The other day, I received an email reminding me that my domain was up for renewal. This is the thirteenth year that I will be renewing this domain.
I realise that it’s been a while since my last blog entry, and I have to tell you that I’m a bit overwhelmed by the immensity of it all.
When I first started the blog, it really began as a journal of sorts. I was connecting to a lot of Christians in the blogosphere, and I was forming online friendships that proved valuable, a few of which continue even to this day.
However, at some point, I shifted that direction, and moved into Christian music reviews. It became easier to produce content, but it also became less personal. Last year, I shifted it yet again to lifestyle (to include recipes and whatnot), and with that shift, came even more pressure because I felt I had to photograph and document everything.
It became less joyful to maintain the blog.
With the advent of social media, it also became easier to produce content and put it up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, because we could see immediate reactions and results.
How far technology has come, yet how mind-numbingly slow this site has developed. And in the thirteen or so years that the blog has been up, I’ve had two kids, both of whom are now teenagers, and my priorities have shifted.
I think the reality is, over the past ten years, I was so deeply connected to online channels that the lines between online and offline became blurry. I was in constant pursuit of Likes and Shares. This pursuit of validation, whether it was producing funny parodies, posting puns, or trying to become Instafamous (which I never became, LOL), consumed me.
It took almost a year in another country for God to change my heart and my priorities. I have three lessons that I’ve learned in my time here in Canberra.
Lesson 1 is family is important. In my time here, I’ve learned to appreciate Caths, Nathan, and Nicki even more. We were literally all we had here. I found the less time I spent online, the more time I had to spend with them, and there were so many things we could do together here.
Lesson 2 is friends are important. On my social media accounts, I have almost 5,000 “friends,” and more than 4,000 followers. But most of them are friends of friends of friends, and my blog has been woefully ignored as a result.
Finally, Lesson 3 is the world is beautiful. Yes, Canberra is beautiful, and I honestly would not mind growing old here. But it took me almost a year to realise that there is beauty no matter where I am, and my constant pursuit of Likes and Shares was stopping me from appreciating the beauty of the world around me. The offline. The “real world.”
So, with this post, I just want you to know that 1) I’m alive, 2) I’m living, and 3) I think it’s time to bring the blog back to its original purpose. I’m done with chasing fame; I’m done with the pursuit of “hits.”
I just want to be me, and if you like what you see, you’re welcome to stay. Thank you for reading, thank you for listening, and thank you for being with me all this time.
Here’s to a new season.