Failing, and Starting Again…

I’ve failed epically at one of my goals for 2017. Every time I look at the sign we created on New Year’s Eve, which is posted in our cozy kitchen, I feel guilty.  The goal?  Write three blog posts a week.  Oh man.  Here are my excuses reasons for not achieving this goal:

Working in an accounting firm, I am basically in “busy season” mode from mid-February until mid-April each year.  Everything other than the necessities of daily life take a backseat as work is extra busy and my family still requires meals, baths, bedtime stories, and cuddles.  Well, Dennis takes care of his own bathing, but you know what I mean. 🙂

This year, I was in a very peaceful, reflective mindset during the season of Lent.  I faithfully read my devotions and wrote (nearly) daily prayers as I reflected on Jesus’s final hours, excruciating death, and deep love for us.  It gave me a new perspective and strengthened my resolve to surrender to Him.

How did that hinder my blogging?  Well, it didn’t, really.  But, overall I felt like any insights or thoughts I had to share were insignificant in relation to Jesus’s sacrificial death.  Thinking about the ultimate things in life made me feel small, but in a comforting and peaceful way.  To recall a childhood song: “He’s got the whole world in his hands…” so, there’s nothing for me to do but be still and enjoy His wonderful blessings of love, joy, hope, and peace.

Based partly on my education, I think of blog posts like scholarly articles where I have a specific thesis statement to express.  When I started writing Be Still and Know, I had a lot to share in terms of my awakening.  I was full of these ideas that had helped me and I couldn’t wait to get them out for others to read.  But, as those lessons have continued to shape me over the past four years, and God has grown me in other ways, I’ve come to know that life is constantly unfolding.  Something that seems profound and true at one point will later become so obvious it seems silly to write about.

So, I’m striving to change the way I approach this blog.  Instead of looking to craft a specific idea in each post, I’m going to just sit down and write whatever I’m thinking or feeling.  I feel that my words can be used to give joy, hope, and love to others – but only if I write them!  I’m going to prayerfully ask God to direct my content and try to uphold my goal to “Write three blog posts a week”.  Perhaps writing regularly will help shape the atmosphere of growth and everydayness that I hope to create.

Thanks for reading!