Relax: it's okay to say nay

Last Monday I told you I might miss a day or two of blogging because I had a busy week scheduled. That was true, but what I haven't told you is that the very next day I was flattened by a migraine that is now in its eighth day. (Yes, I am under a doctor's care. No, I don't want to discuss my symptoms or treatment. But if any of you want to pray about this, I'll be profoundly grateful.) As you can imagine, the double whammy of an overscheduled week and a migraine has been extremely stressful. If I end up blogging every day this week, it won't be because I'm brave or amazing, but simply because I'm in the mood to blog and have blown off something more important.

What I probably won't do much of in the next few days is answer e-mail. I just cleaned out my inbox and was left with 72 messages from readers of my books, my website, and this blog. I'll probably get to some of them--I tend to answer the quick questions and comments first because that reduces the pile--but if you have asked me how to write a book and get it published or how to discover the Meaning of Life or something equally impossible to answer in three sentences or fewer, please understand that it might be a week or even longer before you hear from me.

I received four private messages about yesterday's blog post, all politely disagreeing with the opinions I expressed. I get a lot of messages like that, and I often wonder if some of you write privately because you don't want to "embarrass" me by disagreeing in public. If that's the case, you needn't worry. I'm not quite that fragile. And since engaging in private debates isn't high on my list of priorities at present, I'm encouraging you all to air your comments (on yesterday's subject or any other) right here on the blog, where you might stir up some interesting conversations with other readers.

No, it isn't wrong to e-mail me privately. Frankly, I'm gratified that anyone thinks I'm worth the bother. But you might get more satisfaction from other readers of this blog than you will from me, especially this week, so why not leave a comment? You can do it anonymously if you prefer.