Well, it’s been a bit of a flurry of activity over the past couple of days, but my website is finally to the point where it’s ready for the general public.* A few invitations will be going out later today.
So what is this website? It’s a blog and a small community. The main purpose is to read through the Bible together in 2021. That’s the purpose for all users, that is.
For myself, this site is a means to help me to write the devotionals to accompany a year’s worth of reading the Bible. I tried earlier this summer to write these devotionals, and although I got a couple done, for the most part I got bogged down with other things. Earlier this month I was sharing in my Bible study group about how discouraged I was at my lack of motivation and focus for my devotional project. Then a friend offered to help by doing the year with me — she would read the meditations and the accompanying Scriptures as part of her own devotional time this year if that would help me write them. So that’s what this website is all about.
I took a couple of weeks to pray about it. I got all manner of “whispers” in my quiet times that seemed to encourage me to do this. As I prayed about it, the idea of doing it in the format of a blog took shape. That had two big advantages from my perspective — increased motivation to write because people are waiting for the daily devotion, but also the ability for others to comment and provide feedback. That would make this writing endeavor more like a shared YouVersion plan: a small community of believers sharing a portion of their devotional life, and encouraging one another in the process.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to succeed in this writing project. It’s possible that I may fail. Fail spectacularly and publicly, no less! But earlier this year I read a small devotional plan called “Chasing Failure” by Ryan Leak. (You can find his plan on YouVersion, and he also has his own website, www.ryanleak.com.) Ryan is an inspirational author and speaker. Basically, he challenges you to consider what you would do if you weren’t afraid of failing. And he’s had a richer and more fulfilling life by allowing himself to pursue goals that may very well end in failure.
2020 has given me space to think about what I want out of life. (I lost my job in July, partly because of the pandemic.) As I’ve considered what skills and talents I have, what dreams have been neglected, and what I can and/or should do — well, long story short, that’s why we’re all here. If you’re reading this blog right now, please take a moment to send up a prayer for God’s blessing on me and this website. Thank you!
*This is my first WordPress website, so please be generous in your praise. 🙂 Technically, it’s the first WordPress site I’ve created as I did help to maintain a WordPress site last year. There are still tweaks that I’d like to make, but even though I enjoy techie stuff, I don’t want to get side-tracked from my main purpose. So I’ll put aside site building for the time being.
Testing again
Will it work now?