Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 1
Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 2
Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 3
Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 4
Our homes are all special to God. To some he brings many children. To others he brings a few children. Some families have no children at all. Some homes are loaded with sports buffs. Other homes are full of musicians. Some have neither… some have both! In homes live people who are outgoing and robust and in homes live people who are quiet and timid.
The way we decorate… the routines we keep… the chores we do… the food we eat… the ministries we get involved in… the careers we choose… the entertainment we enjoy… they are all an expression of us and… our family unit – however big or small it is.
Blogging is also an expression of us. We blog what we live, do, and feel called to share. It is our offering to those who need us, are inspired by us, or who are even just entertained by us.
About a year ago I spoke with a friend, Amy at Raising Arrows and she was making the decision to focus more of her attention in blogging on home schooling. She had won some homeschooling blogger awards and realized that God had called her to encourage and minister to other homeschooling families. Her blog was always enjoyable and already had a large audience, but when it spun that direction, I watched God bless it even more. Her followers increased. Her opportunities increased… and her traffic increased… a lot. She followed where God was leading and her blog was blessed!
When I began my blog, I hadn’t a clue what I was doing. I began blogging to create an audience for my book (In Faithfulness, He Afflicted Me), which was new at the time. I just wrote about whatever came to mind. I tried to be inspiring, but honestly, I had no direction at all… no calling… no focus. I was just blogging.
I first began to get a lot of traffic when I started Getting to know YOU! It was something I did to connect bloggers and in doing that I realized that I LOVED introducing other bloggers to each other! I knew that at least part of my calling was to be a community blogger and use my blog to promote others in whatever way I could. I also discovered two other things along the way (and the second one took me a couple of years to figure out). First, I understood that God wanted me show my goofy side and help my readers to LAUGH! In essence, let the “Dork” be set loose here. Why? Because I was a woman who had grieved deeply, and I knew that being honest and open about my happiness (from the shallow goofball to truly content woman) would be a beautiful testimony of Hope. Mmmm, I love that stuff…Hope.
*And I almost posted a dorkier picture than this one, but didn’t want to ruin the integrity of this post, so I stuck with this mildly dorky one. ha!
The second thing I felt God wanted me to use my blog for was to encourage an exuberant spirit – meaning LIVING FULLY and ABUNDANTLY with JOY! I receive so many emails from people who are hurting and can’t seem to escape their pain. Some of these emails come from people who are bitter against their husbands or children… some from mommies who can’t stop grieving the loss of their child… and some from those who seem to sort of enjoy the lack of victory in their lives. Brethren, this ought not to be! Lives without victory are sad and fruitless lives. God wants us to claim our victory! God wants us to dance! God wants us to LIVE! And if we’re being honest, isn’t that really what we want? If we have to stop dancing for a time due to heartache or stress or an extra heavy load of some kind… well then by default we stop. But, that is not where we should stay. And that is one of God’s callings for me here on this blog – to share the value of difficult times and to prove through my own difficult times – and victories – that those trials produce beauty, contentment, perspective, faith, and ABUNDANT JOY in EVERYDAY LIFE … if we will only let God give us the victory.
God has given us all a unique purpose on this earth and yes, even on our blogs. Have you found your purpose in your blog? Do you know why you blog? Is your blog a success? If not, it might be because you need to figure out SPECIFICALLY what God wants you to speak. My next post will (hopefully) offer some insight into how you can figure that out. I’ll share some things I had to ask myself about my own blog.
My Pastor encouraged me to start blogging. I have always loved to write, and encouragement is one of my gifts (or so I am told). I have a huge heart for woman, from all walks of life, young and old. So mainly, I write to encourage others in the Word of God and in their journey of faith. I wish I lived a more exciting life and that I could share more about what goes on with me day to day. I’ve tried, but I keep going back to the “devotional type posts” and so far, I think it’s working. One thing I strive to do is to reply to every comment left for me. I visit every blog who comments and if I don’t follow, I at least try to comment back. It takes time, but I love building this community here. I may not be a big time blogger with a huge following, but I know that I have touched many through what the Lord has given to me to share. YOU my friend, are such an encouragement to me. I am so glad I found you!
You ARE an encourager. I can even tell that through your comments here on my blog! I think your purpose in Devotional Blog Posts is a perfect thing to communicate!
I started my blog just to update family on my firstborn since they weren’t with him everyday. I didn’t want them to miss a minute. Now I love that a bunch of people…especially on FB get to see what our family is up to. I love to share what we are doing, the fun we are having and I love being real. Sharing those hard moments…like losing the baby in April and most recent dealing with depression. I think that both of those things have a bad name in the church and women feel like they can’t talk about them. It was so nice to be real and hear from so many other women how that really helped them…knowing they weren’t alone. As far as my blog being a success…I only have a handful of followers, but I know more people read it from FB. I don’t have any ads so I don’t make any money from it, but for me it’s not about that. Right now I love that I can go back and look at what we were doing years ago so it’s more of an online scrapbooking.
Blogs are a great place to talk about infant loss. There are a ton of woman out there who need to talk about that.
Sounds like you are enjoying sharing your life on your blog with your friends and family the most. That’s wonderful!
I really loved this post
I really knew I loved your blog when you talked about just being real and not trying to be someone we aren’t. I think it had something to do with not worrying about your house being messy if someone showed up unannounced or something. I think the key to successful blogging is remembering that it’s not the amount of followers you have or how popular your blog is…….your blog might exist just because God has one person in mind that he knows you can reach, and if you do, that is success! I really blog because my mom’s writings mean so much to me now that she is gone and I want to leave that same thing for my kids one day. It’s like when I read her words, I can remember what it was like to talk with her and I want my girls to have that same thing.
Amen Kristin! I’m going to talk more about that aspect in Part 3 (I thought it was going to be a 2 part, but Oh well! ha!).
My blog(s) began as genealogy on one domain, and medical and family updates on the other domain. Mixed in amongst everything is my/our faith in God, trying to be a witness for Jesus. My blogging is still about all of that. Simple documentation… scrapbooking. And that’s what I’m happy with. I don’t intend to ever make blogging such a big thing that it overtakes all other aspects of my life. If no one read my blog, that would be fine. I do it for me.
I find that I’m “turned off” by bloggers that “get too big for their britches.” Holding constant giveaways, trying to build thousands and thousand of followers, wanting you to do this and do that… all for traffic and exposure on their blog. I end up not coming back for visits. This is part of the reason I’ve completely gotten rid of all “follow me” plugins and such things on my blog. They can still subscribe to my feed and my twitter… but other things, like facebook, are personal and reserved for only me. (I tried the facebook fan page for my blog and didn’t like it.)
Okay, ‘nough rambling. You sure know how to get a person all riled up so they jump on that stump and get to shoutin’ ’bout things! LOL! ♥
That’s interesting! (the genealogy stuff)
Yeah, marketing blogs is big for some people, but it’s not such a bad thing if they’re trying to get an audience for a specific reason. I’ve never understood getting followers by giving stuff away. You know, “Follow me and you can enter this giveaway”. Seems like that would create fake followers that will leave eventually. I like to give stuff away occasionally because I love my readers and see it as a way to give some goodies to them.
Like offering back.
Thanks for posting this.What you went through is exactly what i’m going through now.It’s really encouraging for me to know that you started out the same way as i did just blogging, but with no sense of direction.I’ve decided to pray to God so that my blog heads in the right direction too.Please do keep me in your prayers as well.
I have just one follower.Sometimes it’s really depressing, but maybe this is God’s way of leading me to blog about the right thing.Am looking forward to your next blog=)Take care!
I just prayed for you Adeline. I trust God will lead you the direction He would have you to go.
It’s exciting to discover it!
Love,
Lynnette
I started blogging because I wanted to show that even Christians mess up. I strive very hard to “be real” on my blog and sometimes thats really hard! Now with the new direction God has given me with health and taking care of the temple of God, I’m feeling led to move in that direction of encouragement for others who struggle too. Plus my Dad is going to start doing blog posts for me! Yowpah!
Love ya!
Michelle
What? Really? ha!! Yeah yeah, boy do I know that!
You are a very real person – just a piece of what I love about you.
I think your direction sounds great! So many people out there trying to do the same thing.
Looking forward to posts from your dad too. Cool!
Love you friend,
Lynnette
I love blogging, but just haven’t found that niche for myself yet. I so often struggle with what I want to say, or what I want to talk about, which is difficult for me, because I have always loved writing. It is frustrating for me to have so much difficulty with this. But at the same time, I feel like I am getting something out of it, even if no one else does. And I know that eventually, some good will come out of it somewhere. I hope!
And I have found some really encouraging blogs out there (like yours!), even if nothing ever comes of my own. Can’t wait to read your next post!
Thank you Corri. I’m so glad you enjoy my blog. Since you like writing, I’ll just bet God will give you direction and purpose and you’ll be on your way! I’ll pray for you right now.
Love,
Lynnette
Wow. This was a very inspiring post, Lynnette! Right after I read the last paragraph, I immediately thought, “What in the world does God want my little blog’s purpose to be?” Then the thought clicked. It was an immediate purpose. And that purpose was sharing my beliefs. Not the type of belief as in my beliefs about God (most of my readers know I am Christian), but my beliefs on abortion, homosexuality, etc. I have shared twice my views on homosexuality (I am against it) but I think that God is wanting me to come out of my shell a bit more. It’s like now that my followers have almost increased to 200, I am starting to get into the mode of being a “people pleaser” and don’t want to lose any followers. In one of my anti-homosexuality posts though (before my followers grew) I stated how we should all stop trying to people please, share our beliefs, and not be afraid to. But since my reader numbers grew the tiniest bit, I have started feeling rather hypocritical with that statement.
I started thinking the other day though, “Who am I to even blog if I don’t do what God wants me to do?” I mean, if I am really a “Christian” I wouldn’t be afraid to do what God wants me to do. And now I’m not. If it’s His calling, then I’ll do it! If I lose followers, then I’ll lose them. If I gain them, I gain them. If my numbers stay the same, then they stay the same.
That is why this post was soooo much what I needed.
Thank you for sharing this post!
I’ve got part 2 up if you wanna take a looksie.
Part 3 will come later this week. I believe that will be the last one.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Love,
Lynnette
I started blogging mostly to keep a record of what we did in our homeschool. Plus, I love it as a sort of online scrapbook of the big milestones in our family’s life.
But then I realized other people — strangers — were reading, and I could offer encouragement to them in homeschooling, and in thriving as a blended family.
And then God called us to adopt a teen from foster care, and my I realized that my blog is a fantastic platform to encourage others who might be considering adoption. So I still blog for my original reasons, but God expanded them, and I think my blog has grown because of that.
Cool Jamie! Sounds like God is moving your blog some different directions that are turning out to be a blessing!
it’s been close to 2 and a half years since i started blogging. The reasons i blog has morphed right along with learning as i go. Love bloggin’!!!
My energy level has been low due to many health issues and i found it neat to surf the blogs and learn what’s going on out there while i am in the house so much. I had been babysitting an incredibly active granddaughter and i had to be in the family room where toddler was being taken care of sooooo i blogged a bit. It has helped me with an emotional and artsy outlet.
Also projects on our old house could be documented as we went along and i wanted my children to be able to read some of my stories about them, life, God, etc.
It’s a wonderful tool also have met some neat people!!!
Sweet Blessings to you,
d
I agree! One of the best parts about blogging is meeting all the beautiful people behind the blogs. Yes, definitely a bonus!
Thanks for reading Deanna!
Love,
Lynnette
I blog to tell people how proud I am to have a momma who blogs to show people she’s a dork. XD Straightforward enough, right? Ha! Seriously though… I have been thinking about this exact thing lately–perhaps my lack of direction with blogging has been the reason I’ve had trouble with consistency and motivation.
Your blog is beautiful… especially with a little bit of “I’m a dork” behind it. Let’s face it: we’ve all got a little bit of dorky-ness inside! You make it look absolutely beautimous.
Love you.
–Ab
I just wanted to tell you, yet again, you are precious and I ADORE you!
Love,
Mother Dork
(Which means you are Daughter Dork. Are you okay with that?)
Thanks Lynnette
Through the years I’ve had several readers say my blog was like sitting down and talking with a good friend over coffee…that is THE BEST compliment b/c that is what I want…real, personal, one-on-one conversation. I enjoy writing so much (as I know you do as well!) and feel very blessed the Lord has allowed me to use it as a way to communicate His message to others.
That is a blessing, isn’t it? That is what I want to be too – just a friend and DEFINITELY let’s keep coffee right in the middle of everything! ha!
Looking forward to seeing you at Ashley’s shower on Saturday!
Love you.
Lynnette
I’m blogging as a way to connect to other people: moms, writers, Christians, etc. I can’t seem to connect to many people in real life.
I blog about things that make me happy. And it makes me happy when people visit and comment. Sorry if I’m rambling. I’ve just had a rough week.
That’s good insight. Some people express themselves so much better in writing and blogging is a sort of outlet for them in that way.
I’m sorry you’ve had a rough week.
I just prayed for you and hope this week is starting off better.
Love,
Lynnette
Honestly, I started blogging a few years ago because I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was supposed to…that , God was leading me to. I was convinced that I didn’t know how and I had never written anything before. That sounds strange maybe and I mostly justified it as a way to keep in touch with family, especially while we were in Mexico but the moment i started to set it up I prayed over it and gave it over to God and asked him to speak through me. I want it to reflect His heart. I’m a stay at home mom with lots ‘n lots to say but I was pretty sure no one would read it.
It’s a small blog still but people, to my surprise do read what I write and if I can point them to Jesus somehow or encourage them in their faith then I’m thrilled. The most incredible thing that happened through my blog a couple years ago (which I know was all part of God’s plan) was meeting my long lost sister in law after 25 years of no contact with any family. My husband and his sister were separated by dysfunction and the foster system as children and he hadn’t heard from her since. She is now staying with us for the summer, she is my dearest friend, and a passionate follower of Jesus. It was ALL God and his timing! We weren’t looking for her and she wasn’t looking for us but somehow God brought us crashing into each other. We’ve lost a lot of other family because of our choice to love and welcome her.. but it has been incredible to see God work in her and in us.
I started just writing what was on my heart to write. I originally met a community of woman who have children in Heaven, I’ve also met a community of other foster/ adoptive moms. I just want to be real, authentic and shine a light that celebrates faith in Jesus and family. I want to encourage others to “keep running the race!”
I don’t know what my focus is yet and I should probably figure that out a little more but life keeps changing
Love you and your blog Lynnette!
Carla,
You are an inspiration! Your blog (that I need to read so much more) is funny, insightful, encouraging and did I say funny? You need to write to keep the smile on women’s faces.
That is INCREDIBLE that you found your husband’s sister! Wow! Did you blog about it? Give me the link if so cuz I want to read about it! That is amazing!
Off to bed now cuz I’m up too late and my eyeballs are burning staring at this very bright computer screen while I sit here in the very dark dining room. ha!
Love you Carla!
Lynnette
Thanks for the encouragement Lynnette! Here is a link to our first physical meeting of my sister in law last summer (the one who I met through my blog). I don’t into detail on my blog about the ongoing dysfunction and drama because it involves so many people. It is amazing to see God at work restoring that which was is so broken. 5 generations of “disowned” family members, abandonment ,and abuse. We are trusting God to continue to heal and create a new legacy for our children.
oops http://carlaburlando.blogspot.com/2010/07/regeneration.html
Don’t hold back the Dork! (Because, let’s face it, we all have one!)
I love your humor, your quirkiness, your honesty and openness, the testimonies you share! I was just talking about you with a friend today (we were at Starbucks, so of course, you came up in conversation!), saying how much I enjoyed your blog!
I really enjoyed writing my blog, and I certainly hope people were encouraged by it. I am also enjoying NOT having a blog in this season of my life. God just has other things for me to focus on right now, but I certainly still enjoy reading them!
Don’t worry Coby. The Dork is loose forever! ha!! Yesterday my mom said, “I hate that word” (dork). I said, “I don’t. I LOVE that word.” ha! She said it had an alternate meaning when she was young, but I try not to think about that. ha!
I didn’t know you quit writing your blog! Where have I been? Did you just decide you were too busy to keep it up?
Love you Coby,
Lynnette
Well you know I started blogging to share Emily’s story with others. Sometimes when I’m writing….and not getting any comments…I think WHAT THE USE? and then I get an email from a family whose child was recently diagnosed with the same deletion as Emily and then I am reminded of how important sharing our story is.
Bonus is that we can share our love for the Lord….you can hear about our family stuff, maybe share a few recipes, and a few other random things.
I met YOU through blogging……. one more blessing to add to the list eh?
Yes, you DO indeed have a purpose and your blog is beautiful! I pop by more than I let you know. I love seeing pictures of your sweeties… all of them! And YOU of course.
I’m very glad I met you through blogging. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you Christina.
Love,
Lynnette
Your blog has been an inspiration to me! We live completely different lives – I live in a big city, career woman and new empty nester. But everyday I look forward to reading what is going on in Kansas in your household. I too have had a lot of grief in my life and your story bonded to my broken heart. You continue to show me the “beauty for ashes” verse is alive and because of that I too have believed and trusted my Savior to restore my life as well. I laugh and act “dorky” with no apologies anymore ha! Love you my sister!
I loved this comment! Thank you Barb! I love that you can enjoy my blog when we are leading such different lives! I love to glean and appreciate other walks of life myself.
I’m sorry you’ve gone through difficult times, but somehow we are blessed aren’t we? I think the trials and heartaches are what give us a different view of things. And YOWPAH! Keep the dork alive foreverrrrr!
Love,
Lynnette
My blog started as a hobby, became a way for me to share Jacobs story with friends and family, took on my new aboundt joy in Jesus sharing and then grew into my now more public blog. Though it is somewhat trafficed I woudn;t say its a lot, but if it helps someone great. I just blogged askign where everybody is and urging them to leave comments so I know more of what they think. I am hoping to growe more audience after Relevant. (Are you coming back ?)
I’m glad you went to a blog where people could interact by leaving comments.
I’m not coming to Relevant this year. I would have liked to, but just didn’t fit in the budget this year. I believe September will be there. You’ll have to give her a big ole hug for me.
Great post, Lynnette…and a perfect time for me. I’ve been reflecting on that very concept lately. I love the purpose for your blog…love the dance, the exuberance, the hope, the victory you show! I think my blog’s purpose in the beginning was to share how God gives beauty for ashes…sufficient grace for all the trials and struggles…comfort in grief. I wanted to encourage women, as well…to love their families…and to cling to the Lord through all of the ups and downs of life. I also hoped to share about Sufficient Grace Ministries. That has happened, but I do find that my blog has grown rather slowly. It shouldn’t be about numbers…and isn’t really. But, I do hope to enlarge the audience so that we can serve other families in need. It breaks my heart when we hear from a family that they wish they knew this ministry existed when they were walking through the loss of their child. God has always given me many words, and I love to write and share what He is teaching me. I love to tell the story…His and mine. But, I’m not sure if I’m allowing the blog to truly serve the purpose it was meant for…and I’m seeking that out as we begin the process of re-making our blog/site. I even asked a few questions of my readers a couple posts ago, but found that hardly anyone answered…which tells me that perhaps very few people are reading anymore. I do still feel called to blog, in hopes that all the words flowing from my heart may be an encouragement to someone, but I’m praying for the Lord’s direction as it seems not to have reached its intended potential. Thanks for listening! =)
Well Kel, I KNOW you have a purpose, but yes, it is hard to know exactly what direction to move with it huh? I will pray for you, that God will make it very clear. You are a beautiful writer and do need to be writing… somehow… somewhere. Never quit that – it’s a gift.
This ended up being a three part-er. I hope it’s a blessing to those who read it.
Love you.
Lynnette
Interesting timing to this post. I am researching moving my blog to Woprdpress and changing up some things. I want to be more intentional in my posts towards missions, homeschool, and missional living like adoption. Looking forward to your posts.
Amy
Yay! I hope this is a blessing to you then.
I just prayed for you and your blog.
Love,
Lynnette
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[...] Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 3 August 2, 2011 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 1 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part [...]
I’ve been thinking about this lately. I even made my blog reader-invite only for a time as I think it through. I know whatever I write, I want it to inspire women to live lives beyond themselves. After the last two years, I am more challenged then ever to live a Christ centered life. Less of me, more of Him. Thanks for posting this, I look forward to catching up on the other two post you’ve written on the topic. Blessings!
I’m just finding your series today, though I remember you from Relevant 10. I’ve seen the Lord direct me in blogging. I didn’t want to do it, I actually started an affiliate marketing blog because our situation then and now is that I need to help with the income. Its not about greed or luxury, its about necessity.
Anyhow- God redirected me, I’m a mom-blogger instead of an affiliate marketer though I do some affiliate marketing and I know what my ministry is, I believe anyhow. Its to reach the lost with the hope of salvation, and point everyone to trusting God’s Word – in addition to blessing my family with some extra income and lots of free products and several free travels. Things we couldn’t afford to do/have otherwise. I’m not a devotional blogger, that is not my gift nor do I think it attracts the people God is wanting to reach through my blog. I’m just a mom juggling it all (as seen by my logo) but I post about God’s Word, my faith, etc….
Since I changed directions with my blog I’ve seen God bless it big-time. And I’ll add, I do giveaways and have no problem offering extra entries for those who follow me on various social sites as then they become an audience who will be around for the posts that follow me when I share something about the Lord. Of course, I think some bail out because they don’t appreciate that, but thats okay. If they’ve read it, it may be a seed God will water down the road through someone else!
Thanks for this series…I still need to read the next post.
[...] Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 4 August 4, 2011 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 1 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 2 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part [...]
[...] Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 1 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 2 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 3 Why Blog? What is your blog’s value? Part 4 [...]