Priorities and Posting

Since July 31, 2012, I have been writing this blog faithfully on a daily basis throughout the work week.  Today's blog post makes 43 total posts.  In keeping with yesterday's blog post and the topic of guarding our life's most important priorities, I must admit that for the past couple of weeks I have felt convicted to realign some things in my own life.  God has been tugging at me to lessen my blogging because it is becoming more difficult for me to do it on a daily basis and attend to other things that I really need to keep in check.  Being a fast typer and writer, (and a wordy person, in general), pumping out these blogs hasn't been a huge time consumption.  But many days, it does chew up my early morning quiet time.  So I have found that my time for quiet Bible reading, getting in my daily exercise, and just having some time-flexibility in general, have all started to suffer.  I am now cramming those other beloved items into my day instead of truly relishing them as I did.  Once again, God is showing me my limitations.  (But I have also found that I really love to write)!

When I began this blog, I researched, "How to Write an Effective Blog," and everything I read told me that a person needs to post daily in order to write a successful, well-read blog.  I subscribe to a few blogs and those authors do not all write daily--nor does that impact my readership of their posts.  In order to get some extra experience and practice at this craft, I truly wanted to make a committed effort in writing this blog daily.  But now only two months later, God has shown me that it isn't necessary to write daily in order to have a decent readership and to write effective, meaningful blogs.  In fact, I've had some readers complain that due to the quantity, as well as, the size of my blog posts (I know, I know--I'm a windy girl), they can't keep up with my writing, though they really want to read all my posts.  Therefore, they only read a few each week anyway.  I realize that there are many other things we feel urged to read and that we need to read on a daily basis (and as I've said before, God's Word needs to be at the top of that list).  So for the sake of time on all fronts (mine and yours), I will not be blogging daily any longer.  There may be weeks when I do, and weeks when I only blog once or twice (or perhaps not at all).  God has shown me that I can still be committed to this blog regardless of the quantity of my posts.  I am prayerful that my writing will be more anointed in this way, that my readership will not drop (but perhaps even increase), and that my time will be better spent in so doing. 

My desire for this blog isn't just to get writing practice and gain a reasonable-sized readership, though those are definitely subgoals.  My biggest desire and goal for this blog is for it to be a witness and a testimony about what Christ has done in my life.  I have found that it is really hard for me to always find ways (or the courage) to weave the topic of Christ into my conversations.  Since I believe I am a better writer than speaker, and I am weary of feeling like I rarely share my faith with others, writing a blog seemed like a good solution.  (Plus, I absolutely love to write)!  I guess I'm laying it all out on the table here;  there's nothing hidden or sly about this blog.  My main reason for wanting to write was clear and upfront even in my first blog post--I'm trying to tell anyone and everyone who cares, through various topics, two main things:  1.,  that Christ is the only way to gain salvation and entrance to a life eternal in heaven, (as John 14:6 clearly states), and 2.,  that Christ has made all the difference in my life and He can in yours, too.  This is still my main goal and it will not suffer just because I'm blogging more randomly. 

Another reason God has been convicting me that I need to blog more sporadically and with less pressure is because my schedule has suddenly begun to fill-up quite quickly for this fall and winter.  The most important thing on my calendar is what I do in service for God in my church.  Since April of 2011, I have been being trained to be one of four regular worship leaders for our Sunday morning worship services.  I am leading worship and/or singing at my church for the next 6 out of 8 weeks (and I just led and sang the past two weeks).  The ministry of which I am blessed to be a part has become much larger in the last 17 months, and requires a great deal of my time, thought, and energy.  Another large time-consumer in my life is my running.  Coming from a family of high cholesterol and heart disease, personal fitness is of huge importance to me.  Personally, if I don't run, my cholesterol sky rockets and my attitude plummets!  I have found that my physical health is greatly related to my overall well-being--not just physically, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  My husband and I are training for a race that we will run together in late October, so this is another area that needs my regular attention.  My "outside-of-church" music projects are also picking-up rapidly.  I have gig dates and new projects coming up with my Christian band, "True Light Project," and another music partnership of mine is about to take a giant step forward as we head to studio to lay down our E.P./demo and begin marketing our music duo.  In December, I will be singing again in our church's annual Christmas Light Show, which is a huge production and very large time commitment--especially during the busy Christmas season.  I am also going to be venturing out in some new areas with my writing soon, and God-willing, I am hopeful and desirous of getting some serious experience with that, as well.  All this, combined with some travel and finding time to spend with family and friends, is going to keep me hopping for the next few months.  Hence, the need for me to realign some things now.  As I said in yesterday's blog post, change requires change. 

It is my prayer that God will help me fine-tune my writing more, now that the pressure I've placed on myself to write daily is lessened.  It kind of stifles creativity and truly good writing when you think you HAVE to blog and get it done by a deadline.  But my main prayer is that those of you who have been faithful to read my blog (grammatical and mechanical errors included) will continue to do so, even though my posts will now be a little more haphazard. Thanks for reading, and God bless you as you seek to prioritize your abundantly busy lives, as well.

Matthew 6:33 (NIV), "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."