A Time for Self-Assessment

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Grandma's Ramblings

Dr. Tanya, at Salted Caramel, asked four questions about blogging. She calls the questions “retrospective introspection.” Reading your own work, she says, is sometimes called a form of narcissism but she thinks a better description might be self-evaluation or self-assessment.

With that in mind, I have responded to her questions.

Here are her four questions:

How old is your current blog/website?

Do you ever look back at your site i.e. read through your old posts?

How long ago did you update your about page ?

If you were to start a new blog today, what would you do differently?

And my answers:

I started my blog in October 2014 but never really was consistent in regular posts until last year.

Occasionally I will look back for a particular blog when I am posting again on a similar topic.

Five months ago I updated the picture of me. I was a redhead and after losing all my hair from cancer I still wore a red wig. After turning 71 I decided it was time to go with grey so I updated my picture then.

I would be more consistent with my posts. Since I became more consistent in 2019 my response has been much better – gaining more followers and getting more comments to my posts. I would engage more with other bloggers. Since I have started doing that I have made some great friends and have enjoyed hearing/seeing other places/countries and enjoying other viewpoints.

Check our her website at: https://saltedcaramel670.wordpress.com/

Five Things I Like About Myself

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Grandma's Ramblings

Recently I began following another blogger whose posts I have enjoyed. Her post that caught my eye was listing five things she liked about herself. Check it out here:

http://cyranny.com/2020/01/15/5-more-things-i-like-about-myself/

The whole point is that we are quick to find things about our self we do not like, things we want to change, things that make us feel less than satisfied about who we are.

Why do we never look at our self in a positive light? So she encouraged her followers to take a look and see the good qualities they possess.

Here goes my list:

Five Things I Like About Myself

I am a good musician and use my talent to help others. Since age ten I have been playing the piano. Over the years I have played for worship in church, played for weddings and funerals and written and performed Christmas programs. For the last 35 years I have been a volunteer at local nursing homes and assisted living facilities providing musical programs for the residents.
I am a good cook. While I have never mastered the skill of making cookies, my pies and cakes are always welcome at a pot luck. My husband will testify that my meals are not only delicious but usually healthy. (Although I do probably cook too much pasta.)
I am adventurous always taking the road not well traveled. When my husband suggested we do a two-year commitment teaching in a Bible college in the Philippines, I said “why not.” Sold everything we had and headed off on an adventure. In our 70’s when our youngest daughter took a position as pastor in a new state and moved with her family and my husband suggested we sell and move too, I said “why not.” On our road trips we always get off the interstate and follow the local roads just to see where they go. Our trips are always more interesting than following the well-marked roads.
I am a positive person. While I have had my times of depression and discouragement, basically I see the glass half-full rather than half-empty. Life to me is a blessing from God to be enjoyed even when difficulty comes because my faith tells me that He will never leave me.
I love to teach the Bible. Teaching Bible classes both in church, in homes and in the Philippines, my students tell me that I make the Word of God simple to understand and show them how it applies to the “here and now.”

So there – I challenge you to take a positive look and share five things you like about yourself. Then share them with me and/or on Cyranny’s blog. We’d love to know you better.

Check out her website at https://cyranny.com/ for more great articles.

Not Following the Guidelines

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Grandma's Ramblings

I love to write. For years I have kept a journal. My entries range from routine, boring comments about the weather to reflections of my feelings during a battle with cancer.

A few years ago I entered the world of blogging. Really having no idea how to have a successful blog, I have read other blogs, articles and books on the subject.

Most have said that you need to “find” your audience, to write for them. A lot recommended that your blog stick to one idea or theme. Reading other blogs I have seen many seem to follow that pattern.

Blogs writing about travel
Blogs writing about mental health
Blogs writing about raising children
Blogs writing about the Bible

I started out thinking my blog would be sharing stories from the years I was a pastor’s wife. There were stories that were funny and others that I thought might be inspiring. I named my blog Grandma’s Ramblings because I also wanted to share stories of my beautiful grandchildren.

But after writing a blog since late 2014 it seems my blogs are all over the place. My husband and I love to take road trips and I enjoy sharing pictures of those trips. A Christian who loves Bible studies I also share thoughts from my devotions. An history nut I love to research and share stories about our country’s history. Then my family gives me much to write about. From one blog to another I often have no idea where I am going until I start writing. I just have this need to write.

Being concerned that I seem to have no “theme” I went back to the tag line I made when I started this blog.

Stories of a lifetime to make you laugh, cry and hopefully walk away encouraged!

That really has been my purpose – just to give someone a good laugh, maybe a challenging thought or words that might encourage.

My idea of success? It’s encouraging to see the number of those following my blog increasing, but the real success I find is when someone comments that I did make them laugh, cry or be encouraged.

So I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing – and we will see where it all leads.

For those of you who follow my blog – thank you. For those of you who have shared comments, thanks for your encouragement.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Grandma's Ramblings

I started my blog in 2014 but I was hit and miss – some months not posting at all and never any consistency to my posts until the past few months.

blog

Throughout my life I have loved to write. I was a guest columnist for the local newspaper a few years ago and I also submitted a few articles in contests where I either won or was given honorary mention. As a pastor’s wife I also wrote curriculum for Sunday School classes and children’s’ programs.

For years I have kept a journal writing about local events, family outings and life experiences. When I had cancer I found writing really was a blessing.

So in 2014 I started a blog. In my description of the purpose of my blog I wrote:

Stories of a lifetime to make you laugh, cry and hopefully walk away encouraged!

That was my purpose. I never wanted my blog to be so popular I could attract sponsors. I certainly applaud those who have been able to do that. But at my age I just truly wanted to write to make others laugh, cry, be challenged or encouraged.

I kept starting and stopping on the blog because I thought

Who do I think I am that my writing would be of benefit to others?

Of course, by not being consistent I did not attract too many followers. But moving to another state last fall seemed to shake me out of my lethargy – not only in writing but in other areas of my life where I seemed to have lost my enthusiasm. It has done the same for my husband as he has returned to his love of painting.

As I have been more consistent I have gained more followers. Still, I look at some of the blogs that I love and recommend and see the followers they have and I begin to wonder again.

Why am I doing this? Do I really think I am helping anyone?

But every time I think I will stop blogging I get a comment from someone saying how much my post made them laugh and gave them a good day. Or, how it encouraged them and was just what they needed.

So I ask myself again.

Why am I doing this? Am I just wanting to collect a lot of followers? To consider myself a big success in the blogging world?

Do I really just want to encourage someone, make someone laugh?

Is it all that important that I reach thousands – or that I help two or three?

So I have decided to continue and to be more consistent in my posts. And whether my followers grow or not, I will take joy in knowing I have helped someone.