I remember the first time I tried to write a blog.

One of the homeschool organizations or publications that I was a regular contributor to or member of (honestly don’t remember which) put out an announcement. “We need contributors to our new website and blog! Come on, adventurous souls! Who knows how your contribution might benefit both you and the homeschool community? If you promise to attempt a blog, we’ll give you your own blog address on our website.”

Some descriptions followed, but no examples. Still, it didn’t sound complicated and I was a writer after all. So, I sent in my request.

A couple of days later, I received confirmation along with instructions. First, I had to log onto their website. Then I had to scroll down to find my blog address. It took me nearly an hour of tapping around to find my actual page.

This was early in the days of blogging. I was in my current home, so it was after 2003 but it had to be before 2006. The blog page looked very much like a form template you see on a medical website that hasn’t been updated in fifteen to twenty years. I wrote about 250 words (too short, but I didn’t know that) and attempted to post. That took about another hour. The instructions didn’t mention that something had to be written in every single block whether relevant or not.

But finally, I had uploaded my first blog.

Crickets. Beyond crickets. Not even the website acknowledged that I had met my end of the bargain.

I never submitted another post to that site. And frankly, I doubted the value of writing a blog. If the purpose of it is to share information, what use is it if the words disappear into the ether?

If you had asked me then, I would’ve said I would never write another blog.

But now, with this website, I’ve been writing a blog for over a decade. (It will be 13 years on November 29th.) I started because my publisher said it was a good way to keep up a steady online presence. I kept it up because I liked the routine of it and the feedback from all of you. Every week, I have a Wednesday deadline. Every week, I write (or have written) at least 500 words on a topic that is either related to writing, faith, homeschooling, personal growth, books, or host a guest blog. I try to write about or include posts that are useful to me in the hopes that they minister to others.

Some weeks, the only writing I accomplish is the blog. Other weeks, it is a small portion of the effort. And, of course, everything in between. There have only been a handful of times that I’ve reused a previous blog, like if I’m sick or suffering a migraine.

Using the 10-year mark and the minimum of 500 words, that’s over 260,000 words posted online. Wow. That’s about 1000-page book.

And that doesn’t include my guest posts on other author or writers group websites.

Seeing that statistic, knowing what a little weekly faithfulness has given as a result, encourages me to work on my other projects and deadlines. Who knows? If I can be as faithful with them as I have been on these pages, maybe my dream of over one hundred books isn’t as farfetched as I thought.

And if you feel so led, pray for that dream of mine! And if you have a dream on your heart, let me know and I’ll pray for that, too.

This week’s winner is Ann. Ann, you’ve won your choice of one of my available paperbacks and one play or monolog copy. Please email me about your choices!

Both for Bible Study and for Sunday School, I’ve done some substituting lately. I like pinch-hitting for the designated teacher. As I pondered it, I tried to comprehend why I enjoyed it more than being the go-to teacher. Eventually, I came up with a few reasons. (If I hadn’t, there wouldn’t be this post!)

1. It’s temporary. While it always involves work that isn’t part of my regular schedule, I know that it has a start and end date. Just knowing that it won’t be permanent helps me breathe a bit easier.
2. Taking on someone else’s job allows me to try out techniques and materials that I wouldn’t normally. It gives me access to new ideas or new-to-me ideas that broaden my world. Perhaps this is why I like tutoring… It’s like ongoing pinch-hitting. I both get to see how teachers prepare their students and come up with other ways to help those same students learn. I also get to try my memory at facts and methods that I haven’t used in a decade or more. It’s a win-win-win.
3. It’s helpful to someone else, so it makes me feel useful. While I know that I’m useful in my God-given gifts and duties, sometimes it can feel just part of the everyday. Boring and expected. So when I step in to help someone else, it’s out of the norm and gets noticed. Everyone likes to feel noticed and appreciated from time to time.
4. It helps me see the big picture, how we all work together.

And all of those things also correspond to life on earth as a lover of Jesus.

1. My life is temporary. It may involve unusual work, or calls upon my days in service to my Lord. But it has a start and an end date. I am not expected to do everything or be everything and that should let me breathe a bit easier. God’s got this!
2. Taking on Jesus’ job allows me to try out new things and grow more like Him. It helps me see how He teaches us and pass those lessons on to others. I also get to learn and grow throughout the process. Win-win-win!
3. It’s helpful to those around me, so I should feel useful. Even if no one else notices how I’m helping, I take comfort that my Lord does. And following God’s example is never boring and expected!
4. Last, but not least, it helps me see the big picture, how we all are part of the body or Christ.

Therefore, I’m going to enjoy it whenever I get to do something temporary to help another part of the body of Christ. I know that, through it, God is making me better!

How has God used each of you in a temporary role to help out those around you? Did that job stay temporary or were there positions and tasks you decided to take on full-time? I’d love to hear about how God has used you!

This week’s winner, of a copy of one of my plays and my last copy of Tyranny of the Urgent is Kathryn. Kathryn, email me at [email protected] to find out which plays you can choose from and to give me your new address.

All of you who commented have earned your first entry in my summer giveaway. And thank you for continued blog ideas!

For whatever reason, maybe because Gary retired in January, my need to declutter and get rid of things has not subsided.

Usually, as in most previous years, I would get the urge to purge for about a week or so after Christmas and then a week or so in the spring. This year, it hasn’t faded. I’ve also been reading books on the subject, including the devotional Uncluttered by Liana George and Angie Hyche, that I’m going through for the third time.

On the plus, I’ve been finding things I didn’t remember I had.

One of those “things” was a storage drawer filled with copies of the plays and monologs I wrote, including one set that had a certificate for production rights. (Not that the cert matters much because the publisher no longer exists!) Because of that discovery, the giveaways will begin again!

I’ve also found things that made me grimace like a lengthy letter to Gary and me written by the now ex of a good friend. Because of hindsight, the happy pretense of those words screamed of lies and betrayal. I threw it away so fast you might have thought it was on fire. I found letters, magazine articles, and notes that I’d saved for unknown reasons. I’m sure, at the time I put them aside, I thought, this will be useful. It will contribute to idea x or y. But since I didn’t make a note of said idea, it has disappeared into the ether. I tossed those, too.

But I found other things that made me go, “Oh, that’s where I stored it!” and I have been grateful to retrieve notes on some projects I wanted to pursue as well as some trinkets that are sentimental to me and will now be displayed. In addition, I found some things I had saved for the Christmas shoeboxes during a previous year, but put them in the wrong place so they never made it into a box. That will now be remedied. In addition, I found a few items I had bought as presents or for special occasions. And there are still at least a dozen drawers or cupboards I haven’t touched yet, plus the attic. Who knows what might be discovered in those spaces?

It seems to have moved past decluttering and onto a bizarre treasure hunt at this point.

It’s amazing that the busyness of life buries so much. When life has you running, the home can become a storage facility of things you plan to address later. Things get quickly put away, somewhere. Sometimes out of logic; sometimes strictly out of necessity.

Do we do that on our faith walk as well? God teaches us a lesson that is meaningful and impactful, and while we revel in it and savor its blessings for a while, there are other things to learn and trials to cope with, so we put a joy to the side. And we forget about it, and how close we felt to our Lord during that season until we find a note in our Bible or God teaches us that same lesson all over again.

By wisdom a house is built,
    and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled
    with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3-4, NIV)

I don’t know how much wisdom built my house, either real or spiritual. Both are quirky and have rooms where the corners aren’t quite plumb or the remodel did something silly like glue tile to drywall. But that doesn’t mean wisdom can’t rebuild my house. Through prayer and the search for treasure, perhaps both will be, in time, places that let me grow.

While I’m still looking for blog ideas, the perimeters have changed because of my find. One commenter per week will receive anywhere from one to five books or booklets. Then, at the end of the summer, one commenter from any of the blogs between now and August 26th, will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. Each comment earns you one chance.

May you be blessed in the treasure hunt!