Then it hit me. What am I doing? What am I trying to do? Are these thoughts glorifying God?
Obviously not. I mean, does God care how popular we are? Or how many likes and comments we get? No. But he does care about our thoughts, feelings, and actions. My thoughts and feelings where not thoughts of truth, love, or anything that the Bible teaches us to think about.
I wasn't thinking of ways to bless others. I was being selfish. How can I gain? How can I get more friends? How can I get my name around the block? Can you say, 'Me monster?' Ugg.
I'm going to try to obey this verse now though. And when thoughts of jealousy and loneliness plague me, I'll think on these things.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 ESV
Hey Brooke!
ReplyDeleteJealousy is a dangerous thing that sneaks up on us. I myself have fallen into that trap many times before.
But something that can easily come with getting what we're jealous for is pride. That's a big enemy for me. And it seems God helps me fight it by putting me through tough times. :/ What also comes with popularity is extreme business. And it's great at first, but very soon the excitement wheres off and it sometimes feels like it's just another responsibility.
With that being said, I would like to share a few tips on ways to make your site more exposed to the public. The content is awesome! (I couldn't do any better myself!) But if only a few people know about it, then only a few people benefit from your wisdom.
(1) Chat software. --- I use Disqus on my blog because of multiple reasons.
A. One is that it is also used on TheRebelution.com, where I comment often. So when someone looks at my Disqus profile, they will see the discussions taking place on Soldiers of God and sometimes join in.
B. Disqus is easier to use then Google commenting software, as well as gives a more professional look.
(2) Background and Design. --- When I go to a webpage, I like seeing a refreshing image as the background, that looks three-denominational and is vibrant with color. Trees, the Ocean, Mountains, Brick, Stone, Dirt Roads, Pastures with real (as opposed to drawings) horses, etc.
Also, when a blog fits a color "theme" (not a bunch of random colors thrown together), it makes it easier to concentrate on the content.
(3) Marketing. --- Even though we cannot spam posts on TheRebelution, we can advertise there subtly by saying things like "I addressed a similar issue on my blog" and then posting your opinion on the topic. What that does is, it makes people curious what else you have here, from a site with roughly 40,000,000 pageviews!
(4) An Icon --- Having an Icon instead of the standard Blogger Icon is that subtle way of saying "This is professional.". It works too. :)
Let me know if you have any questions and God bless you, Brooke!
- Trent Blake
Hey Trent, to tell you the truth, I've been seriously thinking about remodeling my blog to something more professional for a while now. I think I might just do it now. Thanks for the tips and I'll be sure to think on them. :)
DeleteAwesome. :) Glad I could help.
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