10 Blog Posts I'll Never Write

There are some blog posts that I'll never write. I may think them in my head, or jot them in a journal, but I'll never post them on the internet.

You see, there is a trend of posting "10 Things to Never Say to..." Insert whatever category you can think of and I can almost guarantee that you'll find a blog post that states 10 things to never say to that sort of person.

It's not that I couldn't write a post like that. Heck, I could come up with a lot of posts about things never to say:

10 Things to Never Say to an MK...
10 Things to Never Say to someone who struggled with an eating disorder...
10 Things to Never Say to a cross-cultural worker...
10 Things to Never Say to someone who has lost a loved one...
10 Things to Never Say to a mother of three boys...
10 Things to Never Say to the wife of a minister...
10 Things to Never Say to the wife of a leader...
10 Things to Never Say to a skinny person...
10 Things to Never Say to the mother of a child in boarding school...
10 Things to Never Say to a home-school mom...

I could write those blogs and many more. The reader would learn a lot about people who deal with one of those situations. They would learn what is best NOT to say and might even feel a twinge of guilt upon realizing that they, in fact, have made one or more of those comments without realizing it was offensive.

If I write the blogs with the titles above, I will have given you 100 things NOT to say to me. If I were you, I'd be nervous to talk to me!

Instead of asking other people to adjust so that my feelings aren't hurt, how about I give a little grace instead?

Honestly, I've read many "10 Things Never To Say" blogs and by the end, I'm afraid to say anything to anyone with any sort of life-experience! But it's a lose-lose because I also know (probably from reading one of those blogs), that not saying ANYTHING is a bad thing too.

Well good grief, what's a person to do?

I suggest that there is a better way to inform readers in a way that empowers instead of embarrasses. How about:

10 Things the Mom of an MK feels
10 Ways to encourage a Mom who is sending her child to college
10 Fears of a Pinterest Addict (Just kidding. I think that might be a funny post though)

Instead of insisting that others change to make us feel more comfortable, I think it's a great idea to aim for informing through grace instead of shame.

What do you think?