Why do you blog?
June 21st, 2006 @ 10:31 am
With all the reasons people come up with not to blog, I thought I’d attempt to reveal some positive aspects of blogging…
Why do you blog?
How has God worked in your life through blogging?
I look forward to your responses! And, if you could pose the same question on your blog and have people comment here, that would be great. I’m trying to convince a cynic and the more replies, the better!
Related posts:
Musings/Poetry
Kat Jacobs said,
June 21, 2006 at 12:44 pm
My name is Kat and I just found your blog the other day. I look forward to reading it and I love the new design.
I blog because I’m a stay at home mom who occassionally needs to think more deeply than whether Barney or Baby Bop is cooler.
I blog because I love technology, tweaking my blog setup and checking my site stats.
I blog because I love feedback.
I blog because I don’t have all the answers and sometimes I need other people to help me figure things out or to challenge me.
God’s really worked in my life through blogging. The first non-webdevelopment blog I read was Shaun Groves’ blog. Being a stay at home mom it was revolutionary for me to be able to engage in a conversation on Calvinism or the state of the music industry in the middle of the day.
I’ve met and befriended people that I might never have befriended in real life because our ages or stages of life are too different. Consequently, we’ve had discussions that have really allowed God to teach me, challenge me and change me.
Sorry for the long comment…I hope something I’ve said helps you convince your friend.
Rich Kirkpatrick said,
June 21, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Hi Anne (I think I might like coffee more than you…but I am not sure…I am drinking a quad-iced latte right now as I type…nice)
I just answered this question on Kristiapplesauce’s blog.
I think blogging is a great way to network, share ideas and find common ground with REAL people. It has been an outlet that I think enriches my life which is the reason I keep doing it.
The people I learn from blog. This is really a way to be influenced and influence others. I love Hugh Hewitts book on blogging. That has a wealth of great reasons for the plus side of blogging.
sharibrown said,
June 21, 2006 at 3:07 pm
I blog because
1. I enjoy the relationships
2. I process my feelings as I articulate them
3. Blogging helps me to review my walk with my God. In times of struggle it has been helpful to go back and read old posts maybe just to remember what God has done for me.
4. I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of some blogs. ie Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight tackles some tough issues and offers opportunity to examine why we believe what we believe.
5. I admit it, I check out my site meter and see who is reading, linking, subscribing and I enjoy the fact that someone else is reading. But if no one else read my blog, I would write it none-the-less.
Jules said,
June 21, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Reading and commenting on blogs definitely gives me a sense of community and fellowship with other believers. It has also given me an ear to what the current world view is from those who see it differently than myself. Since reading is a workout for your brain, I enjoy the bits I get through blog reading when I am not into a particular book. God has shown me other’s needs through some blogs and made me aware of the blessings he has given my family.
The Mungle said,
June 21, 2006 at 3:51 pm
I blog because it is the perfect way to mass communicate all wordy things. Trivial or serious. I would not call all my friends and strangers and say, “so, what do you think of blogging, Anne wants to know?” and write it down. Then call them all AGAIN and tell then what everyone else said. How crazy! But blogging it. Yeah. That rocks
Tim said,
June 21, 2006 at 5:24 pm
I blog to reveal myself to people who I would normally never meet. To hopefully help one person down the road who is having similiar struggles as I have had or will have. I also blog to get all my junk out in the open, so in those time I feel like isolating myself, I know that people already know so there isn’t much a point to hide in my insecurity. So by doing that my blog lets a lot of people know what is going on in my life, even those people I wouldn’t be able to call or talk to on a regular basis.
Kevin said,
June 22, 2006 at 9:22 am
I blog because I have to let something out. I believe that called me out of Jeremiah and has equipped me with the spiritual gifts of a prophet. (not the tell the future stuff. You know, the God’s mouthpiece type). So I let it out.
ONe of the best things about blogging has definitely watching Christ transcend technology allowing us, His bride, to connect.
Kamsin said,
June 22, 2006 at 1:58 pm
I think I blog mainly as a form of discipline. I love to write and record the stuff going on in my head and having a blog is something outside of myself to motivate myself to do that regularly. People might be reading what I write, they might not. I might have something worth saying, I might not. But I enjoy it and what better reason for doing something is there than that? I also love the interactive nature and that I can leave and receive comments, and so in that respect all bloggers are equal. It is a very democratic sort of medium, anyone can do, it doesn’t require anything other than a pair of hands and access to a keyboard, and no one will stop you or require anything much of you, in which respect it can be empowering.
And God has definately worked in my life through blogging, and is continuing to do so in ways I can’t quite articulate yet.
MeWhoElse? said,
June 22, 2006 at 4:21 pm
Hmmm. Agree to all above.
What else can I add? Keeps me in “thanksgiving-celebration mode” more of the time…if I have to write it and someone has to read it, it reminds of the need to move on. No one wants to read the same struggles and emotions every day, and I don’t have to dwell on the everyday. What can I share or reflect on today? It’s a new day? What did it mean to me? What did I experience noteworthy, or learn? What would be fun to share? What might someone else benefit from? I must have victory and move on. I forget I can walk in victory so easily. We are about victory and learning and living and loving.
It a safety net when I’m down and stuck. Just today, within moments of finishing my blog, I had two great words of encouragement from two readers I’d never met. Then, a friend who stopped by just to say, “I read your blog. You are low…let me visit. I want to pray with you today. You need a live friend today.” It meant the world.
Sometimes the phone and email just doesn’t do it…and real community doesn’t cover it, as much as I long for that and try to nurture it. Stay at home Mom here.
I pray about it often, making sure it is a tool and not a crutch, just as I had to do with journaling if it replaced relationships too much. Seasons, I had to take a break from it, or adjust habits to reflect more balance with it.
bryonm said,
June 23, 2006 at 9:52 am
I blog because I love to write, but can’t bring myself to get as seriuos about it as I want. Blogging helps me write what I want on my schedule. And somehow, it gets read.
By the way, I linked to your article in Relevant Magazine. My daughter’s father is also a pastor. She’s wild, experimental, and still has a desire to be in a relationship with Christ. Makes things lively around here.
Wendy said,
July 21, 2006 at 11:58 pm
Hi,
I was wondering if have a blog site can get to the point of being self-absorbed, self-indulgent or selfish. Because you mostly get to say what you want to say and/or you get to talk mainly about yourself and your life. I’ve got a blog site too and really feel sometimes that it can get in that direction. But also feel if a blogsite is full of God-centred, biblical information, wisdoms and stuff only or in addition to all the ‘other’ stuff, it would be worth having a blog.
Wendy said,
July 22, 2006 at 12:00 am
Forgot to say I came across your blog through another website somewhere, if you prefer to know.