Why blog?

As I approach my 500th blog post, I feel like the question of why has been coming up a lot lately. Both from personal friends and people I've gotten to know through gospel music and the blog, and it's caused me to ask myself the same question. Why blog?

I wasn't one who was "raised" on this music. I had heard gospel music some growing up but it wasn't until I was a teenager that I really discovered it. And what a discovery it was! It's a discovery that has enriched my life, comforted me on bad days, encouraged me during tough times and lifted my spirits reminding me of how much my God loves me. I can look back on times in my life and clearly identify a song that has helped me through it.

I'm a public relations person by day. It's my job to make people aware of my employer and all the great benefits we have to offer and highlight good work that's being done. That's how I see my blog. I want to help others discover the greatest music and highlight artist achievements, whether that's just a great concert performance or a special award.

I've never claimed to be a good critic. That's just not me. I try to always be honest, but at the same time I'm going to put a positive light on it. It's just who I am. This platform never is and never will be used to tear down artists or hurt their ministry in any way. I want to be an encourager, not only to fans but also to the artists themselves. They need to know and be reminded that what they are doing matters, and if I can do that in some small way, then I've half accomplished my mission.

Looking around at concerts, it's not hard to see that I'm a minority as still part of the under 30 crowd (even though I am fast approaching that number). I've had so many people tell me at concerts that it's good to see "young people" at concerts. As someone in her late 20s that comment is definitely appreciated! :) As I've tried to educate my friends by dragging  taking them along with me to concerts, they too have made comments about how much this music can have an impact. But regardless of age, gospel music fans are some of the greatest there is. I've personally witnessed them sitting through rain and 100 degree temperatures just to see their favorite artists sing. The industry has a dedicated fan base that loves keeping up with what's going on. This is just another outlet to help tell people about the industry, news, recent concerts, latest album releases, etc.

Yes, I've heard the argument that, for the genre, we do have a lot of bloggers, but I think we all bring our own unique perspectives to the table. I know I was a fan of reading blogs long before I started one. I definitely still consider myself "the new kid" when it comes to this. I appreciate what all the other bloggers do and the contributions they have all made. I think I can safely say that we all do it because we love this music. We all want to see this music thrive.

And that's why I do this. I love the music -- the message, the impact, the encouragement and most importantly how it can be used to share the gospel. I want to in some small way help others discover what I consider to be the greatest music there is.