Friday, September 07, 2012

All Good Things...

My last post was #750.  750 posts since starting this blog in 2006.  It's a good number to end with.  I mentioned several blogs back that I was considering closing out my blog so I could focus on some other writing plans.  After much deliberation and prayer, I have decided it's time to stop.  When I started this blog, I had a two-fold intent.  First, I wanted to keep family and friends updated on what was happening in our family.  All my kids had blogs, and it was a great way to keep up with them.  Secondly, I wanted to write up and throw out things that were on my heart and mind - things that were part of my spiritual journey - that might encourage and enlighten others.  I have stayed very true to both of those intents.
With so many people on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and with texting and FaceTime and such being used so heavily, I don't think as many people are checking blogs like they did five years ago.  I know my family stays so connected with those things that using a blog to inform is "ancient" now.  I still love to see the pictures of my grandkids on their mom's blog, but we send as many, if not more, with our iPhones now.  So the family "need" part just isn't as great as it was.  It helps that I am now pretty close to being technically up-to-date since I use my iPhone and iPad for nearly everything I do.
As far as the encouragement and enlightenment part, my sermons are on the church web page each week, as well as the church bulletin with my article.  I plan to do more "devotional" or teaching type articles in our bulletin each week and not as much church info stuff.  AND, Lord willing, I hope to be having my new book published sometime in the not-to-distant future, once I do some editing and find a publisher (piece of cake! NOT!).
It has been fun, though the pressure of not wanting people to check on my blog for days at a time and not find anything new caused me some stress as I tried to do 2-3 blogs each week.  I believe I did some of my best teaching and writing in some of those blogs.  I saw writing a blog as writing an article for a magazine.  When I wrote about THE church, I was talking about the church in general or universal, but some would occasionally think it was about my church family here.  It never was.  When I wrote about struggles, disappointments, or challenges to living a consistent life in Christ, it was never about people or events close to home.  I have never written an article, a blog, or a book, or preached a sermon for that matter, with someone in mind that I wanted to "get" "straighten out" or hurt in any way.  My integrity before God is far more valuable to me than to do something like that.
If you were blessed in any way by something I shared, I am thankful and praise God for that.  If you have been with me through 750 blogs over six years, thanks for sharing the journey, and for allowing me to share my heart with you through, what six years ago was new, but now is an old method of communicating.  What might we be doing five years from now?
God is good, and I give all the glory for anything good to him.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear this Mike. I have very much enjoyed reading all your post these last few years. You will be missed.

Kyle Holcomb (FXCC)

Deborah said...

Yes, I will miss your blog too. Though I'd love to log onto the church website and hear your sermons, I rarely have 25 minutes of quiet to sit down to do that. I loved reading your little "sermonettes" on the blog--all 750 of them!!

As long as you keep checking mine, and comment every now and then, I plan to keep up my ancient way in the blogosphere. It is proving to be a nice, scrapbook-supply-free way to document my kids' lives for the people that love them.

Elizabeth said...

Dad, I'm so thankful for you and for your willingness to share your heart on this blog. I love hearing all of your bits of wisdom and I'm just glad that I'm your daughter and those bits of wisdom are only a phone call away.

Anonymous said...

Mike,
I too will miss your blog. I guess now we will have to come visit more often.

Jeff Goforth

Kathy Rose said...

I agree with the others. I will miss your blog. Lots of good, Mike Root in these blogs.

Anonymous said...

Mike: I will miss learning at youur feet. You have always challenged me and mine to stive to know and love God and His Son more. You have stepped on my toes and softened my heart...I will always be thankful to God for your insights. Thanks, Sherry