I've received a lot of messages recently from people who want to start their own blog.  For the most part, people want to do it but they don't know if they can keep up with it or if it's worth their effort.  If that's you, my advice to you is GO FOR IT!

Blogging is definitely a time consuming activity and it isn't always easy.  There are times when I just can't come up with anything to write.  But despite the difficulty and time it takes to write, I've found it to be extremely rewarding and beneficial to me personally.  I don't blog for advertising money or to sell a product.  I blog because: a) I felt God calling me to do so, and b) it helps me personally.

How has it helped me?  I can think of three specific ways off the top of my head.

1.  Blogging helps me record my thoughts.  For years I kept a journal but to be honest, I have no idea where the majority of those journals are today and even if I did know, it's unlikely that I'd be able to look through there and find anything.  So all those thoughts and inspirations and revelations for years are somewhere but only God knows where.  Blogging allows me to record my thoughts and search through them easily in the future.

2.  Blogging helps me think clearly.  I know this sounds strange, but I actually think better and more clearly when I blog.  Why?  Someone once said, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and the fingertips.”   Writing it down forces me to make sure I have it straight in my head.

3.  Blogging helps me connect with people all over the world.  Before blogging, I had my ministry and served in the DC area my whole life.  But through blogging, I am able to keep almost a running dialogue with people all over the world and hopefully God will use my words to help some people who I don't even know.  In addition, I myself benefit from this connection through the comments (which I absolutely love by the way) and messages I receive from my posts.  The best part of the blog is that the connection is two way not just one!

Those are just a few of the benefits that I have experienced in the past 5 or 6 months of blogging.  It's definitely not easy and coming up with content is sometimes a challenge, but I've discovered that the benefits far outweigh the costs for me.  Blogging isn't a science to be perfected.  It's like anything else in life - it's hard when you start but if you stick with it, you'll gain a lot of experience along the way.

For discussion:  if you're a blogger, what can you say about the benefits vs the costs for you?  If you're not a blogger, but feel like you should be one, what's stopping you?

p.s.  Also, in case you are an aspiring blogger and don't know if you'll be able to generate the content consistently, below is an infographic I found from Copyblogger which talks about 22 different ways to generate content for your blog.  I found it extremely useful.