I try not to engage in unhealthy introspection, especially when it comes to writing. A night when I read through most of the year’s worth of posts at once cured me of that. I thought most everything I wrote was petty and silly. Okay, so this was very late at night when I was feeling low anyway…which probably wasn’t a good idea.
The next day I faced the sick feeling of worthlessness in my stomach with the simple truth that I am not perfect, my writing certainly isn’t perfect, but God works in mysterious ways. I must not let my ego get in the way of what God might want to do.
I do enjoy seeing what people liked best–it’s not always the same as what I would pick. My six most-read posts for 2017 were these:
- When Parents Are Failing
- Being filled with the Holy Spirit: a personal testimony
- For Christian Women Whose Husbands Work Too Much
- The Woman at the Beach
- Choosing Joy
- Is Christ Divided?
Mennonite World Review’s blog The World Together reprinted three posts: God’s Voice and the Inspiration of Scripture, Is Christ Divided?, and What Faith Cannot Do. One post, Jesus Only, made it into the print edition of Mennonite World Review.
Stats aside, some of my favorite posts were simply stories about my experiences. Little Girl about foster care, I laid my burden down about forgiveness, and The Woman at the Beach about an act of God after the solar eclipse of 2017.
Of course, the very best posts are the ones which have nothing to do with my writing, and everything to do with God touching people! I love getting emails from readers and learning to know people all over who are struggling with the same things, and reaching toward the same God that I am.
I rarely plan ahead for writing projects…usually an idea hits me at a random moment, or I read something that sets me off…so I am just as curious as you are to see what will show up on my blog this year!
Happy New Year! May God be glorified!
As always, you are welcome to email me if you have questions you would like me to discuss here!
arabah rejoice 
One Post I can’t forget is “Women Who Sacrifice for Their Husband’s Calling”. That was the story of my mother’s life.
I would love for you to address some time what mutual submission means in these situations. I know that many times women are content in this role. At other times, it is a struggle.
Are there ways to be supportive and submissive without agreeing?
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I don’t know if I have the answers… This is why I don’t write marriage posts very often! 😉 At the very least, I think women can be honest about their thoughts and feelings without being controlling. I don’t agree with being quiet and hoping your husband will notice you don’t approve–most men (and women) aren’t THAT good at mind-reading. To me it feels more healthy for the marriage to be clear but kind about how you feel. Then you can let the subject rest for a while if needed, but by all means keep the communication open. I think there’s less temptation to resentment and/or manipulation on either side if the couple is connected and honest.
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Maybe you can help me think about something this year 🙂
Recently I’ve started thinking about how so much of our energy behind reaching out to the world is focused on evangelism – telling people about Jesus and talking about the Gospel. These are good things, but all the telling and talking makes us poor listeners. We have a hard time listening to people talk about the painful things in their lives. We don’t do well at feeling their grief and sharing in their pain (there are loads of it). We do poorly at demonstrating the heart of Jesus because we are so eager to have people make a commitment to Him and join a (Mennonite) church.
Thanks for sharing in my pain, by the way.
What are your thoughts?
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Oh yes, yes! Listening is the first and most important step, in my opinion! If we don’t listen to the stories of others and help carry their sorrows, we don’t know where they most need the touch of Jesus. And without that special touch from Him, we might as well forget about “evangelizing.”
I have a lot to learn yet in this area! But my heart is one that longs to listen. Maybe I’ll have to blog about it sometime. 🙂 Thank you for the nudge!
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