Getting Started

Post by Susie Thomas of Here Only. Susie has been on staff with Athletes in Action since 2002. She chases her kids around the house and her husband around the world. She is also on a paper chase to Rwanda, where she is in the process of adopting a baby.

When I was serving overseas, I started a blog. It was intended to be just a little thing to share pictures of my baby with people back home, and to shock and entertain them with stories of life in India. The first time I hit “publish,” I was a little nervous about sending my thoughts out into the cyber-world – who would read it? What would they think? Am I just talking to myself? And then, I reminded myself, my mom and dad will read this, and they will always think I’m a superstar.

That was three years ago.

Since then, my blog has evolved a bit. More people read it, and I am always shocked to realize that many people I don’t even know read it. I’ve grown to love my blog and the relationships it has given me.

Over the past year, I have given blogging some more intentional thought: Why am I doing this? How can I serve God doing this? Can blogging be a ministry?

Well, of course, when you’re with Campus Crusade, anything can be a ministry, right?

I’ll be posting my thoughts in a series of posts:

• Getting Started
• Finding My Blog’s Purpose
• Getting Out of My Bubble
• The Love Language of Blogging

I’d love if you would share your comments. Every blogger is different, each of us with varying purpose and perspective, and each of us with the potential to be used for eternity.

So, get out there and blog! Decide what your blog’s purpose will be, and stick to it. Get to know people who don’t know Jesus, and love them well. I am figuring this out as I go, and I have a lot to learn. So, please, leave your comments and share how you use blogging as a ministry.

And, please, give me some pointers on how to turn my bloggy friendships towards spiritual conversations.

If you do want to start a blog, here are a few more tips:

• Keep security in mind. DO NOT blog about your ministry if it will cause security concerns. On my blog, I do not mention who I work for or what I do. When I wrote about our trip for India, I did not describe what we did there. DO NOT post pictures and names of missionaries you work with overseas without their permission.
• Keep your personal security in mind. Be general about where you live. Decide if you want to use your last name, or even your real name. Decide if you want to use your kids’ real names. The answer is different for everyone. I use my kids’ names, but if I had put more thought into that, I might have chosen something different. Think long and hard about the “I’m going out of town tomorrow” post.

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