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As I’m sure a lot of you know, I’ve been doing a blogging success series with a new post every Monday for the past nine weeks. Well, to wrap up the series I decided to end with this post – a post dealing with one of my keys to successful blogging.
Let me start at the beginning. As a hobby and creative outlet, I started blogging in November of 2013. I’m a disciple of Christ, and I have always tried to keep God’s commandment about keeping His Sabbath day holy (which includes not working on Sunday unless “the ox is in the ditch”, as my dad likes to say). On Sundays I worship God (well, I do that every day, but I have more dedicated time for it on Sundays), fellowship with my family, sleep, read, ride my horse (although I don’t do any major training on Sunday), and do other relaxing things. God gave us a day of rest because He knew we need it! Boy am I ever thankful for that!
Because my blog was my hobby, I didn’t have a problem doing blog stuff on Sundays. It was relaxing. Until it got bigger, and bigger, and bigger…until I woke up to 20+ Facebook notifications every morning…until I had correspondence to manage every day. Then it was no longer relaxing. But for awhile, I still did some blog stuff on Sundays. Sometimes I edited pictures and tweaked things on my website, sometimes I cleared out my Facebook notifications, sometimes I checked my blog stats and answered comments. And then I realized that I was getting burned out. And by this point I was starting to make money from my blog, so I was spending quite a bit of time on it during the week as an actual job. And little by little, God convicted me that blogging was now a job as well as a hobby. It was something I spent lots of time on during the week, working at, and it was no longer fit for Sunday afternoons.
I’m kind of a control freak and have OCD to boot, so the idea of leaving all my notifications untouched for an entire day was a worrisome thought. But when I forced myself to either avoid my computer altogether or at least ignore my work-related notifications on Sundays, I found that doing so was extremely freeing. God really did know what He was doing when He enforced a day of rest for His children. Rest issue aside, there’s just something about making a conscious decision not to carry out a specific activity that makes me more mindful of God. That’s the principle of fasting, really. Let me tell you from personal experience that a fast from work one day every week is such a blessing.
So to all you bloggers out there, God gave us a day of rest for a reason. Even though blogging might not be strenuous physical activity, it can be mentally exhausting. Take a break from it and honor the Lord’s day, and you might find that your burnout issues are resolved.
For those of you who aren’t bloggers, take a look at your Sunday routine. Is there something from your weekday grind that has slipped into the day God set aside as a refresher for you? Do you stress yourself out preparing a big meal for your family? Is Sunday your laundry catch-up day? Set Sunday aside as special and dedicated to spiritual, mental, and physical rest, and God will provide enough time during the week for you to do what is necessary.
Enjoy your day of rest tomorrow!
Lee Ann Davison says
I really appreciated this post. I am starting to blog and since I am doing the blog to honor God and in obedience to Him, I have not experienced any concern about blogging on Sunday or working on the blog on Sunday….I am rethinking that idea. My blog is not “active” yet…it is definitely a work in progress!!! You see, God CALLED me to write. Job and household responsibilities do not give me time to WRITE So I often write on Sundays because that is the only real opportunity I have to pursue that calling. Then God showed me I was to share what I write with others and then people started suggesting I should put my writings on a blog. I have no plans to monetize the blog…..just do what God has called me to do which is WRITE and share what I write with others.
Briana Thomas Burkholder says
I enjoyed checking out your blog!
susan says
i’m sure your work on the other 6 days is better & we reap the benefits of you NOT burning out!
Teresa Smith says
What a blessing to read! It is so encouraging to read such conviction living in this fast-paced world with all of the social media coming from all directions. I know (the Bible says so) God will continue to bless and and comfort you as you follow his commandments and directions for your life.
Wendy says
I was raised to “keep the Sabbath holy” and set apart. I raised my children the same way. It is a welcomed day of rest and worship in our home. I enjoyed your blog post on this subject. 🙂
Brandy says
My husband and I have recently became convicted about the Sabbath and have begun to study it and try to observe it but we understand it to be on Saturday. Just out of curiosity can you tell me why you observe Sunday? Feel free to email me if this isn’t appropriate for the blog comments ?
Briana Thomas says
I personally do not feel that the day you observe the day of rest makes a huge difference, so long as you observe one. In the Old Testament, the day was probably our modern-day Saturday, but somewhere in the New Testament church, the day changed to Sunday, I think because that was the day of Jesus’ resurrection. In today’s culture, Sunday is generally seen as the day of rest (although unfortunately it is not practiced by a lot of the world in its true form anymore), so I see no reason not to do the same. If it was good enough for the spiritually vibrant New Testament church, it’s good enough for me. 🙂
Brandy says
Love this. So wonderfully put. My husband and I have recently been convicted about keeping the Sabbath.
Sue says
What a wonderful simple true and uplifting message. Thanks Briana. You put everything so succinctly (unlike some of us !). I’ve learned the same life lesson about keeping Sabbath. It really is freeing – not a bondage at all. God said it’s a delight, and I find it so. (Maker’s instructions !) He made it a distinguishing mark for His people. I’ll go so far as to say it’s a test for idolatry. The ‘idolater’ will despise “wasting a day, sitting around doing nothing while I could be making money or doing other important stuff”. But HE knows we need time out once a week. After all, HE Himself rested after His mammoth achievement of creating e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Praise the Lord !
Briana Thomas says
Amen!
Jewel nolt says
This was aa great good read! Thanks!
Kathy Bliven says
Such a good reminder. So glad you shared.