Courtney Speaks

Today I have a guest post from Tami Kellerman. Enjoy!

Many times after a move I found myself in a community with little or no support system. There I would be, alone, thousands of miles away from family and not knowing a single sole.  So, I would get out there. I would become acclimated to my surroundings, get a job, join some groups and get involved….and that is what I did with my website.

Integrating my faith into my website really was never, not part of my plan.  It is who I am and what I write about. No matter what your website may be about….there are others in the cyber world with similar interests and experience that can help guide you. Reaching out to other bloggers like myself and taking a look at how they set up their blogs, was a huge part of my process. Finding similar interests groups can be as easy as goggling your subject matter or joining a social media group.  I recommend you do both.

I already had a Facebook account so I decided to try Twitter.  I created an account and started stumbling around.  Twitter, as with almost all social media can be an amazing networking experience.  I simply started searching under Christian Authors, Christian Writers, Christian bloggers etc. The numbers are amazing and the amount of useful information being shared is staggering. An additional benefit is the amount of people you can reach with links to your blog. Without even thinking about it I had started to market myself and my writing.  Eventually, I started posting links to my blog on my Facebook account and have only increased the numbers of people that I am exposing my writing to.

Here are some other great ways to integrate your faith or blog interest on your website. An Amazon Book Store on your site that sells books that would appeal to your readers or that you have referenced in past blogs.  Having a My Playlist MP3 devise on your site that plays your favorite music,(mine plays my favorite Christian Music), A Blog roll widget that has links to favorite blogs related to your specific blog genre and/or a recommended resources widget with links to sites that provide help and information regarding your subject matter.

Staying true to why you created your blog in the first place is crucial in being successful at marketing yourself and integrating your values and beliefs.  I can’t image having my blog set up any other way and look forward to how God will use me through my writing or any other way he has planned!  It is the thrill and fear of the Unknown again!! I pray you are energized as you launch into your unknown!

Tami makes her home outside of Chicago with her husband, Michael, and their three young children.  She was raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Journalism.  She received her Master’s in Public Administration from Valdosta State University.

Tami is working on her first book and enjoys blogging on her website, www.mudpiesformom.com, about how God is working in her life and the lives of those around her.  She is committed to becoming the woman God created her to be and providing inspiration to other woman on their own journeys.

Do you have your family’s support for your online business and/or blog?  Are they an encouragement or hindrance to you and your business?  My husband is supportive when I’m making money and less so when I’m not.  I don’t really blame him though.  He doesn’t understand the way the Internet Marketing world works.  I’m still learning myself.

Running my online business and blog is something I enjoy doing, even when my income takes a dive some months.  I love being able to stay home with my kids but I need something that is my own and separate from the kids.  My online business fills this need.  It allows me to be creative and interact with other adults, even if it is just online.  As along as I’m happy my family is happy.

One thing I struggle with is not letting my love of blogging and such to take over my life.  My family and kids will always come first but it is easy to let blogging and Internet marketing to take up too much space in my day.  There is a balance that I struggle to achieve at times.  That is when the support of family comes into play the most for me.   While my online business is important to me, my family is more important, and they constantly remind me of that.

Another thing that has helped me is prayer and God’s guidance.  I believe I am following God’s will in my life through my online business and that makes balancing everything so much easier.  If I feel like the Internet is over taking my world, I turn to God in prayer and ask Him for strength.  After all, God is the reason I am even able to have an online business.

So, does your family support you?  Do they understand why you run an online business or blog?

I put together a little audio last night about what I think it means to be a Christian blogger.  I would love for you to take a listen and let me know your thoughts!

 

 Standard Podcast [3:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I serve an awesome Lord.  He  is always there when I need Him and He always answers prayers.  Just last night I was praying for guidance in the maze of Internet marketing and making money online.  While there are a lot of things I would love to do, I want to do what God has in His will for me to do.

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalms 32:8

I want to have online business only if it is His will and I want that online business to be something He would be proud of.  I have spent too long working on my own will, and not God’s will.  Well no more.  I’m telling everyone, this blog belongs to the Lord.  All of my sites belong to the Lord.

And wouldn’t you know it, the Lord answered my prayer this morning.  I won’t go into specifics because I’m still ironing them all out, but the Lord sent a sister in a Christ and fellow blogger to encourage me.  She didn’t even know she was doing so until I told her about my prayer just last night.

So now I have direction.  The Lord has shown me what He wants me to be doing and I’m going to get busy doing it!

How about you?  Are you in God’s will?  Do you know what you are suppose to be doing?

It’s a question we hear all the time but never get a real answer about.  Should we work on Sundays?  Should we do anything other than worship the Lord on Sundays?  And now, should we blog on Sundays?

First, lets see what the Bible has to say before I give you my personal opinion.

Exodus 20:8, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ”

Exodus 20:10, “But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates:”

Exodus 16:30, “So the people rested on the seventh day.”

Deuteronomy 5:15, “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”

Mark 2:27, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:”

Hebrews 4:9-11, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Now I am not a history scholar and will not even begin to get in the debate of whether the sabbath actually falls on Saturday or Sunday, but instead will focus on the meaning of the sabbath and how that applies to blogging.

Most people know that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th.   That 7th day was the sabbath.  Sabbath (in Hebrew) simply means to rest from labor.  The point behind having a sabbath day is to have a day of rest in which we can reflect, praise, and worship the Lord thy God (Ex. 20:10). It is a day for us to remember all that He has done for us.

It is important to point out Mark 2:27, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:“.  Sabbath was not created for God but for us.  It is meant to a blessing to us.  God want us to take time for ourselves and rest.

Now to answer the question, “Should a Christian blog on Sunday?”  Please remember this just my opinion based on my reading of the scriptures and I am sure there is more than one interpretation or opinion.  I think the answer depends on what blogging is to you.  Is it a hobby or a job?  Is it your business or just something you do for fun?

If you blog as a business then I believe that the sabbath would apply.  You would need a day of rest from work and according to the scriptures your day of rest is the sabbath.  This allows us to have time to reflect on what has been happening in our blogs and how the Lord is leading our blogs, business, and life.  It’s a chance to thank Him and praise Him for all the things He has done  for us.

For those bloggers who want to post everyday, just because you don’t actually work on your blog on Sundays doesn’t mean you can’t have new content on your site.  You can write a blog post in advance and schedule it to be published on a Sunday.

If you blog as a hobby or just for the fun of it, then blogging may be restful for you.  It may be how you relax and reflect on what has been happening in your life.  Of course this is different for every person.  What is a restful and relaxing activity for one person by not be for another.

Just remember the meaning behind the day of sabbath – it is a day of rest in which we can reflect, praise, and worship the Lord thy God.  If blogging gets in the way of this, then no you should not be blogging on Sunday.

What do you think?  Agree or disagree?  I would love to hear your opinions.

photo credit: Carlos Luna I’m really unhappy with some Google searches I have recently done. It’s not Google’s fault, at least I don’t think it is.  But when I do a search for “Christian Bloggers” do you know what I get?  I get Christian sites that are no longer active, blogroll sites, and a Facebook community.  No where on the front page is there what I could consider a “Christian Blog” written by a “Christian blogger”. It’s not until the second page that I find a Christian blogger’s blog.

Now to be honest a site called ChristianBlog.com does appear towards the bottom, but it appears to be a network of blogs all under that one domain name.  I personally don’t really get it.  I’m confused by the site.  So I didn’t include it in my research.

When I do a search for “Christian Blogger” I do see more blogs on the front page but again a majority of them are not active and haven’t been for months or longer.  It wasn’t until searched for “Christian blog” did I find an active Christian blog on the front page of a Google search but there were only a few.

So my question is, Where are all the Christian blogs?  I know they are out there.

photo credit: RebelBlueAngelToday I am continuing on my series about incorporating Christian virtues into your blog.  This entire series is based on Colossians 3:12-25 and the virtues that are listed that we as Christian should strive to have in our lives.  Once we are saved we become a new person and the “old man” is put away.

The virtues listed in Colossians 3:12-25 include holiness, mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, and longsuffering.  The first post in this series was about mercy and today I am going to write about kindness.

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” Colossians 3:12

According to the verse above we are to put on kindness. What does it kindness mean exactly? I found the perfect definition at DiscipleshipTools.com by Dr. Richard J. Krejcir:

Kindness (Rom. 2:1-4; 12:9-21; Ephesians 4:32; Col. 3:12-14; 1 John 3:16-23) is the medium through which Christ’s love becomes tangible through us. It is practicing benevolence and a loving attitude towards others. Kindness is the essence that shows the world that we are a Christian, like the fragrance coming from a flower. It is being convicted with God’s Word, and then modeling it to others. Kindness is the subject to the object of who we are in Christ!

WOW!  Kindness is a way in which Christ’s love becomes tangible through us!  It is being benevolent and having a loving attitude.  Kindness is a way for others to see Christ in us.  Webester’s dictionary defines it as, “Showing tenderness or goodness; disposed to do good and confer happiness; averse to hurting or paining; benevolent; benignant; gracious.”

So how can we apply this kindness to our blog?  Oh let me count the ways!

1. Have a loving attitude.
   When you write your blog posts who do you write for and do you love that person or those people?  If you are blog is targeted towards mothers do you have a passion and love for them?  If you blog just for yourself do you love yourself?  I know there are a lot of different opinions on this, but I personally think you need to be blogging about something you have passion about.  Something you love.  For me that is the Lord.  So I blog about the Lord and how I and other people can incorporate Him into our blogs.  It’s effortless for me because it is my passion, my love.  The passion and love for a subject and audience shows through your writing as well.  Having a loving attitude will help you, your writing, and your audience grow.
2. Be Gracious.
   Luke 6:31 tells us, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.“  This is common sense.  It seems like it is forgotten a lot in today’s society.  If someone leaves a comment on your blog, email that person back saying thanks, visit their blog and leave a comment, or even better do both!  It always makes my day when I receive some type of response to my comments.  If you are hosting a giveaway, tell the sponsor thank you!  If you have sponsor’s who purchase ad space, tell them thank you!  Tell your readers thank you!  Most of this stuff is common sense but can make a huge difference in your blog.
3. Be adverse to causing pain.
   Don’t knowingly cause others pain. If you know leaving a comment on a certain blog post would cause the writer to be hurt, is it really necessary to do?  Don’t openly flame a person on your blog.  According to the Bible if we have a problem with someone we are to talk them privately first to try and work out any differences.  Blaring all your issues with another blogger online never does of you any good.  Just think before you do.

By doing these simple things we are incorporating the Christian virtue of kindness is our blogs and we are also showing the love of Christ.  We are acknowledging we are separate from the world, we are children of God.  We need to start acting like it and can do so by showing simple acts of kindness.

photo credit: mtsofanIn the Sunday service yesterday at church the preacher was teaching on the characteristics of a new believer in Christ.  Colossians 3:9-10 teaches us that we are to put off the old man and put on the new man – meaning that once we are saved we become a new person.  In Colassians 3:12:-25 the Bible gives us a list of virtues that a believer in Christ should strive for.

While the preacher was teaching on each of these virtues described in Colossians 3:12-25 it became apparent to me that each of these virtues could, and should be, incorporated in our blogs. The fist virtue I want to talk about is mercy and how we can incorporate mercy into our blogs.

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;” Colossians 3:12

The verse above tells us that we are to put on “bowels of mercies”.  So, what is mercy?  God shows us mercy by forgiving our sins and not punishing us for them.  God withheld judgment from us.  Mercy is not receiving the judgment you deserve.  As a Christian we are not to judge others.  According to the Webster online dictionary mercy is:

1 a: compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power ; also : lenient or compassionate treatment <begged for mercy> b: imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder

2 a: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion b: a fortunate circumstance <it was a mercy they found her before she froze>

3: compassionate treatment of those in distress <works of mercy among the poor>

As a believer in Christ we are to show mercy to others.  We are not to judge others but to show compassion.  So how can we incorporate this into our blog?

1. Dealing with hateful and rude comments.
   Have you ever gotten some rude or down right hateful comments on your blog? I’m sure most of us has at some point in our blogging careers. It is a fact in the blogosphere that everyone is not going to agree with you and your opinions.  The real question here, though, is how do you deal with those comments?  Are you quick to judge the commenter based on just those typed words?  Instead of being judgmental next time you get a rude or hateful comment respond in a kind and loving fashion.  Let the commenter see the Jesus in you.
2. Be respectful to other bloggers.
   Did you often make assumptions about other bloggers?  I am guilty of this.  It is easy to assume that just because a blogger is getting invited to events, have obtained sponsorships, have a large large Twitter following, and great blog traffic, that they have the perfect life.   Or that they are stuck up and snobby.  Or that they are undeserving of such success.  None of those things are for us to decide.  Assuming things about a person is the same as judging them unfairly.  We should be respectful to fellow bloggers regardless of their success or lack of success.
   
3. Support other bloggers.
   Genuinely supporting other bloggers is often easier said then done.  Sometimes we think we have nothing to offer to help or we think we just don’t have the time.  Of course, another reason could be, “Why help them if it isn’t going to help me?”  Part of showing mercy is having compassion for others.  This includes helping when you are able to.  Many times we are only supportive because we get a reward for it, whether it be some link love, getting contacts, or just for kind words.  Part of showing mercy is to be compassionate.  By being compassionate we support and help others without looking for a reward.  We do it because it is the right thing to do and it is what Jesus would do.

Of course there are many additional ways we can incorporate mercy in our blogs.  By incorporating mercy in our blogs we are become the type of person God wants us to be and thus will also bring us closer to the Lord.

The next virtue I will be talking about is kindness, something the blogosphere definitely lacks at time and excels in at other times.

photo credit: Annie Mole With the explosion of blogging across internet today people blog for different reasons, as the trend continues to grow we are seeing more and more Christian blogs and people who classify themselves as Christian bloggers. Why would one become a Christian blogger or focus just on Christian blogging?

Christian blogging or reading a Christian blog can affect the life of those who write it and those who read it as well. Someone who begins a Christian blog does so with a purpose. That purpose being to spread the word of the Lord. This will impact their life far beyond just words on a page. God will speak through them and guide them not only in the development in their blog but with everything they do in their daily existence. Writing a Christian blog is more than just writing a blog geared towards the values of God, it’s a heartfelt ministry. Christians are called by the Lord to begin this ministry as per His will. Being so chosen by God to spread His word will change and impact everything they now do in their daily existence. They will now have a closer relationship and they will lead their life according to His purpose, things will never be quite the same.

As you can see beginning a Christian blog is truly an act of love and devotion, but what impact does it have to those who choose to read it? Because of the fact that the Christian blog is a blog full of words spoken from God, it has the distinct possibility to speak to those who read it as well. The only prerequisite is that the reader must have an open heart. The Lord is capable of effecting the lives who those who seek Him, even through something as simple as a blog. The Lord can show them that to follow His word and His teachings will change their lives in more ways that they can possibly imagine. All this can be achieved through an online weblog, more than possible if you have faith and believe in the Lord’s blessings.

A believer who pens a Christian blog and those who are open enough to read it can truly have their lives impacted and changed through the Lord’s strength and love. Not just a simple journal but a journal that can bring both the reader and the writer closer to the one who loves us the most.