One of the commonly-held rules of blogging is not to change your site. Pick a theme and stick with it. Sorry. I can’t. It isn’t who I am.

The furniture in my childhood home never stayed in one place for more than a few months at a time. One room or another was always being changed. We teased my Mom about it mercilously. We would come home from school and the living room would be oriented in the opposite direction or the couch would be away from the wall by several feet. The family room would have furniture from the living room or a chest of drawers from one of those rooms would now be in the dining room.

Stuff moved around. It never bothered me. But I was always curious. I know I asked her why from time to time. Why do you redecorate so often? Why do things move around the room. Her response was about right:

I get bored of this layout.

It is the same reason most of us change up our hairstyles or clothes. It is why I normally grow my beard out and shave it at least annually. The only reason I didn’t shave this year was my daughter asked me not to. But I do get tired of looking at it.

A more important truth is fundamental to my need to redecorate my room, my face, and yes, my website than boredom. It is this. The way things were worked then; this works for now.

This is not a purely functional statement. I am not suggesting that the world operate in a perpetual now, seizing the day as we flip off our parents and children. Nor is this without a theological foundation and devoid of spiritual truth: I’m not chasing after current trends in my own mind. There is something deeply spiritual about seeing our form and function in the world with such simplicity and grace as this.

The other works. This works. This works for what I need now.

To say that GOD needed us to be one way yesterday and perhaps GOD needs us to be a different way today. It takes a deep spiritual commitment and regard for the Missio Dei (mission of GOD) for us to see the connection of our past, present, and future selves as a matter of prehensile strength, rather than rigid force. That we can be turned and moved and changed and remain us, and remain the people we were formed to be, while accepting that we are still being formed. We are still moving and growing and thriving.

I settled on the Twenty-Twelve theme, last year’s default theme here as a much-needed change of pace from my previous theme. I liked Ryu, and still do, but it was too big. It wasn’t “bloggy” enough for me. I actually wanted something a little traditional or classic. Something that wouldn’t get in the way.

And I need to be honest. I was convinced by John Saddington. He just switched from a theme he built with his friends to this very theme. I am not copying him as much as I heard his argument for why he changed, and it sounded exactly like what I needed to do for myself.

It is simple, easy to use, and gives me plenty of space to make it my own without spending money to make it more original. My content can be original.

Thanks for sticking with me through my changing tastes. My new project is coming together and will be ready to launch soon. Stick with me a little longer, because I think things are going to be even more fun in Advent.