I sent her what I thought to be some rather pithy tagline possibilities. In the nicest way possible she gave me her honest assessment: my tagline suggestions were rather tired and overused and, frankly, unoriginal.

Which, as I think on it, seems rather apropos for my so-called niche.

However, I remained tagline-less for quite some time after that.

I did, finally, add a tagline a few years later, one that may or may not reflect a certain unique corner of the blog market but one that I hope reflects who I am and how I write, an ordinary woman seeking to live out her ordinary life in the love and service of her Lord.

In fact, that's our focus here. We've called our blog "Out of the Ordinary" because that's how we write: out of the utter ordinariness of our lives. If you click over and read our bios you'll see we're just regular women: moms and grandmothers, employees and empty nesters, Bible teachers and avid readers, lovers of photography and of chocolate. Nothing special, just ordinary women living ordinary lives and blogging about it.

And, yet, it is also out of this ordinariness of life that we seek to know and serve the Lord. We aren't seminarians nor are we in vocational ministry. Instead, we are reading books by Christian theologians at our breakfast table. We are serving our local churches. We are seeking to reconcile our real life struggles with the truths of Scripture. We are working out our theology as we drop kids off at football practice and as we cook supper for our families and as we rock our grandbabies to sleep.

It is out of the ordinary that we write and out of the ordinary that we study and serve.

As we devote ourselves to the study of God's Word we have found that sound theology is far from a dry academic pursuit. With great joy and according to the Lord's great mercy we have each of us discovered that the gospel is real and that it carries profound effects in our real and ordinary lives. We love theology because by it we learn more of the God we serve and the Savior we love and this knowledge transforms our ordinary lives into a holy sacrifice pleasing unto the Lord, proving the goodness and perfection of His will and His ways.

In other words, theology matters. It is not just for your pastor but for you and me too, no matter our stage of life nor its ordinariness or extraordinariness.

So, as my fellow authors have done, I too invite you, here, via the blog, to join us as we pursue sound doctrine and solid theology out of and in the midst of our ordinary lives. The lifelong pursuit of the knowledge of the Lord will refine our faith and transform us into solid women, humble women, secure women, women who know the grace of the Lord and the power of the Spirit, glory to His name. Solid theology building solid women, this is our aim. We are ordinary, no doubt about it. But we've tasted and we've seen and we want the same for you! 1 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us we are humble jars of clay but it is out of that ordinary vessel the surpassing beauty and power of the treasure within shines forth. May it be so here as in all of our lives, yes and amen!