Half-year from a Halfwit

I've been on the blogging scene for a little over six months now. I thought I'd list some things I've learned from the process. (For if I'm at least learning, it justifies the mediocre product some...doesn't it?)

10. Be careful, Rick Warren has some very loyal fans. Depending on who's reading the posts, it's an easy way to rile up the crowd. You don't have to say a lot. You don't have to say anything negative, even. All you have to do is decline when the PDL Koolaide is passed around and you must not care about evangelism.
9. I'm a very little man. Blogs prove that anyone can have an opinion, and voice their opinion publicly. Still though, there was a ridiculous race of adrenaline when I headed to ProBasketballNews.com and saw my articles on Racism in the NBA and The Pain of Being Traded. Then I realized I was thrilled because of an internet article. I'm a very little man, indeed.
8. I'm not a good writer. That's one reason I felt so little. It's not like I actually communicate well in written word. Consider Exibit A:

On David Nilsen's blog, he gives this account:

"I walked back there a little while ago. I put on a pair of hand-me-down jeans from my father-in-law, tied the laces on my ripped up Adidas shell toes, and stepped outside into the cool humidity. It downpoured this morning when we were still in bed. As I stepped out the back door of the garage...I weaved between the apple trees that produce no edible fruit, ducking under the overhanging branches where they cross the path, and back to the grass clearing between the trees and the field. I walked by the piles of wood I've been chopping all summer, stepping between our brutal poison ivy and sumac plants, and stopped right at the edge of the field."

My extent of writing:

"I walked outside, through the damp grass and passed the apple trees."

I thought I painted a word picture by calling them "apple" trees. I've got a long way to go.

7. I have to be careful who may be reading. After reviewing a book by Dan Kimball, he actually resonded to my post. (I'm just glad I liked the book.) Then a little while later, I instant message my mother who tells me, "Leave me alone. I'm learning how to pray for pornstars." Not a quote I ever thought I'd hear from my mother.
6. There is no six. It's a stupid joke, but we think it's funny.
5. Anonymous stories must be vague. That's not exactly a newsflash. But as I've talked through experiences before, I've at times given too much detail. That detail fails to "protect the innocent." Whether others could figure out the situation, of if even the reader felt embarrassed that I talked about them, I don't know. But if it's happened, I'm truly sorry. I'm trying to do better. I'm just not that sharp.
4. I predict sports outcomes about as well as radio hosts. Which is to say, I'm terrible at it. I don't think I've gotten one right on this blog yet. But hey, I'll keep at it, and maybe some day I'll get paid six figures on the side just to be wrong. After all, in predictions, it's not about the content, but your confidence in presenting it, right?
3. Give things that upset you time. If negative emotions are racing through your veins about a topic, leave the topic alone for a while. Counting to ten before you speak is a great practice in the blogosphere too.
2. Don't write for comments. It's futile anyway. It seems that some of the posts that I sought feedback received none, and some of the posts I thought were so boring the internet may refuse them started a huge dialogue. There's no telling what you may say (or not say) that will get people going.
1. How little I offer. Seriously, the blogging process has humbled me. What expertise do I have? What should anyone care about my opinion? I've seen how I lack to bring God glory in situations He richly deserves. I've seen that I'm too small minded to understand how to declare His glory in issues I see as mundane. I'm too ignorant to truly give Him glory. I'm still far too sinful for my example to give Him glory. But alas, it's not me that does anything. God has used this blogging process to remind me that it is He who creates His glory. He is amazing enough to use my blunders, my blabbering, my ignorance, my impatience, and even my sin, to His glory. I pray He is refining me as I put my thoughts into cyberspace.

If you've been reading during these six months, thanks. If you continue to read, I pray that you won't just read better posts, but that you'll be reading better posts from an author who is yeilding to God and becoming a better man.