What to write this Christmas season

The last post I wrote here at Faithful Bloggers was about taking time off during Christmas. Whether or not you choose to do that it is inevitable that you will want to write up some kind of holiday post. Just in case you are stuck on what to write that will show your blog is honoring Him this season, here are a few ideas:

1) Share what Jesus has done in your life this year. You don't have to get too personal but it can be such a blessing to see what He has done in the past year.

2) Share the Christmas story, straight from the Bible. Type it out, verse-by-verse. Add a picture of a snow-covered scene and you have a simple yet effective way of bringing the point of why there is a Christmas in the first place.

3) Is this a hard time of year for you? Many people grieve the loss of a loved one around Christmas. Share your story of that precious person whom you miss so much. I've been told this will often help alleviate the grief, if only for a little bit!

4) If you paint, draw, computer animate, etc., share your special pictures and graphics that you have made personally. Share with others the talents God has given you!

5) Ask someone to guest post for you, sharing why Christmas is so special for them. This gives you a bit of a break at this busy time but also gives someone else a chance to shine.

6) Write out your favorite Christmas carol.

These are only a few of the ways you can write about Christ in Christmas. What ideas have you personally used in sharing the joy of Christ this season? I'd love to hear!

Time Away

Whenever I go away for coffee by myself I am reminded of how much getting away for a while is good for one's soul. I come back from Mommy-time totally refreshed and ready for all the challenges that come from being a homemaker. Periods of stepping back and reassessing are necessary for me for blogging as well.

This hustle and bustle of the holiday season seems to affect many. Bloggers included, we are pressured to publish the perfect post with perfect pictures of our perfect homemade goodies. As with real life sometimes we all need to take a break. Even from blogging.

I want to encourage you to take a step back this Christmas season. Step away from the computer and revel in being with family. Forget posting for a day or two (or more!) and build those relationships. Make cookies with your grandchildren, take funny holiday pictures with your little ones, and make sure to kiss your hubby under the mistletoe at least once.

Above all, take a moment to hide away quietly beside your Christmas tree. Snuggle under a warm blanket and grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage. Pick up your Bible and read of the precious story of the first Christmas.

What a gift. Let us never forget!

Photo credit: bjearwicke

Christmas Carnival at Mentoring Moments

Isn't it fun to help out and support fellow Christians in their ministries? Over at Mentoring Moments the ladies there have put together a great Christmas Carnival that I think our Faithful Bloggers friends will want to join in on. I encourage you to read a little bit about it here and then head on over and join in on the fun!

Homespun Christmas Traditions Blog Carnival

-Molly Evert

Some of our favorite Christmas traditions are just simple, inexpensive things we do at home.  My family likes to read A Christmas Carol by the fire.  We sing songs and drink steaming mugs of hot chocolate, too.  It costs little to make these special memories, yet they enrich our lives in priceless ways.

What are your home-spun Christmas traditions? Mentoring Moments for Christian Women will be holding a blog carnival from December 6^th through December 12^th.  We’d love to hear about the little things you do at home to make the season special.

To participate, write a post about something simple you do to make the holidays special and publish the post on your blog.  Then visit our site sometime between the 6^th and the 12^th and add the URL for your post in the MckLinky box below our carnival post.

Photo credit: Molly Evert

Are You Blogging the Bible?

photo credit: khrawlings Are you a Christian blogger that is blogging the Bible? You may be asking what exactly does “blogging the Bible” mean, so let me explain. As Christians we are instructed to show the love of Jesus to others in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” and to teach others about Christ as noted in Matt 28:19, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Blogging is a great way to show people Christ's love. You don't even have to blog about your faith or post biblical devotions to do so either.

It is estimated that 346,000,000 (source*) people read blogs. Of course a number of blog readers are Christians. I imagine a large portion of those blog readers are not Christians and have never even heard about the love of Jesus. That is a lot of people we can be witnessing to. You never know who may be reading your blog so it is imperative that you write about your faith and the Bible in a way that even non-Christians will be able to understand and see the love you have for Christ.

Of course incorporating Bible verses in your blog is a great and easy way to show the love of Christ. After all the Word is God according to John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” You could even add a Verse of the Day widget your sidebar. But what if you don't have a blog in which you can easily add scripture into where the topic is not faith related?

Having a loving attitude towards others is another way we can show the love of Christ on our blogs. Do you help a reader or fellow blogger when the need arises? Jesus is known for helping others. He is the ultimate good Samaritan. Do you live hurtful or hateful comments on other blogs? Leaving rude or hateful comments is not following the commandment given to us in John 13:34, to love one another. How you deal with people goes along way in showing the Jesus' love for others and this applies in the blogging world too.

Another way to tell you readers about Christ is to use personal examples in your posts. If you are writing about the power of prayer include a story in which you asked for something in prayer and then how you saw the Lord answer your prayer one way or another. Showing how God has worked in your life is a great testimony for others to to see and hear. Maybe even consider creating a video instead of writing a blog post. A lot of times our words can be misunderstood and at times Christian principals can best be explained by speaking. When quoting scripture also consider the Bible version you are using. Some Bible versions explain a verse more clearly than others. Just remember not to choose a Bible version that changes the meaning of the verse.

No matter how you write your posts or interact with your blog readers just remember that you are representing the King of Kings, your Lord and Savior. Pray before you write and always write the truth and you can't go wrong.

How To Write Title Of Book In Essay

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Before you write the essay, you are expected to think through what you will write. The last but not the least is to proofread your essay. They should have expertise in education, biology, computer and nursing to do my essay. Narrative essay is simply a personal story, and we all have at least a few of these to tell. A five-paragraphs essay which can be short or long is long enough to explain a topic, support it with details, and write a conclusion. Write My Essay Cheap write my paper with Essay 4 Students professional paper writing service. If there is any main claim or point to make, you should do it towards the end of your introduction. Read the words, listen to the words, and pick out the meaning of each word. some sites even run sales and summer blowout specials. Students use various styles when completing their assignments such as MLA, Chicago and APA. Descriptive language includes adjectives and adverbs describing words, but also figurative language.

For details on how to write the award winning essay, get "Essay 101" through here. As my friend, will always say, “Ph - D, Masters, BSC, HND without M. The reason why this is the case is because what admissions officers are looking for in the essay is information about the student’s character that cannot be captured in other parts of application. Among those companies, we are the one who is the masters of dissertation writing help as well as essay writing help. First, you may write you introduction, then the method of experiment and lastly the par of the results.

Revising your essay is detailed work involving rereading, rewriting, reviewing, rethinking, rearranging, restructuring, tightening, deleting, moving, expanding, unifying, correcting and checking. So do not be worried on who will write my essay for me within a day, or even 2 hours. I will cover all food related topics such as food and beverages, cooking tips, home cooked meals, food recipes, health and nutrition, from the simplest drinking water to baking delicious strawberry cakes. I learn from my own mistakes that I have had ample opportunity to make over these last 20 years. Quotations should be in quotation marks, with the author's name and year of writing written in brackets at the end of the quote.

We Need You!

I hope that all of our American visitors were able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. I know that I did. I was able to slow down and spend some much needed quiet family time. What a blessing!

If you subscribe to our newsletter you know that we put out information that we are searching for someone to volunteer for our brand-new Contributing Editor position. I realize that not everyone may receive the newsletter and so I am going to do the ol' copy and paste routine here.

"Courtney and I are busy juggling all the God has called us to: family, Faithful Bloggers, and personal businesses, as well as our blogs.  With the holidays coming up we know that in order to keep everything running smoothly we are going to need YOUR help. Please prayerfully consider volunteering for the following position:

Contributing Editor

If you've visited Faithful Bloggers at any point since our launch date you probably know that our articles are the most favorite item of our visitors. Bringing wisdom on how to ensure we stay true to our heavenly Father while blogging is an important goal that we feel is necessary. After all, that is why we began Faithful Bloggers in the first place!

To this end we are looking for someone to take on the volunteer position of Contributing Editor. We know there are many talented Christian women amongst our visitors. If you are an organized person who wants to polish off those writing skills, we would love to have you! While this is a non-pay position you will gain experience in reaching a broader group of women and you will also have the extra exposure needed to bring traffic to your own blog. You will also be included in our "About" section, receive a free Premium blog link in our blog directory, and get your very own "Contributing Editor for Faithful Bloggers" button.

If you are interested, please email us at faithfulbloggers@gmail.com ."

We know that God has a very special someone out there to help us with this. Please prayerfully consider if this may be you!

Photo credits: DeclanTM

Being Who God Made You to Be

One blessing of being part of God's family is that we are able to use our God-given gifts and talents for His glory. Some of us have the talent of hospitality or encouragement or service. Others are able to write effectively or paint or decorate a home beautifully. Whatever your gift is we all have them. Not one of us was made the same as another. As individuals we are truly uniquely different from any other human being.

Questions is: Have you brought that uniqueness into blogging?

If you remember my previous post on not being popular you will recall that I talked about how as Christians we probably will not be the most popular bloggers around. It is hard to not want to "be like everybody else." We want to be funny like one blogger, witty like another, a great photographer, or write in a way that makes people tweeting about it all over the place. Those things get attention and attention can make us feel good. But if we are not blogging in the style that God created us to, then really we are just being fake.

You will hear all over the place about "authenticity." But did you know that being truly authentic is really following in the path that God set for you? He wants you to use your gifts to glorify Him. Setting those aside for what you may think is better is shunning who He made you to be. Blog posts that are not a true reflection of who God made you to be reflects poorly on you and your Creator.

I recently decided to overhaul my blog. I had struggled for some time on just what kind of blogger I really was. While I have been blogging for over five years now I still hadn't quite found my niche. I felt discouraged and I did not know which direction I should take my blog. Inevitably it came about that God used some dear friends of mine to remind me to write about things that I cared about and did and what God had put in my life. I was trying to be someone different. Someone whom God had not made me to be. Of course I struggled and I still laugh at myself about that.

If you are feeling down and discouraged about blogging take a step back and examine your life. Are you truly writing in the way that you were made to write? Pray about it and ask God if you have stepped outside of the gifts He gave you. Ask a friend if you are being authentic or if you are putting on a front.

He made you different and it is wonderful.

Photo credits: Hamed Saber

Daily Posting - Monday's Challenge!

How did you do on last week's challenge? Were you able to comment daily on the same five (or more!) blogs? Commenting on a regular basis is one way to grow relationships with other bloggers.  If you would, please write a post describing how this challenge went for you. Did you find it hard? Easy? Will you continue to do this on a regular basis? Once you are done, link that post up to the Mr. Linky below! I would love to hear about your experience!

This week's challenge is almost as important! One way to keep yourself motivated in blogging is to post daily. This also encourages people who stop by your blog to continue to visit. I do this myself and have noticed a huge improvement in traffic as well as more loyal commenters.  Go ahead and take a piece of paper. Write down at least the days Monday through Friday. In each day's slot jot down what you plan on writing about.

This may be hard to do at first though for some of those more "chatty" this may be easy peasy.

Make sure to come back next Monday to share how this daily posting challenge went!  Also, we still do not have a Monday's Challenge badge to provide you with. We are working on that and will post it as soon as we are able to.

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Beginning Blogging - Do YOU Have Questions?

Courtney and I are putting together an article series for you. The focus is on answering questions from you about basic blogging techniques that maybe you are wondering about. You will hopefully learn something along the way that will help you build a stronger blog.

Because of this we would love to hear from you just what you may be wondering about? Is there something about running a blog that you need help with or is confusing you? Just what are memes? How do you handle trolls? Does social media have a place in blogging?

So go ahead and ask away!

Photo credit: cobrasoft

Comment Love - Weekly Challenge

Starting today you will find every Monday a new challenge. These challenges will help you in building up a strong blog. While the badge for this challenge is not yet ready for us to put up, we will provide it very soon. Next week will feature a new challenge. On that day you can put up a post describing how the previous week's challenge went and if you were able to accomplish your goals. Today's challenge is:

Comment daily on five blogs!

That's it! And while it is a relatively simple challenge, if you are not currently commenting on blogs regularly this is the perfect way to "make a presence" in the blogosphere. All you need to do today is pick five blogs and leave them a comment every day for the next week. Make sure you comment on the same five blogs and don't just pick five new blogs every day. Also, if you are already doing this - and I believe many of the Faithful Bloggers are - up your current daily comments by 2. That means if you are currently commenting on the same 7 blogs every day you should start the challenge at 9. [blenza_autolink]

Bible Based Wordpress Plugins

Hey Christian bloggers I have a question for you.  Are you blogging the bible? For those of us who blog about Christian and faith related topics it is easy for us to do so.  We quote scripture in almost every post.  For those who do not, it can be as simple as just adding you favorite Bible verse to your header, sidebar, or footer.  For you bloggers that use Wordpress as your blogging platform I have found some pretty neat Bible based plugins that make it easy for you to include Bible verses on your blog.

1. Favorite Bible Verse - This plugin allows you to random display a list of your favorite Bible verses.  In the admin panel for the plugin you add you favorite Bible verses and it will automatically display them for you randomly on your blog.
2. Bible Verse 1.0 - This WordPress plugin lets you search for and embed Bible passages directly onto your blog post.
3. Bible Text - This plugin automatically adds the full text of any Bible passage to your Wordpress post/page in your choice of Bible version and language.
4. Bible Reading Plan - This plugin places a different Bible passage in your sidebar each day. It takes you through the Bible in a year.
5. The Holy Scripturizer - Scripturizer uses PHP-based filtering to automatically convert Bible references in your posts, pages, and comments into hyperlinks which point to major online Bible websites, such as the Bible Gateway, NET Bible, the ESV Bible, and others.
6. eBibleicious - After installing and configuring the plugin options you just continue blogging and all posts past, present and future with Bible references in them will be linked to eBible.com.
7. WP-Bible - WP-Bible searches your posts and pages for any reference to a Bible passage and converts the reference to an actual biblical text - which can be any of the 38 translations (in 14 different languages) that you can see at BIBLIJA.net.

Those of you on Blogger don't worry.  Next week I will have a post all about how you can add Bible verses easily to your blog too.

Is Your Blog "Established?"

"And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands." -Psalm 90:17

Recently this verse especially spoke to me while I was reading God's word. You see, I have a problem called tryingtodoitonmyownitis. Perhaps you can relate? I see something that looks interesting and I start making plans and lists and goals. I set my sights on achieving my goal and away I go. As I am going on my merry way I usually stumble and fall. Picking my bruised self up I attempt to try again. As always I fall again and soon I am complaining about why everything is going wrong.

When this happens it is usually because I have forgotten something: my attempts and goals and dreams must be established by God. Going at it on my own will never be a successful venture. He created my life, and He ordains it and sustains it. Everything is guided through His hands and I can either willingly follow or muddle up my journey with human attempts.

Now since this is a web site dedicated to blogging I will speak specifically about that. However this is a godly concept that needs to be applied to all of life so keep that in mind. And just for a little background we'll go ahead and look up in Noah Webster's handy-dandy 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language just what "establish" means.

"Set; fixed firmly; founded; ordained; enacted; ratified; confirmed."

Do you remember the podcast with Sarah Mae? She touched upon in an eloquent way how our blogs need to be given over to Him. And what she said was plain truth. If you have not dedicated your blog, your words, your posts and pictures to Him what are you truly trying to accomplish?

We must give our everything, including our blogs, over to Him. He will direct you where to go with your blog. Read His word daily and make sure you are writing according to how He would have you write. Pray about it. Pray about it some more.  Ask our heavenly Father if your blog is accomplishing what He wants it to accomplish. Talk to Him. Give your blog over and say "Here it is, Father! You can have it! Show me what to do."

I would go so far as to say that each and every time you write a post you need to pray that God will give order and foundation to what you are about to write. (And yes, I am doing that with this post. Promise!)

In the end, this is all for His glory.

Photo credits: djweitzner

Not Popular

Blogging is an exciting, challenging world.  One can learn much from those who write about experiences.  You are also able to share and encourage and shine for Jesus in a way that has the capacity to reach people all over the world.  I don't know about you but I find that pretty exciting!

Something that might quickly come to your attention is the fact that there are bloggers who are more popular and those who are, well, not popular.  This is an unfortunate consequence of living in a sinful world.  The good news is that you do not have to be popular in order to spread the Good News!

We are called to be different.  As Christians we must reject worldliness and change our sinful desires to holy ones.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:2

This should be reflected in blogging.  Our faith should be evident whether or not we are writing specifically about God's word or are just sharing stories of our lives.  Our blogs will be different because of this.

So what does this have to do with being popular? (Yes, there really is a correlation!)  Simply this: strive not to be in the popular crowd.  It may feel good to be a blogger who everyone wants to meet.  A blogger in which companies are scrambling to get your attention.  A blogger in which a crowd follows whenever you are at a blogging conference.

But in the end, that is not what matters.  Being a Christian blogger will probably put you in the category that will not get all of the attention.  And that is okay.  God says that we belong to Him.  Wow!  I don't know about you but that is all the reward I want.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." -1 Peter 2:9

Photo credit: lusi

Should You Join Sponsored Tweets?

There has been a lot of talk lately about making money on Twitter with sponsored tweets. While there are a couple different sites that offer you money for placing ads in your tweets, the one I have been reading about lately is Sponsored Tweets by IZEA.

Before I blogged about them and shared with you all my opinion, I wanted to give the site a test drive. Signing up for the site was very easy. You simply authorize Sponsored Tweet access to your Twitter account. You also have the option of signing up by email. Sponsored Tweet notifies you via Direct Message when you have offers, when your tweets have been approved, and when you have been paid.

My main concern about tweeting ads is being able to maintain my honesty and Christian character. I don't want an ad to undermine my testimony on Twitter. As Karin said in a guest post, "When we call ourselves Christians we are representing our Lord in all that we do and all that we say."

So I really liked that I am able to decline ads and actually write my own ad through Sponsored Tweets. With the ability to write my own tweet ad for the product I am able to make sure it is something I would actually say, it is the truth, and is not jeopardizing my testimony in any way. This is a BIG plus for me in using Sponsored Tweets.

Overall, I like Sponsored Tweets. It automatically adds a disclosure hashtag to all tweets so that you

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are FTC compliant and transparent. The only aspect I do not like is that you have to have $50 in your account before you can cash out. From the average rates of ads I have gotten that would take me about 25 ads to accomplish. It's not get rich quick scheme that's for sure.

Have you used Sponsored Tweets? If so, what did you think?

Opportunity - Thankful Thursday

I realized the other day that blogging has opened up opportunities to me that I would never have been able to have otherwise:  I have met wonderful women and formed precious friendships.  Recently I also was asked to do a guest post, a first for me.  I have been blessed with a support system that is critical for me.  Experience in writing on a more professional level and learning about topics that I am passionate about is another benefit. Obviously blogging is not the reason for all of this but only the means.  God chose this avenue to fill holes in my life that were always blaringly apparent to me. And for this I am so thankful!

I have also seen and known women who have gotten a job, started a business, and become the basis for a movie because of their love for blogging.  Would you please share with us what opportunities have become open to you because of blogging?  I'd love to hear all about them!

For more Thankful Thursday, please visit Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Support – Thankful Thursday

Last week I shared how I was so grateful for the friendships I have made through blogging.  It amazes me how many new sweet friends I continue to make.  This week I want to share how blessed I am to be supported in this so-called "hobby" of mine.

My husband has always given me encouragement and sage advice when it comes to blogging.  He doesn't quite understand the attraction that blogging has but that does not matter to him.  The joy and delight I get from it spurs him on to supporting me in my online endeavors.

It is rather awkward to talk about blogging with someone who does not "get" just quite what blogging is.  Recently I was on a flight and the gentleman next to me snickered when I told him I was flying to a blogging conference.  "Really?" he said. "Can't you guys just sit around at home on your computers and hold a tele-conference?"  I tried to explain to him how important it was to group together and have that support once in a while.  To be in a crowd that knows why you do what you do.  It wasn't only until he saw on his Blackberry that some people make livings off of blogging that his smirk left his face.

So on this Thankful Thursday, I encourage you to thank God for those who support you in blogging.  What are you thankful for today?  For more stories, visit Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

God is a God of Order

When Kelly and I interviewed Debbie Pendell she made a statement that has really stuck with me.  God is a God of order.  1 Corinthians 14:40 tell us "Let all things be done decently and in order."  The phrase here I think is "all things."  Not just our homes, not just our Bible study time, not just our prayer time, not just our homeschooling times, but at all times in all situations. And of course, we should keep order in our blogs too. How can we stay organized and keep things in order on our blog?  Here are some tips that I think might help.

1. Create a blogging schedule - In Open Office Writer I created a very simple document with 7 columns, one for each day of the week.  I then created a row for each of my blogs.  I then printed out several copies of the table I had made.  Each week I fill in the blanks for each day according to each blog about what I will post about that day.  By doing this I know what I am going to be writing about and I don't send all of my time brainstorming a topic the day of.  Of course, things happen and inspiration may strike and throw you off your schedule very once and while, but that is ok.
2. Clean up your sidebar - Does having a ton of buttons or ads on your site make your blog look cluttered and orderly?  If it is important for you to support your bloggy friends by displaying their buttons and/or badges try creating a friend page and listing the buttons there instead of your sidebar.  If you only have one sidebar and it is becoming too cluttered, try changing to a theme with 2 sidebars.  The less cluttered your sidebar looks the more professional it will look and easier to read and navigate.
3. Keep your plugins and Wordpress installation up-to-date - Obviously this does not apply to those who are using Blogger, but if you are using the Wordpress blogging platform, make sure you keep up-to-date on plugin updates and Wordpress installation updates.  Not updating Wordpress or a plugin can create security problems and eventually lead to larger problems.
4. If you review products and/or host giveaways create a spreadsheet - Creating a spreadsheet to keep track of product reviews and giveaways will help save you time.  It will help you to stay on top of the things that need to be done and remind you to pick giveaway winners when needed.  Product reviews can spiral out of control quickly so it is important to create a system to keep up with them all before you even get started.

How about you?  Do you have any tips on how to keep your blog organized and in order?

Remember Proverbs 16:3 tell us, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."

Bloggy Friends

I have made many friends while blogging. Some are casual friends, some are getting to know the "real me."  Had I not started blogging, I would not know a huge majority of those who make up my circle of friends.

Have you ever written a post that you knew was controversial? I have. I am usually pleasantly surprised when the comments come in. Yes, some are negative and mean. Oftentimes I find that there are many other like-minded souls out there who support me in the words I shared with the world.

As women we are socially minded. We are nurturers of relationships. We crave conversation with friends.  Some of us may not normally be privy to such interaction if it wasn't for our blogs.

What about you? Have you met your friends through blogging?

Visit Thankful Thursday here.

What a blessing!

Christian Ad Networks

Last week I wrote a post about affiliate marketing and Mary from The Writer's Block left a great comment and question.  Instead of just answering her question as a comment, I though I would just do a post instead. Her comment and question:

I have a question about Google ads. I have that on my blog. Since I blog about Christian themes, occasionally, Google ads will post “Christian-related” ads. Well, I clicked on one of these one time. I had some serious issues with the theological and doctrinal slant of this “church.”

So, I put a disclaimer on my blog, saying I do not necessarily endorse the theology represented in those ads. Is there any way to filter the Google ads? Any other ideas of a good way to handle this?

Yes you can filter ads on Google Adsense.  However, it is only on a domain by domain basis.  You have to actually list the domains you want to ban from being displayed on your site.  This can be very time consuming as there could literally be thousands of sites you would want filtered out.

Something you might consider using instead of Google Adsense is a Christian based ad network.  I have not actually used any Christian ad networks but a quick search on Google gave me a few results and places to check out.  I have listed a them here:

1. Christian Ad Network
2. Faith Ad Net (I actually applied for this one but haven't heard back yet.)
3. Christian Web Ads
4. Cross Ads (I applied for this one too)

Let me know if you apply to any of the networks listed and let us know how your experience with the company goes.

Using Your Blog for Good

Reasons for blogging are varied depending on who you ask. Some blog to help build their businesses, some for monetary gain, while still others blog just because they like to write. As Christians we are called to do good in all things – “Trust in the LORD and do good. . .” –Psalm 37:3a -  however I will specifically be talking about how we can benefit others through blogging. I will be covering for areas however there are many more ideas that are included in this scope. Do not limit yourselves but be creative on how your blog could be used to shine for Him. I encourage you to seek out His guidance through prayer and to discuss with your husband before you jump into anything. I bring this up because some avenues of serving through our blogs may be very involved. Do not over commit.

Speak out on a certain subject

Whether it be on food allergies, addictions, personal struggles, share with your readers and guests what you have learned. There are times when I have personally benefited from those who have taken the time to research and share on their blogs on certain topics. Two of my children have issues with food allergies. I do not personally have the time to weed through every bit of information out there yet I am able to pick up knowledge from those who have “been there, done that.”

This extends beyond health issues. If you are great at recovering a couch or chair why not make up a blog post tutorial replete with photos? Do you homeschool a child who has problems learning to read? Share in a blog series what has worked and has not worked for that child. What about cooking? Share recipes!

Other ideas might be:

Crafts (with fall and Christmas coming up, now is a good time to share those “how to” tutorials!) Baking Gardening Blogging tips For older women I cannot stress enough how much being a Titus 2 woman and sharing your wisdom with younger wives and mothers is a must. Blogging is a perfect avenue for this.

Get involved!

There are many lovely ministries set up today. One way you could help them out is by writing about them. You could become a Compassion blogger, or write a post about ministries that seek to serve. This must be done with careful and prayerful consideration. Search out the ministry fully before you advocate it on your blog.

Feature Others

Many of us remember what it was like to start up our blogs. There are many new bloggers out there who just do not know how to start. Showcasing them in a blog post would be a way to bless them and introduce them to new friends.

If you see a blog post that has touched your life be sure and share it in a link. I often see links to posts by “popular” bloggers but it would be wise to search out those who may not be considered “A-list” but still have words of wisdom that are just as beneficial. Cliques are rampant in blogland just as they are in real life. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you find if you take the time to look outside the box.

Speak in Love

Lastly, always write in love. I know I seem to write this often on my posts for Faithful Bloggers but I feel it needs to be stressed. There are rampant instances of petty quarreling and hateful words thrown about by women bloggers. Remember who you are and to Whom you belong! We are called to shine, to be different. Doing good to others may be as simple as just being quiet and meek when others are yelling and shouting. People will notice and it will bring glory to Him.

Have any ideas on other ways to use your blog for His glory? Please share!

Photo credit: sraburton