Hello everyone, and happy New Year! I am starting off the year doing things a little bit differently here on Dressed In Faith, and I am very excited about it! I am now putting my devotionals in blog format with each one being in their own separate post.
You will still be able to find them on my main menu under the DEVOTIONALS title which is a true category that will take you to all my devotional posts. You can also find them under the BROWSE BY TOPIC heading DRESSING IN FAITH on my homepage too.
I will no longer be putting my devotionals at the end of my fashion and beauty posts. I’ll explain my decision to make this change with today’s devotional. Maybe, some of you will be able to relate as I talk about focusing in 2020. You’ll notice I didn’t say vision for 2020. Ha!
Do any of you have a word or phrase for the New Year? I like to set new goals and evaluate old ones this time of year, but I don’t really have a word picked out for the year. I must admit, though, that as a writer picking a word or phrase for the upcoming year is kind of intriguing. Yet, I don’t think I could pick just one or even a few! One goal I do have is trying to do a better job of focusing this year. So, I guess “having better focus” could be one of my phrases.
One way I want to have better focus is by concentrating what God wants me to be doing. What gifts has He given me? How do I best use those gifts to serve Him? I will give you an example of how I’ve been struggling with my focus concerning my gifts, and why I am changing things up here a little bit.
While I love blogging about my faith, I have been struggling with writing this past year. It’s left me very frustrated and questioning if I’m really cut out to do this. I’m not a professionally trained writer. I’m simply following a calling I felt from God.
Even though I only post on average three times a week, most weeks I get one really great idea for a devotional and am left struggling often to come up with more. Of course, I try to spend time in God’s Word each day, but that does not always mean inspiration comes for a blog post each and every time. While I share a lot of myself here on the blog, there are other days where what He says to me may just, well… be personal too.
All the while, I see other more experienced writers sharing short, yet very powerful, thoughts just about everyday on social media. I see a few others writing longer great devotionals and posting them just about every single day. So, I start to question what am I doing wrong? Why do I struggle sometimes so much? I question this calling.
Yet over the recent holiday, it occured to me that maybe I should just concentrate on that one great idea placed on my heart each week. Then, I realized how much focus I’ve been putting on what I can’t do and not enough on what I can do. Instead of doing my best with what God has given me, I am too busy chasing the gifts He has given others.
As I came to this realization, I can’t tell you how much I felt a big weight lifted off of me. I felt I could find joy in the writing process again. I felt happy with His timing for me.
If any of you are feeling this kind of frustration over something you love and feel called to do, here are some ways I am going to try to get my focus back this year that might be helpful to you too.
First, I know I’ve got to stop comparing myself others. Why is this so hard to do?! Social media certainly doesn’t help. So, I want to limit my time scrolling there! Even if our gifting is similar to someone else’s, you and I are our own person. God still has an unique plan for each of us.
As I’ve already said, I want to concentrate more on the things I can do and not on what I can’t. I am happier when I focus more on the things I do well and enjoy.
Sometimes when we focus in on the things we are truly gifted with, it means saying no to doing other things. You and I do not have to take on everything, especially if it is not within our calling or gifting. We also should not feel guilty about that either.
Finally, I want to be content with the gifts God has given me here and now. I also want to be content with His timing for me. Some of my gifts or my callings may change down the road, and some may stay the same. I will focus on using my present gifts better and growing with anything new He gives me in the future.
My goal is to post a devotional every week. While I know writer’s block is something every writer experiences, one a week seems to be the pace for me now. If that changes or any given week I feel led to post more, I certainly will. I also plan to go back and revive or tweak some older devotionals too some weeks to build up that new category. I plan to send out an email notification with each new post. If I miss any due to a particularly busy day, I will link to all I’ve missed in the next email.
I want to thank all of you who have been so supportive and left such kind comments about my devotionals. It means so much to me! I know some of you may like to use a devotional guide each day during your quiet time. Of course, I have never posted everyday anyway. Even so, I hope you’ll take time to read my weekly one and understand my need to make this change.