Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Blogging About Blogging

Next Saturday, I will write my 100th consecutive blog post. That doesn't mean that I'll have been blogging for 100 days this Saturday, because there were some days that I blogged twice, but it's still a good milestone by sheer number of posts.

Having committed to a daily morning blog, some days were easier than others. There were many days that took me hours to complete the blog post because I couldn't focus. But there were other days that I had a specific thought in mind that I felt strongly enough about it that I could write a long blog post about it in a short amount of time. Some of my blog posts have been more enriching than others, and I'm not sure why. I know that many of my blog posts were lame, but I'm not sure what, specifically, made the good ones good. I particularly don't understand what's so good about "It's Thursday!" It just felt like a normal blog post to me.

My favorite blog posts have mostly been about angels, engaging in spiritual conflict, and building on past mistakes. There's a theme there, which some of you may already know, but the rest of you I probably won't tell for years. We all have our own personal struggles. Let's just leave it at that.

In fact, having my own personal struggle is part of why I created this blog, or rather, resurrected it. I knew that the solution to my personal challenge would have something to do with my specific strengths and weaknesses. Writing is one of my strengths. I figured that writing a few paragraphs on some random gospel topic each morning would help me be more spiritually-minded throughout each day. It hasn't really been working out that way, but still, blogging couldn't be hurting my spiritual progression.

Also, can having a love of music be considered a strength? Having a talent for music can be a strength, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about listening to music and having it affect me. I posted about EFY just recently. Listening to it has helped me with my personal struggle. Hymns help too, but not usually quite as much. There as some really good hymns, but most of them don't help me as much as the average EFY song.

I have basically two questions about this blog: How can I make my blog posts better for you who read it, and how can I make blogging a more powerful force in my spiritual progression? It'd be difficult for you to answer the second, but if you have any answers for the first or suggestions for the second, please share them with me. If I'm committed to blogging anyway, I'd love to find ways to make my blog a stronger force for good.

Here's another question: What are some topics that you'd like me to research and blog about? Of course, we'll try to keep it vaguely gospel-related, but I'm pretty sure I could tag a gospel-themed analogy to just about anything.

Snorkeling: It's beautiful, wonderful, and fun, but we have to stay by the surface, or we'll drown. However tempting it is to take a closer look at the beautiful things God created for us to enjoy, we have to do it in a way that still keeps us safe. And while we're looking at the reefs and anemones, we need to keep an eye out for other things that are going on around us as well. Otherwise, we may swim right into danger and not know it until it's too late.

Basketball: It's a team sport. However good you are, you still need your team to help you. And however poor you are at basketball, you can still be some help to your team. The fans only seem to care who scores the most points, but really, if anyone on the team scores points, the whole team scores. And if you helped make that basket happen, give yourself a pat on the back. You're helping more than most people realize. And if you're the star player, don't let your fan-base go to your head. Appreciate your team-mates, and TELL THEM you appreciate them. Team unity is a good way to win games.

So if you want me to blog about something random like that, go ahead and suggest it. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to strap an analogy to it. It'll actually be a fun and challenging writing exercise for me. =)

But anyway, this blog has been doing pretty well. It's helped a few people's days go a little bit better, so I'll call that success. Here's to even greater success in the future. Like the basketball players, we can make this blog awesome, together.

1 comment:

Michaela Stephens said...

I recommend keeping a scripture journal or a spiritual thought journal where you dump all your thoughts in first. It has been very helpful for me as a blogger because then I can write about whatever impressions I have without feeling like I am under the pressure of being read by others. Then I can choose things to post that I feel will be most edifying to others.

Also, when you discover something, always try to live the good that you write.