The Blogout for the Kingdom is over and I must admit that—at least here—it was not quite what I had imagined.
Car troubles consumed far more of my time than I had planned. As a result, much less got accomplished than I had hoped. I did get my thank you notes written to folks who had been an influence on my spiritual development, so at least that was completed. But otherwise, too many things on my list were punted.
It was a great week for relationships, though. We spent time with my side of the family, hung out with a couple who are great friends, and I contacted an old friend who was able to get together with my brothers and me.
But for all my hope for a spiritual retreat week, well, I recall something about mice, men, and plans that certainly applies.
I retreated from all other blog-visiting, too. Combined with my own Blogout, I was surprised at how little I missed it all. I've long wondered if blogging substitutes for personal relationships in some cases. I know this is not a popular opinion, but I found the face-to-face contact I had this week to be more "real" than Web-based contacts. This isn't a slam on the relationships I've developed online—by no means!—but encountering a person face-to-face is just better.
This got me back to the theme I've explored a few times this year: whether blogging is worth it. My conclusion after this week is that I'm not sure. I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone.
Does this mean that Cerulean Sanctum is going away? Probably not. But this last week reminded me that I was missing out on a few things because of blogging. That goes beyond writing this blog and to the others that I read, too. What it may mean is that December becomes a light month. I know that I MUST complete my novel in the next few weeks. Regular posting may be the casualty—but I've said that before.
If you joined in the Blogout, let me know how it went for you.
Dan, I have a post coming up either tomorrow or Tuesday where I deliver the results of my own blogout. Thanks for the inspiration.
Because so much of my time on the blogs is during downtime while I’m at work, I did spend some time reading others and commenting, so my blogout was not as “pure” as yours. However, I found myself being more attenting and more appreciative of the things I didn’t say that I wanted to say. It seems I’m better off for not running back to my blog to comment. Interesting side affect.
Anyway, relationships were indeed enhanced, and my head is so clear right now I’m actually considering a career change. I’ve had time to think about non-theological things and goals for my life. Getting away from the blog has really given me time to face up to some problems I’ve been putting off, and I’m actually excited about it now.
Glad your back, hope you don’t go away, but can totally appreciate it if your blog becomes much less active. God bless, bro!
Maybe the lesson to learn is strive for quality versus quantity? There must be some value to writing, else you and millions (billions?) wouldn’t do it, of course. And what’s less relational than writing a novel—or any form of dead-tree writing? There’s a balance. On the one hand, you articulate (and discover) your thoughts through writing and it becomes a spiritual and intellectual discipline in and of itself. The benefit accrues not only to you, though, but to those who discover and follow your writing. Some will be like-minded and agree, others will disagree and perhaps all will be changed by your point of view.
You know all this, though—so maybe the final question is a matter of time management and where God wants you to focus your priorities. How do you juggle the solitary aspects of writing and blogging versus f2f interaction? Every writer and blogger has to come to this balance or relationships atrophy.
Some have asked the anachronistic question, “What would Jesus blog?” Okay. Silliness aside, maybe Jesus wouldn’t blog—solitary writing apparently wouldn’t have furthered his unique mission. But consider: would Paul the Apostle blog? I think: yes. His epistles are a sort of proto-blog, dealing with timely and pressing issues through the written word at a remote distance when f2f correction was not possible. Though Paul had an established relationship with his audience, but we can safely assume that the churches Paul founded grew in his absense, so it’s probable that many in the audiences Paul wrote to never knew him face-to-face. That didn’t diminish the benefit of his writing, nor its relevancy for those outside his personal network—extending to us 2,000 years later.
So, for every blogger, ask if and how writing and weblogging fits within the life and ministry God is calling and gifting you for.
Regards,
Rich
BlogRodent
Hi, Dan. As for me, I’m still on my blog-fast and I don’t know when I’ll be back.
I’ve been on an unofficial blogout for the past 6 months. I’ve missed it but not terribly (since, after all, I am in ministry training).
But now that I’ve had the oppurtunity to do it again, I can see how I fell in love with this in the first place. I won’t retreat back to my days when all I did was blog, but I would like to make more of an effort to keep it going from school. I like face-to-face, but it’s always been a hurdle for me. Practice, however, makes perfect.
I’m rambling, maybe I’ll post about it. 🙂
Dan, I did a post about the whole idea of blogging consuming our time. Since it was inspired, so to speak, by your blogout I figured I should let you know.
http://rev-ed.blogspot.com/2005/11/fast-or-famine.html