Saturday, March 16, 2013

God Guides through Rational Thought & also People

Hi you guys,
Do you Know that at Times I Write Best in Letter Form?  Perhaps I shouldn't be starting a Post out this way, yet this is how so many of my Posts begin.  I Start Writing to Individuals and then later Change what I have Written into a Post.  My Previous Post was about God's Guidance, yet quite Often God Guides me through my Interaction with others, so in a since, you could say that I am guided, at least in part, by you guys, my Commenters.  That is not to say that if you tell me or suggest that I write about a certain thing that I will do so, yet if you say just the Right Thing to me, you will likely Inspire me.

This Post is, at least in Part, a response to the two Last Commenters who Wrote below my Previous Post, as of the Date and Time in which this Post was Posted.  Among other Things, Z-man has Expressed that he has become Tired of his own Blog because he is not only Disagreed with, but also Misinterpreted because his Style is to "Think Out Loud".  From that, I was inspired to write about how so many People are quite set in their own Way of Thinking and are not Persuadable.

I just don't have the Interest in Arguments that Lead no where any more.  I just don't and though I really do not want to Abandon the Original Audience that used to Follow my Blog, my Interest in Arguing has Changed and I want to Figure out a Way to Draw an Audience that is Truly interested in what I have to say.

This got me Talking all about the Question of who my Target Audience should be if I choose again to Blog, which I will get into in just a Minute.

Aside from this, Z also brought to my mind a couple of other interesting Questions in relation to what should be our Approach to Blogging.  The first of which is "Should we really 'Think Out Loud' on our Blogs, or should we do that with a Pen Pal and then write something on our Blogs that is a little more Polished?"  I have Struggled with this Question quite a lot myself and am not sure if I know the Answer.

Another Question that I have been Asking is whether or not I should Still Blog about Politics and as I was responding to Z-man, I got thinking about how so many People, just as I mentioned above, are quite set in their own Way of Thinking and are not Persuadable and you see, here is the thing....  There are such a large Number of Obama Supporters on the Web that are not Persuadable that I'm feeling led away from discussing it.  To those who do not Agree, it just sounds like Obama Bashing and that's not what I want my Blog to be.  Perhaps there will come a time in which the Political Harvest will be more Ripe for Reaping, yet I do not feel that now is that time.


The other person that has recently Commented in the Below Post is Satyavati.  From her, I have felt Inspired to Think and Write about another Question relating to "Feeling Led", or more precisely, the Idea of just Waiting for God's Voice or Well, more Actively Pursuing the Answers to the Questions that are in my Mind.  This is what Led me to the Title of this Post in that God Guides through "Rational Thought" and not just the Act of Waiting for Him to Answer.

In the End, I know that it will be, at least in part you, the Commenters, who are going to help me to Find the Answers to what it is that I should be Blogging about.  I've never felt that God Communicates that Often in a Crystal Clear way within a total Vacuum of our own Thoughts and the Thoughts of others.  I've always felt that we find our Answers, at least in Part, through the Information that we Acquire from our interaction with those who we Communicate with and this is why God's Voice is so Rarely ever Immediate.

The Impatient do not make very good Christians because God has a Tendency to Take His Time.  When He does Speak, it can be quite clear what He is saying, yet this Clarity is often quite Long in Coming and that is just the Way it is at times.

Here  is my Dilemma...

A lot of Christians do not Understand the Intellectual.  They are able to Accept Things just based on Faith and will often present as their Argument, nothing more then "Well, because the Bible Says so".  This is not enough for some people.

There are actually times in which I feel like a Half Breed, for if I take an Intellectual, Thinking, sort of Approach to my Interactions with Non-Christians, there are Actually quite a lot of Christians who will tell me that I am Wasting my Time, yet if I take the Approach of just Talking about the Scriptures, though this will Draw more Christians to my blog, I also know for a Fact that I will lose a good part of my Non-Christian Audience.

It is really Hard to reach both Audiences at Once and, In fact, very Possibly, it is not even Possible.  So the Question that I have to Answer is "Do I want to Lose a good Portion of my Non-Christian Audience, or a Portion of my Christian Audience?" and in Truth, I am leaning towards the Later, instead of the Former.

Yeh, here I go "Thinking Out Loud" again and in all reality, sometimes the more Polished is a long time in Coming, just as also is God's Guidance.  I have problems with the Idea that is pushed by some Christians, which is "Don't Think About it, just Pray and Wait for God's Guidance."  What I am trying to Illustrate in this Post, however, is how aside from just the Waiting on God for the Answers, there is also a Thought Process that goes on that will lead to our eventual Conclusions and God's Guidance will come in the Midst of that Process.

7 comments:

Brenda said...

Hi Lista,
just read your post and what came to my mind is that maybe you should consider writing two blogs and set up another one. Sometimes, when our thoughts are inspired by completely different subjects it may be that a wider area is needed to share them. I usually find that something will inspire me to write, and that not everyone will agree. Everyone is different and has different opinions so we can never know what our opinions will stir up in others, but a blog for me is all about just sharing who I am and my thoughts. I respect the fact that not everyone is the same as me, and I like interacting with others as long as there are no heated arguements.

Lista said...

Thanks for your Comment, Brenda. I've considered the Idea of more then one Blog before, yet Blogging is a lot of Work and I Post so seldom that it is hard to draw that many Followers. If I divide what I post into two Blogs, then each of them will be all that much slower. What I was actually Hoping is that people would use my Labels more then they do in order to Read what ever it is that Interests them, yet I'm not so sure that the Labels are used all that often.

My Original Approach to Blogging was to Discuss Politics and then Occasionally Switch to something more Spiritual, hoping that perhaps a few that may or may not visit a Christian Blog will still take the time to read my Spiritual Thoughts just because they have come to like me and my Blog.

I do sense that God is changing my direction a little for now, yet I hope that my Older Non-Christian Audience will not make an Exit cause I do not just want my Blog to be Visited by Christians and this is what I have been Praying about.

Brenda said...

Do not worry Lista, we may never know who reads what we write and sometimes the plans of our minds are not always the path which the Lord will direct us. I'm sure that if you pray for direction He will guide you as to what you will write about. With me I just share my testimonies or write as I feel led to. I truly want people to know how great is our God, and just share what He has done and is doing in my own life.

BB-Idaho said...

It is fairly common for bloggers to
host more than one blog, most often
with a chatty one and a photography one, although there are others. Usually, their main one has the most activity, and sometimes their alternate ones sort of dry up.
IMO, to cater to some single group, while edifying, does limit
the number of comments and loses
the 'flavor' of diverse viewpoints.
There is quite a spectrum of Christian belief, there are other
religions, the unchurched, the
tentative agnostics and even raging atheists in the blogosphere...and
agreement near impossible. We see this a lot on strictly political blogs, but even lawyer blogs, science blogs and fishing blogs!
Seldom, if ever, can a commenter
be convinced to change their mind, so such a goal would be self-
defeating. On the other hand, one can make a case an defend it...
and contribute to at least a minimal mutual understanding of
how and why folks think as they do.
IMO, a blog is rather like a
slow moving 'chat room' or coffee shop discussion and if we pick up no new ideas, we gain an understanding of a wider range of thinking. There is an old joke that goes, "I have nothing to say"
and the other person opines "Well
you should blog about it"...but
we all have something to say.

Lista said...

Well, I was Working on a Response to Brenda and then got Interrupted and now there is another Comment to Respond to. Well, I've go to go, so I'll be back later Today or Tonight with a Response. Thanks again for Commenting.

Lista said...

Hi you Guys,
Sorry about the Delay.

Brenda,
"we may never know who reads what we write."

You got that one Right. Do you know that my Blog Continued to get between 5 and 8 Hits Per. Day even when it was Inactive. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it is enough that God can Direct someone to read something on my Blog at any time, rather I Post or not.

Sometimes God uses the most unexpected Topics in order to get a different message out than I at first expected. For Example, I Posted about a Premature Baby Fawn in a Post that Continues to be Visited quite Often and in the Comment Section there ended up being a Discussion about the Abortion Issue.

Another Really Popular Post that is Visited Often is a Poem that I wrote about Anger and then there is The Girl in the Glass Poem that is also Visited quite Often. This Poem was Written by someone other than me, yet in my Post is contained the Salvation Message and this Post is Visited quite often by People who are looking for the Poem and yet when they get there, what they find is not just the Poem, but also the Gospel.

My Abstinence Statistics are Visited Quite Often as well and also a whole bunch of other things. God has no Doubt been Using my Blog for His Glory, even in my Absence and for this I Greatly Praise Him.

Lista said...

More for Brenda;
Sometimes I feel led to Review some of the things that I've Written Previously, so a Review Post may be one Idea of what I could do and well, you know what? Politics has been Crossing my Mind again, so perhaps that subject is not entirely dead. We'll see how the Lord Leads.

BB,
Thanks for your Comments about the Multiple Blog Idea. I sort of like the Diversity idea. It draws a more Diverse Audience and also has a Tendency to Expose People to more Diversity, apart from the Main Theme of any given Blog that they may seek out. For Example, Christians may come by for the Sake of Religious Discussion and yet Occasionally Read about Politics and a Non-Christian person who is interested in Politics may come by and yet Occasionally Read about Christianity. What's so wrong with that? I sort of like it that way.

The very fact that there is such Diversity on this Blog is the Reason for the Labels, which I truly do hope people will use, especially if they are new to my Blog.

Sometimes I think that the People who are Persuadable are the ones who read, but do not Talk. Just because those who are Speaking appear so Totally Unpersuadable, does not in any way establish that there are not Persuadable People who are Quietly reading what is said.