So I’ve decided to be a blogger
Aug 24th, 2009 | By art rogers | Category: Blogging, Pastoral BloggingFor those of you still checking in faithfully over the last, what? Three weeks? You deserve to know what’s been going on.
I’ve been busy.
I know. Life’s busy and if you’re going to be hosting your own site, then you owe it to the good folks who have come to depend on the sage advice, probing questions and stupid videos that you post to actually dispense these things.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Sorry.
I actually faced a bit of a dilemma with the whole situation. I’ve been so busy with pastoring and then my personal life (had you heard I’ve taken up cycling?) and then my family’s personal lives (I’m now the chauffeur for … never mind. If you know, you know and if you don’t, I don’t think I’m allowed to elaborate on the blog) that I have been too exhausted to write in the evenings when I typically craft my blog posts.
I considered shutting it down.
Some of you have heard that I have agreed to be an editor/contributor to a group blog called MissioScapes with some of the usual suspects. In fact, my initial article dropped there last week.
I thought that my occasional post there my tide over my writing jones. Scratch the itch. But then, no. I don’t think it will.
Then, I thought I might start an entirely new blog. An anonymous cycling blog from the eyes of a newbie cyclist. So much uncovered territory. So many obvious and yet unassaulted targets in the cycling community. You have no idea. I’m not even talking about the Lycra, either.
Still might do that, but then, maybe not.
If I’m too tired to write about the established aspects of my life, what makes me think an anonymous and yet unread cycling blog would drive me to shake off the web of slumber and expose the spandex clad, two wheeled, helmeted, free wheeling crowd to an audience that doesn’t even exist?
No.
The writing’s the thing. It’s not the subject of the blog. Do I want to write, and if so, will I set aside time to do it?
Yes.
I have decided that this is worth that and, frankly, it is you who have shown me that I should.
You’ve not said a word. No notes. No comments. No email.
But you’ve come back. Daily for over a month with barely a word from me beyond unfulfilled promises of posts to come, you still drop in and read what I have not written.
Thanks.
And since you’ve apparently cared what I have to not say, I think you’ll be immenantly more interested in the things that I hope to say, so…
I’ve decided to be a blogger.
By that I mean not just the random thought or question but something interesting – or at least something I think is interesting – more than once a week.
There you have it.
Sorry, for the impromptu time off. Thanks for sticking around. See you soon.
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Art,
Glad to hear that you’ve decided to stick with blogging. I’m not a very faithful writer at times either. There are long lapses of time that pass without a post, but then I’ll get inspired and write 2 or 3 in quick succession. It’s nice to have a venue for expressing one’s thoughts, even if they are sporadic and periodic. By the way, I had a meeting with Rodney Hammer this past Thursday at the associational office and he described his initial meeting with you in Tulsa after having read your blog for some time. I suspect you have a lot of faithful readers. Blessings.
Gary,
Fascinatingly, this brings up another issue. My comment email system wasn’t working and I would not be notified of comments when they were left. I wasn’t participating well in discussion, which hurt discussion and also hurt my own interest.
Miraculously, it has fixed itself and your comment just appeared in my inbox.
Amazing.
Art,
It’s axiomatic that the things we dream up to serve us, we eventually become enslaved to.
I’ve felt the same thing about blogging, my ownself, but I finally decided I blog because of me. I enjoy the writing. And I don’t write unless the bug, germ, spirit, whatever, bites me.
I quit the choir for the same (admittedly twisted) reason. I’d been teaching 2 Sunday Schools for some months and when I finally made it to worship, they were doing a number they’d prepared for the Christmas Cantata, and I sat out that Sunday and loved being in the congregation out there in a pew.
The little voice said “you can’t quit .. you’ve been there longer than anybody but the pianist .. what will people think ..”. God then convicted me that was precisely the wrong reason, and I’ve loved being “out there” ever since.
If you want to write, write. When you don’t feel like it, don’t. It needn’t be any more complicated than that. Besides, might a lot of those visits be from RSS readers, like mine? That’s the only way I ever go to a blog any more since someone (you, as I recall…) mentioned them. (If it was you, a big thanks.)
And oh, yes, I do enjoy your writing, or maybe I just enjoy hearing from a friend.
Both, actually.
Bumbling blogging bicyclist is becoming better at battling bumper to bumper bottlenecks and bringing boy to bashes.
Bob,
I always enjoy your writing also, and good friends are like good medicine. Glad you’re mine.
Also, you are welcome for the rss feed reader, but no they don’t show up in stats. Those are actual visits.
Technology is fascinating, eh?
Bart,
Huh? ;)
I got it. I actually have an RSS feed to my work email. I’m not sure if we can do an RSS feed to our personal email (that I don’t like). I wish I was as clever as Bart!!!