Confessions of a Reluctant Blogger

Confessions of a Reluctant Blogger

“Who is the man who fears the Lord?  Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.  His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.”

Psalm 25:12-13

I’m back.

Sorry for the long hiatus, but I had some thinking to do.  I’ll tell you what I was thinking about and what I’ve decided to do, but first, some backstory:


It’s time I publicly admit that I was dragged into the world of blogging, kicking and screaming.  I had avoided the nudge to do so for many years calling these online phenomena, “Blah-blah-blogs”.  But even after avoiding every writer’s class on blogging and “building a platform”, I still heard from every other class that blogging is a non-negotiable if you want a publisher to produce your material.  Publishers want to see if you can maintain the discipline of regular writing and that you can write what people will actually sign up to read – and ultimately purchase.

Stink.

Even though I had no intentions or desire to blog, I do have a few children’s picture book manuscripts that I kinda love and whose messages I’m keen to get into the hands and hearts of children.  So I reluctantly conceded.  I only told a few folks about my reluctance to start blogging because it’s not the most compelling marketing tactic: “Hey – do you want to sign up to read something I don’t want to write?”  But at the very least, I figured it was God’s wisdom and since I would be studying and writing, I knew my efforts would never be wasted.

And so for the last 18 months, God’s delightful principles of wisdom as found in Proverbs have weekly made their way to inboxes.  And here’s what I’ve discovered that sent me into a summer of reflection:

  1. Weekly writing is a pig of a job. If I wasn’t raising girls in this magnificent, wing-spreading season of life, or nurturing a church plant, or convinced that the women I walk arm-in-arm with through life should get first dibs on my ministry efforts, weekly writing wouldn’t be that hard.  I could sit for the necessary hours, studying my Bible, praying for insights and editing my posts into carefully crafted, heart-tugging, share-worthy, blog-world-sensations that would make people click on my bio as they ask “Who is this woman and why have I not encountered this writing genius before?!?”  But I can’t do that.  If I’m going to have a decent answer for God when I stand before him to account for the stewardship of the primary people in my life, weekly writing requires an investment of time that I cannot afford in this season.
  2. You’re all stuffed anyway. I recently described to a writer friend how it felt to labour over weekly blog posts for this culture.  It’s like this:  Studying, praying and writing every week for women who have a glut of reading options is like carefully crafting an exquisite and intricate dessert, only to offer it to a diner who is completely stuffed from one too many trips to the buffet.  Because of the sheer bulk of biblically-based materials that North American, Christian women regularly consume, it seemed to me that what I have to offer was not savoured.  Its beauty, not valued.  Its fulfillment, not needed.  At best, it was picked at.  At worst, it was passed over.  Now, if I was writing for women in closed countries, hostile to the gospel and one of the only bits of spiritual nourishment they would receive was my blog, you better believe I could invest that time.  But that’s not the case in our situation. So as it stands, in light of our literature surplus and the fact that I’m the only wife to Glen and only mom to Taylor, Avery & Scarlett, it is a time sacrifice I have a harder time justifying.
  3. I love writing. And here was the surprise in it all.  I have come to realize that I truly love writing about God’s wisdom and how it impacts the everyday lives of women.  I love it for how it disciplines me to biblically formulate my thoughts and inform my actions.  And I love that it has brought some encouragement and clarity to a few of you.  It has become a privilege that I am humbled by, grateful for and don’t want to squander.

With all this in mind, I went into the summer not sure of what to do.  Right around that time I encountered Psalm 25:12-13.  I’ll print it here again for you naughties who don’t read the verses at the beginning:

“Who is the man who fears the Lord?  Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.  His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.”

Excellent, I thought.

I live my life in the fear of the Lord.  So if that’s true, these verses tell me that there are a few things I ought to expect.

  1. God will direct me. (“Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.”)
  2. My soul will flourish. (“His soul shall abide in well-being.”)
  3. My children will experience stability and blessing. (“And his offspring shall inherit the land.”)

Sign me up.  These were all things I desired:  I want to spend my life doing what God wants me to do.  I want to live with a refreshed and vibrant soul.  I want my children to be well established in faith, character & purpose. So I spent the summer asking God to direct me in the way that I should choose with my writing that would bring about these results.  And here is my answer:

Since I’ve discovered that I love this privilege of sharing biblical wisdom with those who will listen, stopping altogether, though easier, didn’t sit well with me.  So consider this official notice that I will be lightening your in-box traffic and sending out one blog post per month.  I get more time to invest in my family, my home and my local ministry while still writing.  At the same time, I’m not adding to the excess of material we already don’t have time to wade through.  It’s a win-win for everyone.

And as for content, I’ve engaged in a number of interesting conversations over the last six months that I’d like to let you in on because I think they might be helpful.  To do that, we’ll depart a bit from Proverbs and I invite you to join me as we start the Conversations series going into October.

With everything else you have opportunity to read, thank you for any minutes you have given to the words that I have shared.  And for today, thank you for allowing me to explain my progress on the ever changing journey of life and ministry balance.  See you in October.

And be sure to leave some room for dessert…

12 Comments

  1. April Schrader

    Love your transparency and willingness to put first things first and ebb and flow with the seasons of life. You continue to model wisdom in such a relateable way. You are still a treasured mentor to me.

    Reply
    • Janet

      Thank you for your encouragement April – How like God it is to take our stumblings and cries to him for wisdom as encouragement for others! Your steadfast faith through heartaches is a treasured example to me. Thank God for mutual ministry!

      Reply
  2. Amy Hall

    Thanks for your ongoing thoughts and nuggets of wisdom. As a mom of girls just a few years behind yours, I always look forward to gleaning from your posts. I often forward them on to friends and family who might benefit. Thank you for your sacrifice of time and writing and I look forward to Conversations in October.

    Reply
    • Janet

      Hi Amy – How great it is for all of us to have journeyers a few steps ahead who can hopefully point out the dangers so we can avoid them! By God’s grace, I’ll try to do that. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Heather Bock

    I’ve missed your blog posts, and I’m excited you’ll be writing again, even if just once a month. There may be a glut of writing out there, but no one has YOUR voice and YOUR experience. You know, there are people who will not read any blogs except the ones written by those people they personally know and love. You might be writing just for those people, including me. Thank you for continuing on with your beautiful and wise writing!

    Reply
    • Janet

      Sweet, encouraging, diligent Heather! Thanks for the reminders to write for a few and thank you for your carefully studied, ever helpful posts. You make me feel lazy. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Hannah Hall

    You are my favorite. That is all. 🙂

    Reply
    • Janet

      How much you are able to say with such few words – you should be a children’s author… 🙂 Always thinking of you fondly and longing for the next meeting.

      Reply
  5. Jenny

    Yaaaay! I’ll take it 🙂

    Reply
    • Janet

      Oh, darling Jenny – my personal cheerleader! (Without the short skirt. Though might I say, with all your Holy Spirit infused self-control, you could now pull it off…) 🙂

      Reply
  6. Deborah Beck

    Jan – I am so proud to be your Aunt. Your heart for God/family is such an encouragement to me. I support your decision to blog once/month and look forward to the next issue. Love You.

    Reply
    • Janet

      What can I say Aunt Deb? I come from good stock. 🙂 Thank you for your tireless encouragement. It always blessed my heart to hear from you. I love you too!

      Reply

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