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Christian blogging: a few of my favorite resources

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Study, train, to show yourself approved… 2 Timothy 2:15

Welcome to week two of my Spring Blogger Series here on New Day! Hope this helps my fellow faith bloggers and writers in carrying out the call to share God’s love through words.

Last week I shared reasons why I write, and this week I’m sharing tools and resources I use or have used to write. Let’s start:

COMPEL training and She Speaks, products of Proverbs 31 Ministries. When God gave P31 President Lysa Terkeurst the vision for COMPEL, He gave her one of the best tools a Christian writer could have, in my opinion. I’ve written about COMPEL plenty of times before as it’s probably my favorite and most useful resource for me as a writer. I enjoy all the teachings, coaching podcasts, advice from writers who’ve been there and done that, and connecting with so many other bloggers who share in this passion. An extension of COMPEL is the annual She Speaks conference, normally held each summer and targeted to seasoned and aspiring Christian writers. I’ve only attended once (read about it here), but man, it was truly awesome. It’s worth the investment.

Arabah Joy. If you’ve not discovered Arabah, read about her ministry here, but check out her Resources for Bloggers page. It’s a good list of courses, consulting packages, and other tools for getting your blogging journey underway. http://arabahjoy.com/resources-for-bloggers/

Social media. For me, Twitter and Instagram are my favorites for sharing my blog posts and connecting with other writers. Social media is a good way generally to discover other writers and learn of trends and best practices. Search hashtags and see what’s being posted about your particular theme or niche, and learn from others to grow your own space. On Instagram, my favorite account to follow for general blogging tips is The Blog Market (@theblogmarket). On Twitter, I enjoy Jeff Goins (@JeffGoins), Christa Hutchins/Do A New Thing (@mckdbooks), and Ashley Brooks (@BrooksEditorial).

Bible, dictionary, grammar guides, etc. You know, you can’t be a good writer without knowing grammar basics. And you can’t call yourself a Christian writer if you never have the Bible open to study it, know it, and then be able to share from it. Honor your gift by training and preparing and you won’t cheat yourself or your readers out of a good product.

There are countless other tools out there for aiding your writing ministry and growth. Develop your skills and keep at it – let’s give God our best!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing your favorites in the comments or through social media. Links to my accounts are at the top of the page!

showing up at 45

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Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught…Colossians‬ ‭2:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Life is feelin’ pretty darn good to me right now! I’m thankful for how God is dealing with me – growing me, establishing me, and settling me into me, His version. Every day I’m learning how to show up in life – in my work, relationships, and in my faith. I’m liking that and am appreciating it as I head to 45 (!) in just a couple of weeks, God willing.

Showing up in work and service calls for striving for excellence. Showing up in relationships means treating people how you want to be treated. And in faith it means giving God all you’ve got, and that’s YOU!

In this next chapter of life, I embrace the courage, grace, and freedom given to show up every day. I hope you’re inspired to do the same. DARE to show up in YOUR life!

3 reasons I’ll keep blogging in 2017

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My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ… Colossians‬ ‭2:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬


I started blogging in January 2015 after a bit of a writing hiatus from a seven-year self-publishing effort. Blogging seemed to be a natural extension of that work, and it allowed me to return to my love of words. This was my first post here on New Day, and my excitement over this space continues. I’m glad for the privilege of sharing in this platform.

I have learned a lot about blogging generally and target audiences and branding and ALL that seems to come with this territory. I’ve also learned about community and what it means to connect with readers and support fellow bloggers in their endeavors. This is what I like best about this world.

So, if I had to pick, I’d keep blogging for these three reasons in 2017. Or let’s call them motivations:

1) Words and THE Word. No doubt, I love what words can do to shape lives and inspire greatness. I’m sure each of us can think of the best advice we’ve received for our careers, a favorite sermon that led to a change in course, even a note or letter with just enough encouragement to keep at it. Words are powerful! And THE Word – what would our lives be without it? It is God’s love expressed. It is our food and sword, our amazing grace. The opportunity to share THAT? Yeh, I’ll take it.

2) Community. What a blessing it’s been to see family and friends adding likes and comments to my posts, and then to see complete strangers do the same! I stay in awe of the great people I’m able to meet and engage with through my blog. Starting out, I had no idea of the possibility of this part of New Day. My aim here is to inspire others, but in the end, I’m the one changed and made more knowledgeable by these interactions.

3) Something I can call my own. This space is dedicated to God, no hesitation about that. But to look at work or creation and be able to behold what your hands can do – that is something awesome to me! I used to look at the copies of PRAISE!Magazine, which I self-published, and was so proud of what I’d accomplished. I STILL pull them out every now and then and just celebrate that work. It’s a good feeling to see your time and research and preparation be put into a project born out of your heart, set in motion by God.

Whatever your thing is, I hope you feel encouraged to stay with it and invest in what it takes to produce something worthwhile and beneficial to others. Actually, that’d be motivation #4 for me here on ND: to help somebody, plain and simple.

Get to it! Get to work on that hobby or project or enjoyment in 2017 and stay motivated to fulfill it to the end!