I have been writing a weekly blog for a long time. I started a previous version of this in 2010, wrote for a few years, and then stopped writing but picked it back up in 2016 under the Grow Up Blog name. To date, I have written 692 posts! Some of it was good and some of it was done in a hurry and with little skill. I am no influencer and have no real cache. I only have tens of followers and some posts get little or no attention.
So, why do I keep doing it? I keep blogging for the following reasons:
- Personal Discipline. It was freeing when I realized that I needed the discipline of writing as part of my own spiritual journey. When I stopped worrying about “likes” and “follows” and just focused on having something I needed to put out to the world the process became more life giving and I think improved the output. Every Wednesday has become writing day and I look forward to the ritual and challenge of it.
- Spiritual Formation is Desperately Needed. If you have ever wondered over the last three years what has happened to the American church and why it seems to be tearing apart at the seams look no further than a lack of spiritual maturity. Go through the fruits of the spirit and try to find examples of each within the broader Christian landscape or even your own church. Imagine if every church was just 1% better in the areas of peace, kindness, and patience? What a difference that would make. I write because the need for Growing Up is so needed in my own life and in every person who takes their faith in Christ seriously.
3. To Help One Person. I was struck several years back when Mark Batterson said that his only prayer when he writes is, “that the right person reads it at the right time.” I loved that and make that my prayer with each post. I hear from people occasionally that this prayer has been answered and I couldn’t be more satisfied and humbled. To be used by God in even the smallest capacity is a great privilege and honor. If my writing can be a service to just one person a week I will find that rewarding and worth getting up at 5 am every Wednesday.
4. To Hold Myself Accountable. I am capable of great screw ups and can often mishandle my life and the lives of the people around me. There are days when I am more a spiritual toddler than a wise, spiritual guru. I need the writing to hold me accountable and speak to me of where I need to Grow Up. There is nothing I have written about in nearly 700 posts that I didn’t first need to hear myself. Throwing these ideas out to the world forces me to take my spiritual growth seriously and to be more intentional in my own pursuit of Christ.
I have taken very few breaks over the last 7 years but I need to now. I need to pray and see where God is leading me over the next 7 years and how my weekly writing can serve him better. I will be taking the month of May to pray, plan, and create a new path forward with the blog. I have some ideas that I want to try but I need the space to think through those ideas and come up with a plan. I will be back in June with some exciting new updates and changes to the blog and my online presence. If you pray, can you squeeze a prayer in for me and the blog as I attempt to serve God in a way that is honoring to him.
Grow Up Blog 