You know, I had an idea or two for what I would do for this day.

Today is supposed to be a celebration of a whole year of blogging.

But… those ideas didn’t go too well.

It’s not that they failed. It’s that I failed to really do anything with them.

Last night I was realizing that I had nothing for this occasion that was supposed to be special.

Thankfully, God gave me a wonderful best friend to tell me to get some sleep and provided me with the capacity today to write this blog post anyway.

So here it is– my thoughts on one year of blogging.

One Year Ago Today

One year ago, I launched this blog. I had started working on it before that, however. There was a lot of preparation, a lot of me just messing with the theme and trying to make it look right, and a lot of excitement.

Let’s start at the beginning.

In February of 2020, I joined the Young Writer’s Workshop. It’s a program for young writers to learn and grow in their writing. They are given access to an extensive content library for learning and a community of other writers like themselves.

In the program, one of the things they emphasize is growing a platform. Growing a platform is important for writers to get their writing out there and build an audience. This is what I had in mind as I watched the lessons on setting up your blog and platform.

Originally, I thought my blog would be book reviews. However, my perspective was shifting a bit, and I started specifically saying I would do “book reviews from a Christian perspective.”

I’m not entirely sure how I made the switch to what Live to the Lord is now, but it seems I was leaning that way anyway. So on Friday, March 20, 2020, I posted my first article (other than the introduction post): “Why Reading the Bible Is Important For Your Faith.“

I was especially excited at the beginning. Consistency was easy. However, I won’t say it stayed easy. In fact, it got a lot harder.

During the summer of last year, I struggled with a period of doubt in my faith, which thus caused me to doubt my blog and what I was writing. It was hard. Thankfully, I had a family and friends that supported me and I got through it. 

Even though I haven’t exactly stayed perfectly consistent, the blog is still going, and I have only the Lord to thank for that. He held onto me when I felt my grip slipping from Him, and right now He is giving me the ability to write these words for you to read.

It’s interesting to think about fearing God. Really, He could take us away to be with Him at any moment. I like to think of Gandalf’s quote from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. For a bit of context, Frodo is speaking to Gandalf about the evils happening in their world and the One Ring.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I also find this quote relevant to our present day circumstance with the pandemic. We can’t decide what times we live through or what trials we see, but we can trust God’s plan and do the best with the time God has given us.

But believe me, using out time wisely is hard. I mean, this blog post is so late partly because I didn’t spend my time wisely. I’m not perfect, and I hope none of my blog posts ever convey that I am, but I hope that my words have helped you at some point.

Speaking of you, reader, I’d like to thank you for sticking with me all this time. Whether you’ve been reading my writing since the beginning, only for a few weeks, or even just jumped on this post today: thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read my words and support me. 

I’d also like to share a bit about me and why I blog, or, more generally, write. I don’t know if any of you have ever wondered this, but this question has arisen before as part of my YWW Academic program, and so I thought I’d share my answers for that assignment with you guys.

Why I Write

Here are the slightly revised reasons I gave in my assignment:

1. I write for joy.

I write because writing makes me happy. Writing gets me excited. Writing not only helps me escape reality but dive deeper into it. Writing sends me on adventures I would never be able to experience otherwise. Writing gives me freedom to create worlds and stories filled with whatever I want. Writing reminds me of the glory of Jesus when I write about Him. 

2. I write for Jesus.

I write because God has given me this gift, in both nonfiction and fiction, to write. I can move people with my words, whether it’s a blog post talking about the Gospel or a fantasy story about a woman choosing forgiveness, my words can matter to someone, and I want them to matter in the right way. 

3. I write for the joy of others.

I write because my words have the chance to move people. I write because, when my words do see the light of day, they can cause someone to laugh, to cry, to want more, and ultimately bring them joy as well. I write because I can share the Gospel directly to those who need it. 

Now that you know a bit more about why I do what I do, let’s talk a bit about some blog changes.

Changes Coming

In the coming weeks, I’m going to attempt to revamp a few things on my blog. First of all, I’m going to try to post more consistently again. You also may see some of my first ever guest posters very soon, so be on the look out for those.

Also, for those of you subscribed to my email list– I have not forgotten you (well, maybe I did for a bit, sorry)!

I will begin sending out weekly emails. These won’t be like the blog posts, but more informal thoughts from the week or, if there’s enough interest, a challenge to work on a specific spiritual discipline together.

If you don’t want to be getting those weekly emails, feel free to unsubscribe. I’m not going to be offended; I understand inboxes can get messy. I’d encourage you, however, to see how it goes at first before you unsubscribe. 

Final Thoughts

Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me. I’m curious though, what do you want to see on the blog? Any topics you want me to write on? Things you want me to do? Changes you’d like to suggest? Feel free to comment down below or go to the contact page and shoot me an email!

And if you’d like to get those emails I mentioned above, you can subscribe right here:

Have a blessed day,

~Caroline