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How Blogging has Made Me a Stronger Christian
I’m doing something a little different this week. I’ve enjoyed linking up some of my posts at Literacy Musing Mondays in the past.  This week I’m helping host their linkup http://maryanderingcreatively.com/lmmlinkup-blogging-brought-one-woman-closer-christ/  If you’d like to participate, instructions are at the end of this post.
Heart pounding, my finger hovered just above the enter key on my laptop. I drew in a deep breath and clicked “post”. That was almost two years ago and yet I still go through some of the same angst before publishing a blog post.
I write because I have fallen in love with God and His word and desire to share my journey in hopes of inspiring others. When I began writing Spotlight, I never imagined the blessings and trials that I would encounter—and yet it is both that have made me a stronger Christian. Here are a few reasons why.

Teaching Means Learning Double

“To teach is to learn twice over.” ~Joseph Joubert
Every post requires research and study of scripture. Blogging has made me a better student of the word as I teach to others what I have learned.
“Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” Luke 6:40 NLT

I’m Accountable to My Readers

Research shows that putting a goal in writing along with sharing it with others increases our success by 85 percent. Since my major goal is learning and putting into practice scripture, blogging is a huge benefit to me in my spiritual growth.
“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24 NLT

Support and Prayers from Others

I cannot express how grateful I am for the support of other writers and Christians. I’ve gained a large community of some wonderful encouragers and supporters whom I’ve also learned a great deal from.
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” 1 Timothy 2:1 NLT

Trials—it’s not all Rainbows and Butterflies

Blogging means making myself more public, and with that have come some difficulties. I have also noticed an increase in spiritual warfare. These issues have occasionally made me want to put a halt to sharing with the World Wide Web, but I know that God has used the trials to strengthen and grow me.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 NLT
You don’t need to be a writer/blogger to benefit in the same ways I’ve listed above. All of us are called to teach, be accountable, support, and pray for others. In addition to these, the Bible states we will go through trials and tests in order to strengthen our faith.
God uses the many things we go through in our lives to draw us closer to Him—IF we will let Him.
“But Jesus replied, ‘My Father is always working, and so am I.’” John 5:17
Even though my heart still pounds just before hitting “post”, the pluses of blogging far outweigh the minuses because God uses the process to lead me closer to Him.


Now on to our weekly Literacy Musing Monday’s linkup where we link up posts about what inspires you in reading, writing, blogging, and even share our written Bible devotions. Be sure and go all the way to the bottom of this post to linkup.

First,  let’s
Meet-Your-Hosts-3
Leslie@Forever Joyful  Blog/Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Google+Gayl@Words, Photos, and ArtBlog/Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest/TwitterMary @Maryandering Creatively  Blog/Facebook/Twitter/PinterestInstagram/Google+Tami @ThisMomsDelight    Blog/Facebook/Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/Google Plus


Now let’s celebrate family-friendly reading and learning.

 

Last Week’s Top Clicked Post!

Everything Is Possible

by Joanne Viola
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More than just a book review and a book review, Joanne’s post simply inspires. This book is one I want to add to my to be read shelf.

My favorite quote that Joanne shares from this inspiring book is :
Where will your path take you if you decide to push yourself to do what you were meant to do? Where might you find yourself that you never dreamed possible?
Be brave. Dream big. Have faith. And don’t be scared to look down. The view is pretty spectacular.

Joanne inspires too by sharing this sweet review. Be sure to check it out.

My Favorite Post of the Week:

 Kids begging for a pet, but the time isn't right? Enjoy one of these books about pets together for a humorous & realistic glimpse into pet ownership.

I have pets and love animals; so, this post drew me in immediately.  Look at the adorable picture used for the post, I just had to check it out. I  have read most of the books features and also highly recommend them. I would at Because of Winn Dixie.  What is your favorite pet book? Share.
Remember to check out other hosts’  blogs to see which posts from last week were their favorites. Want to be the next to be featured! Just link up a post and if you are read the most, we will feature you. Also please make sure you link back to us so others will know about our link up and join in. We try to make it worth your while to linkup with us by promoting your posts across our social media networks. We also pin our most clicked and featured posts to our Pinterest Board each week!
 Now, it is time to link up to the Literacy Musing Mondays hop! You will have until Saturdays at 12 p.m. now to link up! So come back often.:)

Also congratulations to the winner of our Back to School PayPal Giveaway: Jessica Miller.

Literacy-Musing-Mondays- Family-Friendly linkup where we celebrate reading!

Linkup Rules:

  • Include a link back or the blog hop button linked to this hop on your posts.
  • Link up the urls to your posts not to your blog.
      1. Please remember this is a family-friendly linkup. Although we believe in the right for adults to read whatever they want to read, we prefer to read wholesome posts that feature literature that edify and uplift families. We reserve the right to delete any posts that are not family friendly. We love all kinds of literature and genres including family-friendly inspirational romances, fantasy, or science fiction. We do not welcome posts featuring books or writing with excessive violence, sexual content, or cursing. These posts will be deleted.
  • We also want to be loving community by supporting one another. Please make a point to do this this week! Visit the two posts before yours and at least one other blogger’s post of your choice!  I want to see lots of clicks on everyone’s posts. Remember it is also nice to follow them on their social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
  • Follow your hosts and co-hosts on their social media.
  • Tweet about the link up too.
  •  Now go here to linkup: http://maryanderingcreatively.com/lmmlinkup-blogging-brought-one-woman-closer-christ/

    Once on the site above, scroll down to the bottom and click the blue button that says: “add your link” 

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