THE BLOG ENTRY ABOUT BLOGGING

recently i've gotten a few questions on blogging. anywhere from why to how to when to where. and it's good because it forces me to re-evaluate why i do the things i do. here's my conclusion, in three parts. and sorry, but this is as condensed as it gets.


1. what blogging is not:

firstly, i think it is crucial to identify this reality: we are all placing our identity in something. maybe it's our calling as a wife or a mother, as a voice in social media or blogging, in our profession or achievements. it happens to all of us because it's rampant in our culture and it's in our very sin nature.

Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from God. -Soren Kierkegaard 

if i am blogging to have significance because of my influence (i.e. - worrying about numbers and followers or pageviews, etc) then i will be exhausted and frustrated continually because establishing myself on the basis of people's approval is impossible and restless. as St. Augustine wisely said, we were made for God ALONE and we are restless until we find rest in him. our worth must rest on the approval of Christ alone. if looking to our own lives isn't an example enough, look at Israel's-

This is how Israel got to where they were. They made other things ultimate and whored themselves out to false gods who could not save. Israel was always running to other gods and then coming back to the Lord. This is the nature of our sin. We give ourselves out to false gods and then come running back to God when our life is in ruins. The gospel sets us free from this kind of fickle faith. God approves of us in Christ, without condition. We are accepted and adopted into his family. -Journey to the Cross, page 38 

blogging is not a means to which i find my worth, a way to gain approval, or acceptance.

2. what is it then?

i honestly believe blogging to be another way to share the Gospel. granted, because all of life is under the Lordship of Christ it does not mean i can't talk about other things. but the central focus of my blog should be the Gospel. because a blog is, albeit a small one, a reflection of my life. and hopefully my life is centered and resting on it as well.

If there's anything in life that we are passionate about, it's the Gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the Gospel ought it be. - C.J. Mahaney

when i am learning new Truth and trying to apply it, i love sharing it. because how can i keep silent? part of the journey is sharing how the Lord is carrying me. i find a blog to be an accessible way to do  just that.

3. so, how do we blog?

words are important. they are weighty. death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). we should ask the Lord to make the words of our mouth and the ones we type acceptable to him (Ps. 19:14). our words should be gracious (Prov. 16:24) and most of all, we should be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). in essence, we should carefully choose our words. we should not write in haste, and we should even pray about what we write. once in a while i will go back and read an old post of mine and cringe. why would i say that outloud?? it's embarrassing. but it is refreshing to see how i have been pruned between then and now. thankfully there's more pruning ahead.

i can't tell you how many times i've heard people frustrated because someone's life seems perfect on a blog. if writing a blog causes you to exaggerate the good in your life or if reading a blog causes you to be discontent, then you should re-evaluate what you are doing. i say that only from experience and not with a pointed finger. clearly, we all know no one is perfect, no matter what picture is painted. as an aside: because i do photography, i choose to mostly use good pictures and not the bad ones. it's like if you are a chef, do you give your guests something you prepared that doesn't taste good? no. you only give them what tastes good - your best. 

what you share is your own business. no one needs to tell the internet everything. for each person, there will be a different comfort level and conviction about what you write. it's up to you through prayer.

oh, and no matter what, weave encouragement throughout. don't point fingers, unless it's pointed at yourself. we are not here to condemn or convict, in my opinion.

words are truly a gift. let's use them well.

i leave you with this -

Human language is our attempt at navigating God's language; it is us running between the lines of His epic, climbing on the vowels and building houses out of the consonants. - N.D. Wilson, Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl, pg 44

may our stories continue to tell of His work and kindness and grace in our lives. may our language be an attempt at conforming to His language, and by the end of our small story in His epic, by grace, we'll have conveyed something truly worth saying.