Summer is always a busy time. School started for my daughter 2 weeks ago. There are plenty of excuses, but there are also things I could’ve done better to keep things consistent around here. That’s what I’m going to work on next — an editorial calendar. That sounds really official and like it would only be a good idea for the mega-bloggers, but you and I can benefit from these as well.

Tips for planning your posts:

• Use a calendar. You can sign-up for a free Google Calendar and easily setup themed posts on a repeating day. For example, perhaps you like to participate in Wordless Wednesday, you can setup a repeating reminder every Tuesday to prepare your Wordless Wednesday post.
• Decide a minimum number of posts you want to have on your blog each week. Schedule in time to research and write those posts before-hand.
• Look at upcoming holidays. Can you tie in those holidays to what you’re writing about?
• Schedule your vacations and breaks. Blogging can be draining work and every now and then you need to take a break. Have someone guest post for you. With planning, you can give them a few days notice to write a post.

Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking I have to blog every day, but honestly, I can sit down and write a few posts at a time and schedule them to appear automagically so you (the reader) are not overwhelmed. I’m off to create a calendar now

You can read more on Problogger: Editorial Calendars and Professional Bloggers

Another thought - a lot of moms come from the other side of the coin - blogging with the purpose of putting a record down for their families. And then friends convince them to open it to the public. (they seem to be more content in their blogging! Lol)

Secretly, I wonder if my goal of “ministry” is simply ‘preachy’ and therefore not too popular! :\ Yikes!

I totally agree with Cathy — a lot of mom bloggers are starting blogs to keep track of things that happen. Back in the old days, families would actually talk to one another and pass down stories. One day our children will be reading our blogs for that family history. When I first started blogging, I didn’t really know what to do with it — that was about 6 years ago. I put recipes up on my blog so I wouldn’t lose them. I wrote things happening with my family so I would not forget. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that and everything right with it. I do think mom bloggers can be much more content with their blogging than  those who start stressing comments and number of readers.

When mom bloggers do open their blogs to the public, they need to be aware that there are mean people out there. Not everyone thinks like them or plays by the same rules (like “if you don’t have anything nice to say …”). Some people debate having pictures of their kids on their blogs or using their real names. These are very legimate concerns. I trust in God to protect my family, but I also know I have a responsibility not to be stupid with what I share. Naming specific places you go at specific times with specific names of people can get you in a lot of trouble. Be careful.

Cathy also mentions being “preachy” on her blog. If you pray before you write, God’s going to show you how to write it so you don’t sound “holier-than-thou.” One of the things I learned from She Speaks, is to write for you — write for women who struggle with the same things you struggle with — write for women who have the same interests. If you are honest about your struggles and share what God’s showed you through those struggles, you will not come across preachy.

As I was re-reading this last paragraph, it struck me that it could sound preachy. I’m going to leave it as an example, but go back and read it replacing all the yous with we. “If we pray before we write, God’s going to show us how to write it so we don’t sound ‘holier-than-thou.’ ” Such a simple change. It changes the way it’s received though. I hope you know I would never preach at you, but I’m sharing my thoughts as if we’re sitting on the couch talking.

If our focus is on God and what He’s given us to be our bloggy purpose, then it really will not matter if someone thinks our writing is preachy

When you first open FileZilla, you will want to store your website information.

1. Go to File -> Site Manager.
2. Click New Site.
3. Enter a name for the site.
4. Under Site details, you will want to put the following information:
   • Host: This is usually in the form of ftp.website.com where website.com is your domain name.
   • Port: Keep the defaults for this.
   • Server type: Use FTP unless you know for sure your web host has specified something else.
   • Log On Type: Select Normal.
   • User: Put your FTP username.
   • Password: Put your FTP password here.
5. Click the Connect button.
6. You will see that your window is divided into 2 parts. The first part on the left says “Local Site”. You will see a listing of the files and folders on your computer. Browse to the folder where the files are you want to upload.
7. On the right side, you will see under “Remote Site” a list of all the folders/files on your website. Open the folder where you want to put the files you are uploading.
8. Click and drag from the left side “Local Site” to the right side “Remote Site” and the files will begin transferring.

1. Find the file where you downloaded it to your computer.
2. Right-click the .zip file and select Extract All.
3. You will be asked where you want to save the extracted files, so select a place and remember where it’s putting the files. I generally take the default.
4. When finished, you can have the computer automatically open the folder holding the contents of the .zip file by keeping the box checked “Show Extracted Files” and clicking the Finish button.

I’m looking at this from a slightly bigger perspective. I am a domain name junkie. I have several domain names, some of which I have started blogs under. The problem was not that I didn’t know the bloggy purpose for them, it’s that my interests changed and I stopped blogging there.

I have decided to give one of my domains and blogs over to a friend of mine who is just as passionate about the subject as I was when I started. The domain? OpenSourceMaven.com. I did write a few basic how-tos there that I will be posting here in the next few days — things I think you need to know. Meanwhile, I’m shedding some more domain names and cleaning up some files. Stay tuned for some basic instructions.

If you are thinking of starting a blog, and struggling for a name, email me at lisab @ simplyhis.org. God gave me a great name for a blog and I really think it belongs to one of you out there. So if you’ve been afraid to start — or what to call it, email me. If you like the name, I’ll get you started

One of the bloggers I met, Robin @ Pensieve, asked me what the difference is between this blog and simply His. Basically simply His is my personal blog where you’ll get stuff about me, my family and things God lays on my heart to share. Here, I want to share how to blog for Christians. I started to say those who are in the ministry, but we are all in the ministry if you have Jesus. So whether you are a speaker, writer, preacher, teacher or all of the above — or even if you aren’t and you just want to look at blogging through Jesus’ eyes, I hope you’ll find that encouragement here.

I know there’s got to be some She Speaks attendees checking out this blog too — so don’t be shy. Send me your questions (email lisab *at* simplyhis *dot* org) and I’ll get them answered here. I may even make a video or two for those visual learners

When you started blogging, did you have a purpose for your blog? Has that purpose changed since the beginning? How?

I started blogging because I thought it was a great way to remember this stage of life. Caroline was two and said or did something funny every day. I didn’t want to forget any of it.

My purpose has ultimately stayed the same. I want it to be a record of our lives that she can look at when she gets older, but it’s also become a huge outlet for me because of the community I’ve found that is so supportive.

Have you always been open about your faith? Or reserved about sharing? Intentionally? Unintentionally?

I’ve always been open about my faith. I don’t write about it in every post, but I hope that it comes through in who I am and how I respond in different situations.

Any tips you’d give new bloggers?

Be careful what you put out there. The internet is FOREVER.

Do you share information about your children? Do they realize you blog about them?

I definitely share information about my daughter. She knows about the blog and will even say something and tell me “That needs to go on the blog!” I’m sure as she gets older I will be more and more careful about what I write about her. I would never write anything that would embarrass her or share more than what she is willing to share.

Do you feel obligated to respond to every one who leaves a comment on your blog? Have you ever been overwhelmed by comments?

I try my best to respond to at least a few comments every day. I don’t ever feel overwhelmed by them. I love them! I honestly think they’re the best part of the blog. My readers are so smart and funny!

Have you ever had to deal with rude or negative comments on your blog? If so, how did you deal with them?

Yes. Unless the comment is completely offensive then I just leave it up. I usually choose to just ignore them unless I feel that they have misunderstood my point.

Are there any bloggers you met online first and then in person? Was it strange or different meeting them in person than reading their blogs?

I’ve met Sophie and Shannon in person after reading their blogs for over a year. It didn’t feel strange at all, but rather like being with old friends. They are just as funny and genuine in person as they are online.

Do you have your testimony written? Have you considered sharing your testimony on your blog?

I shared my testimony on my blog back in October of 2006. I may post it again one of these days because I didn’t have very many readers back then.

How do you decide when to respond or ignore questions, comments or calls for interviews?

Honestly, I don’t get that many requests for interviews or anything. I do my best to respond to every email or offer I receive. I love that people take the time to contact me.

How are you feeling about the sessions your going to be leading at She Speaks? Pumped? Nervous? Prepared? Winging it?

I’m excited. If you had asked me a week ago I would have said I was totally unprepared but I spent the weekend planning out my portion of the session and am ready. Most of all, I’m excited to meet all the fellow bloggers who will be there! I can’t wait to put names with faces.

Cathy @ Mommy Motivation asked (snippet from yesterday):

Or there isn’t an audience for what I am writing about? *I wonder if the audience that I KNOW is there, is already getting all the information they need from larger sources? Like those huge mom forums or discussion boards.

Literally every where I turn in bloggy world, I see the question — how do I get more readers? I must confess right now, I get trapped in the stats game — trying to figure out where people come from and what they want to read. How can I make them like me? How can I get them to stick around and read my blog before someone else’s? The stats game will drive you bonkers.

Sometimes I try to tell myself — I’ll be me, write what I want, and if I bless one person in this world, it will all be worth it. The reality though is I need to feel validated. I need to feel wanted and useful — like I have a purpose for my life and I’m fulfilling that purpose. Those needs are pretty common. Visions of hundreds of people reading my blog dance in my head. Helping thousands of people to grow in their relationship with God would be awesome. We try to figure out how to feel validated on our own. Is that 10 comments on a post? Would that make me feel successful in my writing? Or would it take 100 comments? 10 regular visitors? Or 100?

Last year I decided to concentrate on one life — to make a difference in that life. My greatest weapon? Prayer. Because I prayed for Heather — because I got others to pray for Heather — God was able to use me to reach her. Through me God changed not only Heather, but her 2 children, her church, her ex-husband, and her friends. Change can be good, but with God doing the changing it can be awesome! After Heather decided to accept Jesus though, I was lost again. What do I do? Do I write? Do I find another person to help? I wish I could tell you that in the past year I’ve let God use me to touch another’s life like He did Heather’s life, but I have not. I got comfortable. I stopped having my quiet time and praying.

Recently I did some interviews with people. The reason for my interviews was to really find out about the blogger and their faith. I was a little disappointed and baffled when they did not post a link to the interview on their blogs — they have so many more readers than I. But I reminded myself to focus on God — because He really is bigger than Google. I trust that He will lead people to my site in one way or another — the ones who need to read this, the ones He can help through my writing. There’s a reason God is bringing the people here that are coming here and reading just as there is a reason that some people aren’t coming here.

Life is all about choices and relationships. Make a choice to work on your relationship with God a priority. When your priorities are straight, God will help you with your blogging. God wants to be in the details of your life — if you let Him. How much more fun (and less stressful) is blogging when you stop worrying about how many readers you have and start letting God write through you?