I realize that I have not posted for about two weeks and my last post was only a short statement expressing my thankfulness for Jesus. That still stands true today. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, and since I am not Tim Challies , when things get excessively busy I find it difficult to blog.
One of the things that has caused me to be busy is substitute teaching. This is my way of trying to get the gospel into Mark Twain High School and build rapport with students. That has taken a couple of days out of each week. That puts me behind schedule in my other duties. Since blogging is lower on my list it gets neglected.
Another reason that I have not blogged in awhile is because I am a little discouraged with it. My discouragement is on a few fronts...and honestly they all have a root in not practicing the gospel. 1) I am not as good of a writer as many others. My punctuation skills are horrible. And my ability to convey significant thought pales in comparison to others. Therefore, until I learn to be a better writer I feel like shutting down. 2) Abraham Piper's suggestions on blogging discouraged me. I question whether I have anything unique to say. 3) Why continue throwing so much time into something that only a handful of people will read? 4) Some of the really fun things that I want to do requires more readers--so I feel stuck.
So, I am looking for direction and praying for a heart that treasures Christ and the proclamation of his glorious truth more than my stupid pride and drive for notoriety. I frequently pray perish my honor...I guess I should believe that God answers that prayer. From now on I want to blog for the glory of God and to display His worth and honor and not my own. With that being said, I hope to blog more, even though a busy summer may make that difficult.
MIKE!
ReplyDeleteHey, knock it off. SERIOUSLY. (READ THIS IN LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT BROTHER!)
We all deal with pride and want people to read our blogs, when in fact all they are, is words thrown out into space with the hope that someone will come along and get something out of them.
I want to see my stats up on my blog. I do. I hate it. But I do. I find myself clicking the "stats" button because I want to see how many hits I've had. Its sick really. But kind of funny. Its what makes us human and we ARE HUMAN.
NOW. I LOVE YOUR WRITING. You have been a great help to me.
You have to write about what you feel led to write about. I know we get caught up in theology sometimes. Right? We get caught up in the deeper conversations about nuances of meanings, some deep-dive theological stuff right?
Well, the books you read are similar. The posts you write are similar. Is that really what you want to write about?
I think the reason you're having a hard time writing, is that you are not PASSIONATE about what you are writing about. You are PASSIONATE about Christ and about the Church. I've seen it in your emails. Write about something personal.
Write about God working in your life. Write about some nuance of your Bible study that jumped out at you. Quit pointing to other people's blogs and make this YOUR BLOG. (OR another of God's blog through your fingers)
I've realized that my own writings have tended to get into the negative stuff instead of the uplifting stuff. I hate it when that happens, but it draws more people. *sigh* Sometimes I put a "negative" title on a post, just to draw people in to a positive, challenging post. (Such as the Christians should be beat up post ;)
You never know who might be passing by and read something that came from your heart and touch their life in a way that they needed. They might not tell you and you may never know. But I bet it happens. God is funny that way.
Man, I understand what you're feeling. Its frustration, pure unadulterated frustration.
Write about what you are passionate about. Tie it into everyday life. Put your spin on it and make it real for us that are reading it.
FORGET about punctuation and spelling and just write. Share your passions and just be HONEST.
If it wasn't from your emails, I wouldn't have any idea who Mike Leake is from his blog posts, if that makes sense?
I love ya Bro!
Chris
OH, I posted a reply to your comment on my site. You made me realize my original post might have come across too negative about the church as a whole and that was not my intent, so I apologize.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Chris
Dear Brother in Christ.
ReplyDeleteI frequently visit your blog and have come away edified! I have a long story but can't share it with you right now. I'm from a small town in Pennsylvania, USA and I want to ask you to listen to this post and I will return later!
In Christian Love,
Ike
http://bloodtippedears.blogspot.com/2008/05/frustrated-missionary.html