Things I've Learned from Christian Blogging

As of May 2014, I have been blogging on this same blog for a year, plus or minus a few changes in between. Initially when I started blogging, it was just for me to write and cultivate more my love for writing. Blogging was all about myself, what God has shown me and sharing my personal experiences with others. To be honest, I didn't expect, neither had I hoped for anyone to look at my blog, and yes, I know that sounds crazy. Blogging was just something to pass time. All of that changed with one conversation with one of my closest friends.

My friend and I are two years apart, and at the time she had just graduated from NC State and I was entering my junior year. She told me that she had seen a couple of my blog links on Facebook, but I never knew that she had actually read anything that I had published on this site. One afternoon I messaged her to see how she was doing, and we began to chat like old times. Somehow in the conversation this blog was mentioned, and she stated that she actually reads many of my postings. In the weeks and months following our conversation, many others came forward, expressing how much they've enjoyed reading this blog. From that point on, my view of blogging completely changed. 

This whole experience has been time-consuming, challenging, but yet spiritually and emotionally rewarding, not just for me, but I do believe for others also. People may or may not read this blog, but in the end, it is what God has called me to do, ultimately for my good and to give Him glory. Here's a list of some of the things I've learned in the past year of Christian blogging:

1. Don't be a copycat. It will get you nowhere!: Trying to imitate someone else's success is just like trying to make the next great "Mona Lisa." You'll end up with a headache and will never learn the true lesson God is trying to teach you in this season. 
2. Numbers are numbers, and people are people: For the longest time I got caught up in how many people had viewed my blog during the week or past month, only feeling depressed and minimizing my desire and inspiration to write. Numbers are numbers, and 90% of the time they mean nothing. However, people are still people. Despite not having a large following, I know I'm still making an impact in someone's life.
3. Stay focused and stand firm: It's so easy to be distracted by the things that swirl around in life: school, finding a job, needing money, trying to provide for a family --  the list can go on. No matter what, we must remember that our calling is still the same calling from God no matter what. As Paul writes Timothy, a young leader in the church, he says

"Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life that you were called to and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses" - 1 Timothy 6:12

This Christian life is hard, and if anybody tells you differently, you should look at them very strangely. Fight for the faith and share the Gospel of Christ to unbelievers. Take the gift of eternal life that we have been entrusted with and proclaim that through Jesus the world may be saved. "Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching" 2 Timothy 4: 2

At one point, I had thought about giving up on all of this blogging, but with God's grace, I'll be standing firm and continue to write for Him.