***Today, five friends and I are writing about how we fit blogging into various aspects of our daily lives. This is my little part of the conversation: Blogging as a Christian. At the end of this post, I'll share my friends' links and their conversation topics for today. I hope you enjoy your time with us and are challenged by what you read!***
"...the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook."
Proverbs 18:4b
Dr. Howard Hendricks once told the story of a professor who stayed up late at night, pouring over his books. A passerby, noticing the light on in his window each night, finally paused and asked him, "What keeps you studying? You never seem to stop." To which the old professor replied, "I would rather my students drink from a bubbling brook than a stagnant stream."
It was this short story that first inspired Like a Bubbling Brook.
Outside of my ministry to my husband and family, I am very passionate about my ministry here among 1000+ precious ladies. This site was created to give Christ glory and encourage you to flourish in your relationship with Him; however, if I'm not growing in Him myself, I cannot give anything of value to you. I cannot give what I do not possess.
And so, I have two primary rules that I do my best to respect as I continue this blogging ministry: 1) I will not turn on the computer before I have had my morning bible reading and prayer time, and 2) I will respect my readers' rights to make decisions for their own lives.
1.) My Time With Him Comes First
I touched on this briefly last December when I shared five tips for reading your bible, and it is really a simple concept: Don't turn the computer on before you've had your alone time with God! This is a priority for me; if I have an insatiable appetite for blogging and social media, to the point that it usurps my time with Him, how can I effectively share His heart with you? While I'm certain He is gracious enough to use this site despite my failures, I still make it a priority to do the best I can and spend the first hour of my morning with Him. Then I pray that He blesses my efforts, however frail and imperfect they may be.
2.) My Readers Make Their Own Spiritual Decisions
It is tempting to try and assert any perceived credibility I may have to influence your decisions and persuade you to think just. like. me. But you know what? To do that would violate the freedom of will that God gave to each of us, and ultimately it will not help you mature as a Christian. God Himself allowed Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden. He gave them paradise, shared with them what was right and good, advised them what not to do, but He didn't attempt to persuade or coerce them. He didn't remove temptation from their life. And He even allowed the devil (in serpent form) to enter the garden!
This walk with Him is a progressive journey. I cannot make decisions for you; we are in different places, travelling the same road but with different lives, tempos, and levels of understanding. I can share scriptural principles and warn you of potential dangers that I see, but ultimately you have the freedom to make your own decisions. I will not argue with you or attempt to coerce you into agreeing with me. I will love you regardless of the choices you make, whether I believe they are wise or unwise. Remember, we are to "above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). This applies at all times, even in the midst of the blogosphere.
The Sum Of It All
You and I both must have our own personal, committed, intentional relationship with God. We need to be in the Word daily. Blogging cannot be our only source of ministry or encouragement; we must be plugged in to other faithful Christians, sitting under biblical preaching and teaching, and allowing His spirit to work in our lives. In time, we will each continue further down the road of spiritual maturity, growing in our walk with Him and inviting others to come alongside for the journey.
You will always be welcome to linger here awhile as you travel.
I pray this site is a balm to your soul, and that you would sip from the refreshing waters of His bubbling brook.
I love having you here.
To continue in this series, please visit these sweet ladies and join in their conversations, too:
Amy @ Raising Arrows | Blogging In Between Homeschooling
Caroline @ The Modest Mom | Blogging as a Business
Jasmine @ Far Above Rubies | Blogging as a Mother
Jessica @ Muthering Heights | Blogging In Between Your Marriage
June @ A Wise Woman Builds Her Home | Blogging to Advance the Kingdom
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also shared at Simple Lives Thursday and WLW Wednesday
Jaime, morning time with the Lord is so important. We fill ourselves in order to give and inject life into others. Thank you!!
Jasmine, I enjoyed doing this series with you!
I so agree with you. I started a blog just a few weeks ago and have been so obsessed with learning about it that I have let my personal time alone with the Lord take a back seat to my learning of blogging. I have felt so out of sorts because of it. A couple of days ago I made my self open my Bible BEFORE my laptop and was so glad I did. I felt refreshed and renewed. God is so faithful. He’s given us so much and asks for so little in return. Thank you for your post. I hope it speaks to many.
Jamie,
Thanks so much for sharing this post. It’s so important! I, too, have the same thought…don’t turn on the computer on until I’ve read my Bible for the day.
You are such a blessing and I’m so glad to have “met” you!
Many blessings to you and your family,
RuthAnn
Such a great post, Jaime! Blogging can be soo time consuming if we allow it. We have to discipline ourselves in this area and always make sure we keep God first…just as you said.
Thanks for this post. I actually wrote a little spot earlier today about my own ponderings on this topic as a result of thinking about Humility from Ann Voskamp’s post yesterday. It is needed to check into our motivations for having a blog. As in all we do we must be sure that a craving for praise or attention is not the basis of our sharing. I wish I had time to read all the other post too but I’ve got some packing to do today! Maybe I can come back to if after we get where we are going this week. Thanks again.
I’m made a commitment to get up in the morning before my son and spend no less than 10 minutes alone with God whether in prayer or His Word. Today was my first day and I have to say I feel amazing. I’m quickly eating breakfast as I’m reading online because I’m starting to run late but I have to say that I have a peace about it and not stressed about what time it is. God showed me some amazing things this morning and I can’t wait until tomorrow morning!
I try to do the same thing. God is certainly more important that what I have to say! It’s also a time where I find great inspiration through the scriptures. It’s something I need to do to keep myself focused on what my priorities are. I truly do love to write, and it can certainly take up more of my time than it should! Balance.
Great post Jamie. It can be so easy to get caught up in blog land and disregard God and “reality.” I hope you have a wonderful week!
Thanks so much for sharing. I am so encouraged by the idea of not turning on the computer until I have had my time in the Word. As a new mom, I have recently left my job to stay at home. When my baby naps I get on the computer to connect to social media sites to feel connected to others. I am challeneged to spend time in the Word first thing in the morning, if I haven’t woken up to a hungry baby that is:
Thanks for being an encouragement to me today!
Hi Jaime,
You are welcome to come and read what I’ve gleaned from the posts you ladies wrote today!
They have got me thinking a lot!
Thank you, Michelle! It’s nice to meet you, and I enjoyed reading your post
This is wonderful advice Jamie. I wonder if the Lord is moving our hearts at the same time for I too have being giving thought to these issues in recent weeks. My last post was about ‘The Distracted Mother’ – so many good things including blogging and the many subjects they promote such as homemaking can be the very things that cause us to neglect our calling and as you have also pointed out the Word.
Thank you for the welcoming words!
I love the story behind your blog name…that is so cool!!!
You make some GREAT points here!
Thanks, Jessica!
This was so encouraging! I definitely know that if I am not in the Word then my well will run dry, I have writer’s block and I’m just not inspired. I, of course, learned this the hard way.
Thanks again for your wisdom and insight.
This hit the nail on the head for me! Thank you! I am sharing this on my blog
Found you through Blogging With Amy’s twitter feed… so glad I did!
I don’t blog as a ministry, but I am a Christian and a blogger. I LOVE the reminder to spend time with the Lord as your very first priority. You mentioned it as a way to feed yourself before trying to accurately minister to others… even without that, I think having a right perspective is such a treasure! And what better way to do that than to spend time getting that right perspective before anything else?
Thanks for the series!
love
kirstin @ kojo
I’m just starting through this series and I thank you for what you’ve shared. Even Jesus himself went away to pray, to have time between Him and His Father. I have to remember this also. It seems the closer I come to Him, the more I grow in ministering to other’s hearts…..the more I seem to need plugged in to friends, writers, mothers with a kindred heart in Christ. Thank you for being a part of that today. I’m happy to have found your blog and look forward to reading more!
Timely words for me to hear. Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful post! I was wondering where your blog name originated! And I couldn’t agree more with you about being in the Word daily and using that time to sit at Jesus feet and allow Him to minister to us – to fill us up so we can spill out His love to others! What a blessing to have you as a friend and sister in Christ! Love and blessings, Kelly
Enjoyed reading this – a good reminder! I also have tried to implement the “quiet time first” rule. Sometimes it doesn’t work out like I would wish, but it’s a good habit for me. It’s also refreshing to read your second point – about not trying to coerce readers. As a blog-READER first, before I ever became a blogger myself, sometimes I would read some blogs that are written with such a passion and vehemence that I feel like if I disagreed with them, even respectfully, that I would be kind of a second-class mama or a second-class Christian. (I am sure that many of them do not intend to come across that way, but nonetheless….) There are many opinions on things that aren’t black and white in scripture, and I enjoy a blog where the blogger shares his/her opinion, but then leaves others to make their own decision and conclusions….makes me breathe freely!
Thanks for your article!
Thank you, Rhonda! I’m so glad you could relate!