Group Writing Project: Romans Road

Since the first group writing project was such a success, I thought we could do another one. How it works:

Each blogger that wishes to participate will choose a topic from the list provided and write  a post about that topic on their blog.  Once the post is up, the blogger will need to leave their link in the comments section so that everyone can read it.

Once everyone has submitted their posts, I will publish  a round up of all the posts with links back to the blogger’s blog. The entire writing project will then be complied into a special report for the bloggers who contribute to giveaway for free on their own sites.

This month's topic is Romans Road.  As Christians we know the importance of salvation.  Let share that with the blogging world.  Each blogger will select a verse from Romans Road and write a post explaining what that verse means to them.  It can be as long or as short as you want.  It can be a personal testimony, a devotional, or Bible study in nature.  It can be a photo that you believe describes the verse.  Anything goes.

Romans Road

Romans 3: 23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Romans 3:10-18, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips: Whose mouth [is] full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet [are] swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery [are] in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes"

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"

Romans 8:1, "[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

If you choose a verse, please leave a comment saying so.  I understand we may have more than 9 bloggers who are interested in participating and that is fine.  Duplicates are fine, but please make sure all verses are accounted for at least once before duplicating choices.

You will have until Friday, August 13, 2010 to choose and claim a verse and then until August 20, 2010 to write your post and leave a link here in the comments to the permalink of your post.

Oh yea, there is a prize for participating too.  Everyone that participates (those who actually write a post and submits the link) will be put into a drawing to win a free 30 minute blog/online business coaching session with me.

I can’t wait to read everyone’s thoughts!

Edited:  Since I was unable to announce the group writing project to the newsletter list, I am going to extend the deadline to chose a verse to Tuesday, August 17, 2010.  Thanks.

Blogging A-Z - A for Article Marketing

If you are looking to find new readers and increase traffic to your blog, you should try article marketing.  I know a lot of people claim article marketing is dead, but I have great results with it. What is Article Marketing?

Article marketing is when you write an article and then submit it to various article directories on the Internet.

Article directories are depository for publishers to find free articles for use on their websites, blogs, newsletter, e-zines, etc.  The catch is that they have to use the article as is and they must include the author bio and links.  Once you submit your article to directories, publishers find it and publish it on their sites while linking to you.  Not only do you get the link back to your blog, but hopefully traffic from it too.

I have been using article marketing as my primary method of marketing for Christian Mom PLR.  While my numbers don"t double or triple, I do see a study rise in traffic and sales.

Article marketing can also be used to brand yourself as an expert on a topic.  The more you write and publish on a certain topic, the more people will see you as an expert.

Here are a few article directories I'm familiar with:

• EZineArticles
• SelfGrowth
• ArticleCity

There are tons of them out there. A quick Google search for Article Directories and the first resource mentioned is a site that lists the top 50 article directory sites. (If you choose to use any of them, be sure to check them out first and make sure you follow their rules.)

Have you ever tired article marketing?  If not, what"s stopping you?

Not Going to BlogHer

I'm not going to BlogHer.  I didn't even want to.  Well that's not entirely true.  My best friend, Louise, is going and I would have loved to go just to spend time with her.  But the actual conference, I have no desire to attend.  But I know a lot people do.  No matter if they go for the actually conference to learn, to network, or just to met online friends in real life, going to conferences can be a lot of fun.  But so can staying home and joining blog carnivals like Blog Hop '10 being hosted by Robin at Pensieve. So about this blog...

My name is Courtney and I am the co-founder of Faithful Bloggers.  My partner in crime had to step aside due to a pregnancy and other family obligations.  Faithful Bloggers is a community aimed to encourage and educate Christian bloggers.

Faithful Bloggers is actually a network of 3 sites:

• Faithful Bloggers - where we write about blogging as a Christian
• Faithful Devotions - where we write Biblical based devotions
• Faith Approved - Reviews and giveaways from Christian moms

And we also have a blog directory to find other awesome Christian bloggers and hold a weekly prayer meeting on Thursday nights at 9pm CST.

If you've visited us from the Blog Hop - thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to leave a comment and your link so I can come visit you too.

Tips for Writing a Devotion

One of the many ways Christians use blogs is to write devotions to encourage others in their faith.  Devotions are most often lessons learned through an specific experience that has an impact on your faith in God.  Writing devotions is a ministry and comes from the heart and that should be seen in your writing. Here are some tips to writing a great devotion.

1. Use Bible Verses - Devotions are all about how our life experiences effects our relationship with God.  The Bible is our one resource to know how we should be living so whenever discussing life experiences, I think quoting Bible verses are very necessary.
2. Make it personal - Most people learn and are encouraged by people who have gone through a similar trial or situation. Sharing your personal experiences will not only help others but will also offer you an emotional release and give you an opportunity to praise the Lord for what your learned from that experience.
3. Pray - Before writing any devotional pray.  Ask the Lord for guidance and to give the word He wants you to use.
4. Keep it short -You want to write your devotional without being overly wordly.  You don't want to lose your message by going off topic.  So keep your devotional on topic and remember less words are often better.

Writing devotions is not for everyone.  I admire those who can write a devotion that changes people lives and encourages others to have a greater relationship with the Lord.

Do you write devotions?  If so, leave your link, so we can visit.  Do you have any any tips to add to my list?

Writing Opporunity

My friend, Heather, is looking for writers for her site Devotions for Moms.  There are two ways for you can write for the site: Paid Writer

As a paid writer you would be required to write up to 2 devotions per month and the writer will be paid $10 for each devotion.  This paid writer will not be able to promote anything and will not be placed on our website as a writer. Basically the paid writer will be a ghost writer and will hand over all rights to the articles submitted.

Guest Bloggers

They are also opening up to writer's who would like to write for for free and in return receive the opportunity to promote your blog, product, business, etc. This opportunity is available for anyone who is interested.

If you get approved as a writer for Devotions for Moms you will be listed on the writer's page, receive 1 link within your bio on the post, a link to your twitter account in our sidebar, and one promotional link within our sidebar as well. Guest posters are required to submit at least one post per month in order to remain an active writer of our website.

All writers must agree to signing our statement of faith and writer's contract before starting. If you are interested please fill out his form - thank you!

Please note that Devotions for Mom is not a part of Faithful Bloggers.  Heather is just a friend and I though there would be some great matches for writers here in the Faithful Bloggers community.

Creating Christian Content Online

As a Christian blogger or writer, you know what a useful witnessing tool blogging and online content can be.  Every word you write can potentially be the right word for someone to hear what he or she need to further their walk with God.  So it is important to make sure that your blog or any other content you create, is promoted well, to reach the people who need it most. Creating Christian based content is not always the easiest thing to do.  When writing a Christian article or blog post you want your message to glorify the Lord and not others.  You want to be able to encourage others in their faith.  At times trying to get that message across is just hard to do.   It is something I struggle with at times and I know I'm not the only one.

Next month I will be releasing a new special report - Your Guide to Creating Christian Content Online.  This report will cover how to brainstorm ideas, tips for actually creating content, and ideas for the different type of Christian content you can create.  It's my goal to release the report on August 1, 2010.  I would appreciate your prayers in meeting that goal.

Do you have trouble creating content for your blog?  If so, let us know in the comments.

courtneysig

Ambassadors for Christ

Part of being a part of a community is dealing and interacting with other people. The blogosphere is a community and being a blogger makes us a part of that community.  Some of the people we interact with as part of the blogging community are Christians, but a majority of them are not. As Christians we are an ambassador for Christ within those communities so the way we act and treat others is very important.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ..." 2 Corinthians 5:20

How can we show brotherly love to online communities and be an ambassador for Christ?

1. Watch what we say - We need to think before we speak, or tweet or publish a blog post, or post something in a forum, etc.  Proverbs 13:3 tells us that "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: [but] he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction." Often times speaking our minds without thinking about it first leads to destruction.  In the blogging world that could mean a lot of drama or fights across blogs or Twitter.  As ambassadors for Christ we to encourage others, not put down or intimidate others.
2. Be a blessing - Jesus was all about helping others and we should be the same way.  If you have the opportunity to help a fellow blogger, do it.  It can something as simple as leaving a comment on a blog post, retweeting something important, or it could be offering up a guest post or making a monetary donation.  There are many ways you can be a blessing to other bloggers and many times all it takes is a some kind words.
3. Pray - In my opinion the best thing you could ever do to support a person or community, is to pray.  If you know a blogger is having a hard time, say a quick prayer for them and let them know you are praying for them.  Just knowing someone cares can be an encouragement.

What are other ways we can be ambassadors for Christ in the blogging arena?  I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and opinons.

Psalms 23 Group Writing Project Download

As promised I have combined all of the entries in the first ever Faithful Blogger's Group Writing Project into a downloadable special report.  It has over 40 pages of devotions all focusing on Psalms 23. You can download it below by clicking on the download link.  Also feel free to give it away to your readers on your blog.  If you need help with this, just let me know by emailing me by using our contact form.

I want to take a moment and thank all of the bloggers that contributed to this wonderful and moving special report.  The emotion and words that went into each person's writings is amazing and obviously led by the Lord.

For those who contributed to the group writing project, I also created a badge for you to place on your site, if you wish, stating that you are a contributor.  You can find it under the badges page.

DOWNLOAD HERE (Right Click and Save As)

If you were not able to join us on this writing project, I hope you will join us next time.  I'm in the planning stages of the second group writing project to start in August.

Can I Get Your Help?

Remember this post I wrote about choosing a web host?  Well I entered that post into a contest currently being hosted at MomWebs.  8 bloggers have entered and now it's time for people to vote for who they think deserves to win.  I would really appreciate it if you could hop on over and vote for me.  All you have to do is leave a comment saying that you vote for Courtney Chowning.  By voting you are also entered to win a $100 gift certificate to Mom's Talk Biz. First place wins 6 months of free web hosting and second place wins 3 months of free web hosting.  Free web hosting, no matter the length of time, would be a great help to the Faithful Bloggers Network.

To vote, just click HERE.

Thanks!

Help Writing Blog Posts Consistently

For some writing comes very naturally.  For others it takes a lot of time and hard work to just write one blog post.  If you are one of those bloggers who struggles to write consistently, then blogging daily can be a daunting task.  Even the best writer can suffer from writer's block and have moments when they are unable to create new content.  Here are tips that can help you when overwhelmed with writing blog posts.

1. Pray & Ask For Guidance. Ask the Lord to give you the words you need to write your posts.  Pray before you start typing or even start thinking about a possible topic.  If the Lord has given you a topic to write on, it will usually be easier to actually write the post.  I know that is not the case in all instances but prayer and guidance from the Lord does help.
2. Write In Advance. One way to avoid the writing blues is to do all of your writing at one time.  If you publish 5 blog posts a week set aside one day each week to do nothing but write those 5 posts.  Once you have them written, you can then schedule them to be posted on a certain date.  This way you have fresh content being posted everyday on your blog but you are actually only writing once a week.
3. Write Less. If you are having trouble writing posts for everyday of the week consistently, consider just writing less. Instead of writing 5 blog posts a week, just write 3 and then have a guest blogger post on 2 days.  Guest posts are great in the fact that not only do they give you a break from writing, but they can also offer a fresh perspective on certain topics.    It can be good a thing to give your blog readers a little variety and different views.
4. Use PLR To Get Fresh Ideas. PLR stands for Private Label Rights and basically means that you have the right to use the articles as your own.  You can edit the article and then use it as a blog post.  The great thing about using PLR articles is that the data is already in front of you – all you have to do is rewrite the information that is already there.   This saves time because you do not have to brainstorm blog post ideas or do the research.  It is already done for you.
5. Article Directories. If all else fails you can find some free reprint articles in your niche.  Places like EZineArticles is one resource to find free articles that you can post on your blog as long as you leave the author bio intact.

Of course these are just a few ideas to help you keep your blog updated with fresh content on a consistent basis.  How do you keep your blog fresh with content?

Content For Your Blog

You hear it all the time "content is king" when it comes to blogging.  I disagree, the Lord is my King, even over my blog.  But the general idea is that content is important and with that I agree.  You create content and your readers come back looking for more content.  Most of us assume content has be to written and while that is usually the most common type of content you see online, there is more than the written word. Just ask Jendi of Simple Vlogging Tips.  Her blog is mostly video based but she does supplement with written blog posts as well.  Videos can help make your more approachable and gives your readers a glimpse of who you really are.  I haven't done much in regards to videos but do plan on changing that.  I even have a group project in mind involving video that would be similar to the group writing project we just completed.

Podcasts and audio downloads are also another option when creating content.  You can record a devotion or a blog post or article and allow your readers to download it.  You can even offer it through iTunes to reach a greater audience.  What I like about audios and podcasts is that I can download them to my phone and then listen when I'm in the car driving or when I'm running and exercising.

At lot of times photos can convey more than words.  Using a free tools such as SlideRoll or PhotoSnack you can easily create a slideshow to showcase your photos in a fun way.

The important thing is that you consistently provide your readers with information that they enjoy or can benefit from.

Do you incorporate video or audio on your blog?  How so and leave a link so we can come check it out.

All About Psalms 23 - Christain Group Writing Project

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This group writing project had been so much fun and I have loved reading all of the entries.  I've been encouraged, inspired, and moved to tears. I highly encourage you to read all the posts submitted, you won't be sorry.

We had 25 bloggers submit their posts to the group writing project.  Not bad for the first time. :)

Without futher ado, below are all the bloggers who participated and a link to their post.

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:1

"The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want."

• Rhonda @ Her Christian Home - Because the Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want
• Julie @ The Surrendered Scribe - Faithful Bloggers Christian Group Writing Project: Psalm 23:1
• April @ ElCloud Homeschool - The Lord is My Shepherd
• Kimberly @ Until the Day Dawn - That's All I Want
• Lois @ Lois Graham - The Lord is My Shepherd
• Sapphire @ Walking on Water - Psalm 23:1

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:2

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters."

• HisFireFly @ Flickers of a Faithful FireFly - He Makes Me Lie Down
• Judith @ A Homemaker Speaks - Christian Group Writing Project: All About Psalms 23
• Tracey @ Tcsoko's Blog - Designed to Rest: Do You Make God Dizzy?
• Isabelle @ Life at Oak Grove - All About Psalms 23 - Christian Group Writing Project
• Amy @ My Purpose In Him - He Leads Me to Rest
• Dawn @ The Huffmaster Family - Psalm 23 Verse 2
• Nancy @ Nancy Lewis - Psalm 23:2

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:3

"He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."

• Tishia Lee @ Adventures of a Single WAHM - Faithful Bloggers Group Writing Project - Psalm 23:3
• Sandy @ The Tablet of My Heart - Blogging for the FAITH Group Project - Psalm 23
• Wendy @ Faith's Firm Foundation - Psalm 23:3: He Restoreth My Soul
• Loren @ The Magoos News - Faithful Bloggers Project

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:4

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

• Heidi @ Reviews & Reflections - Psalm 23:4
• Cheryl @ Tell'n It - Christian Blogger's Writing Project
• Courtney @ Courtney Speaks - I Will Fear No Evil

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:5

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

• Debbie @ Heart Choices - Faithful Bloggers Psalm 23
• Linda @ Being Woven - Psalm 23:5
• Haneefah @ Reflections of a Queen - In the Presence of My Enemies

All of these bloggers wrote on Psalms 23:6

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."

• Jessica @ By Grace Alone - Psalm 23:6 - Your Best Life: Yet to Come
• Kelly @ My Faithful Living - Faithful Bloggers - Psalms 23:6
• Kerri @ Mommy 4 Him - Motivational Monday: The Promise Ribbon!

I am in the process of compiling all the entries into a special report.  If you do NOT want your post included in the special report, please email me using the contact form and let me know.  The special report will be free for everyone to give away on their own blogs.

I have contacted the winner of the Twitter background but do not want to reveal her name until I hear back from her.

This group writing project has been so much fun and such an encouragement to me.  We will be doing this again!

courtneysig

Faithful Devotions

submitandwin

I want to introduce you all to Faithful Blogger's new sister site, Faithful Devotions where we are sharing the Word of God one post at a time. I hope that you will find encouragement and inspiration at Faithful Devotions. I am also looking for some guest posts and regular contributors to Faithful Devotions. I'm even holding a little contest just for that. Everyone who submits a guest post at Faithful Devotions over the next two week period will be entered to win a free 30 minute blog/online business consultation with me. You can ask me any questions about blogging or running an online business you want. You can get my feedback on anything you wish. We can even just spend the time brainstorming ideas. What ever the winner wants.

If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor at Faithful Devotions, just visit www.faithfuldevotions.com and follow the links for "guest posting".  

I hope you click on over read some of the devotions already posted, subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't mess any new devotions, and even submit a devotion to be posted.

courtneysig

A Must Have Blogging Tool

Last week I asked you to take a short one question survey telling me what you want to learn more about.  So far the number one thing Christian bloggers want to learn more about are the different types of blogging tools available. In my personal opinion if you are going to blog, especially if you are going to blog for a profit, you need to use WordPress for your blogging platform.  While WordPress is free you do have to have a web hosting account.   A web host is a company that stores all your  files and content to be shown on the Internet.  Depending on the company you go with you can get a web host account for as low as $5 a month. You also have to purchase a domain name, which is your url, and that cost is usually around $10 a year.

For me, reliable web hosting is a must have blogging tool.  I need a web host that I can count on to be up and running on a consistent basis, that has excellent support, and is affordable.  While their are many excellent web hosting companies available such as Host Gator, my web host of choice is MomWebs and here's why.

1. Affordability - MomWebs smallest package starts at $15/quarter which comes out to $5 a month.  Super affordable.  I am on the Mult-Plan, only $10 a month, which allows me to host multiple domain names/websites under the same account.  This is important to me because it helps to make managing multiple sites simple and I don't have to have multiple web hosting accounts which can add up money wise.
2. Support - I have never had support as great as the support offered by MomWebs.  Scott, their tech guy, knows his stuff and is very quick to reply and happy to help.  I have never not had my email replied to or issued acknowledge and taken care of in less than 24 hours.  MomWebs will even move your site over from another host for you.   I have tried many different web hosts before and MomWebs has the best support, hands down.
3. Uptime - I use a service called Service Uptime to notify me whenever my websites go down.  Service Uptime monitors your website 24/7/365 and alerts you immediately by email if your website is unavailability or is having performance problems.  The entire time I have been with MomWebs, about 9 months now, I have gotten one email from Service Uptime telling me my site was down.  Then less then a minute later I got another email telling me the site was back up.  MomWebs has excellent uptime!
4. Owners- MomWebs is owned is by 2 ladies well known in the work at home mom world, Kelly McCausey and Nicole Dean. Not only do I admire both of these ladies and the online businesses they built for themselves, but Kelly is also a believer.  I want to support fellow Christians in their business endeavors.  I know I can trust Kelly and know that she has the work at home mom community in her heart.

For me MomWebs is the only web hosting company I would recommend to my fellow Christian bloggers.  I know there are a lot of choices to choose from, but you have to take into account reliability, support, and affordability.  MomWebs excels in all these areas.

This post is part of a contest happening at MomWebs.  Links above also contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase through one of those links, I may make a little bit of money from that sale, which goes to support Faithful Bloggers.

Why Do I Blog?

The last couple of days I've been thinking about writing this post but I just wasn't sure what to write. Whenever I would think about creating a post this topic would always come to forefront of my mind making it almost impossible to write about anything else. So I figure this is what the Lord wants me to write about.

Why do I blog? I know why I blog. The Lord knows why I blog. However when planning this post out, I just couldn't come up with the words to express my reasons. I started blogging in 2008 after my 2nd child was born and I quit my full time job to become a stay at home mom. At first blogging was just something new to learn and something that was just mine. Not my kids, not my husbands, just mine.

Quickly I discovered the world of work at home moms and began trying to build a work at home business. It took me a while, but I have finally found my niche. Looking back at all that I know now, I understand why the Lord had me go in the direction He did. Without experiences those wins and loses there is no way I would be here now doing exactly what the Lord intended all along.

So what am I doing? I'm praising the Lord. I'm helping other Christians get started in their online businesses and blogs. I am able to use my WordPress and web design skills to help other Christian bloggers and entrepreneurs. I'm able to do what I love while serving the Lord at the same time. It's an awesome thing. If you would have asked me 2 years ago where I would be today, I would have never imagined where I am at.

So when I am asked, "Why do you blog?" I answer to serve the Lord.

What Do You Want To Know?

Blogging is a very simple yet complicated tool depending on your technical skill and what you want to do with it. With blogging comes a lot of choices.  Blogger or WordPress?  Free themes, paid themes, or a custom theme? And a lot of questions.  What is SEO and how do you use it?  What is keyword research?  Can I create my own graphics?

Faithful Bloggers is a community for Christian bloggers and as such I want to make sure your blogging questions and concerns are answered.  I want to include tutorials and workshops.  I want to help you succeed as a Christian blogger.

So what  about blogging do you want to learn more about?  Please take a moment to fill out the form below and let me know.

Thanks for your input. It is invaluable!

Christian Group Writing Project

I have a fun project for all of us Christian bloggers to contribute on together - a Christian Group Writing Project. How this works is that a blogger will choose a topic from the list provided and write  a post on that topic on their blog.  Once the post is up, the blogger will need to leave their link in the comments section so that everyone can read it.

Bloggers will have a couple days to choose a topic and then 1 week to write the post.  Once everyone has submitted their posts, I will publish  a round up of all the posts with links back to the blogger's blog. The entire writing project will then be complied into a special report for the bloggers who contribute to giveaway for free on their own sites.

The topic for the first ever Faithful Blogger's Group Writing Project will be Psalms 23.  Each blogger will select a verse and write a post explaining what that verse means to them.  It can be as long or as short as you want.  It can be a personal testimony, a devotional, or Bible study in nature.  It can be a photo that you believe describes the verse.  Anything goes.

Psalms 23

1. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.

2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

If you choose a verse, please leave a comment saying so.  I understand we may have more than 6 bloggers who are interested in participating and that is fine.  Duplicates are fine, but please make sure all verses are accounted for at least once before duplicating choices.

You will have until Monday, July 5, 2010 to choose and claim a verse and then until July 12, 2010 to write your post and leave a link here in the comments to the permalink of your post.

Oh yea, their is a prize for participating too.  Everyone that participates (as in actually writes a post and submits the link) will be put into a drawing to win a free custom Twitter background!

I can't wait to read everyone's thoughts on Psalms 23!

The New and Improved Blog Directory

The Faithful Bloggers Blog Directory is nearing 300 listings!  That's awesome!  The downside is that the WordPress plugin I was using to manage the blog directory couldn't keep up.  :(  So I have completely updated and revamp the blog directory so that this won't happen again.  The Faithful Bloggers Directory averages about 3 new listings a day so be sure to stop by daily to see the newest entries. Also, all pending blog submissions have now been approved and listed.  If you site has already been listed in the directory, please take a moment to look for your site and make sure it is listed in the correct category with the correct information.  I tried to make the change seamless but everyone can make mistakes.  If you find an error, just email me admin@faithfulbloggers.com and I will get it corrected.

One more thing about the blog directory.  From this point forward in order to be listed in the blog directory you will be required to have a reciprocal link to Faithful Bloggers on your site and also sign up the blog directory mailing list.  The mailing list is so that I can keep in contact with those who are listed in the directory about any changes or issues concerning the directory.  If your blog is already listed, go ahead and sign up for the mailing list so that you are kept in the know on all things about the blog directory. (You will not need to re-submit your blog.)

So what do you think of the new and improved blog directory?

Online Prayer Meeting

We all know that prayer works wonders.  Prayer is our only way to speak with our Lord and Savior.   It's an essential part of life - both offline and online.  That is why I am starting an online blogging/business prayer meeting.  Once a week we will meet in my online conference room and pray for one anothers blog and/or online business. The first prayer meeting will be held on Monday, July 28, 2010 at 9:00pm CST.  Why so late?  Because my kids should be in bed asleep by then.  I don't want any interruptions when I am praying for my fellow bloggers and business owners.

If you would like to join me for the online blogging/business prayer meeting, just sign up below.  This will put you on the prayer meeting mailing list and I will be able to email you a reminder about the meeting as well as the login link to the conference room.

I hope you will join me.  Prayer is a powerful thing and something we can all use a little more of.

Edited: Due to other obligations, I am going to have to move the prayer meeting to Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 9pm CST. Sorry about. The prayer meetings will be held weekly, just on Thursday nights instead of Mondays. Thanks for understanding.

Are You Giving or Taking?

My church has been holding Vacation Bible School this past week and my kids have been having a great time attending.  On Monday I stayed and volunteered to help out wherever I could.  I ended up in one of the 5 year old classes helping a teacher who had more kids than expected.  Which is a great problem to have, by the way.  :) The lesson she taught was about the tax collector, Zacchaeus, in Luke 19.  As the Bible story goes, Zacchaeus was a tax collector and as tax collectors were known to do, stole money from his constituents.  But all of this changed when Zacchaeus met Jesus.  Zacchaeus found salvation and even offered to give half of his money to the poor and return anything he stole with an increase.  He was a changed man.  He went from taking what he did not deserve to giving more than he had.

Are you giving more than you are taking?  The blogospherecan be a very selfish place.  It can be all about "me, me, me".  In other ways it can be very unselfish and giving such as when bloggers get together to help out another blogger who suffered a tragedy.    It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of who has what, who is going where, and how much money a blogger is making.  And while that is all exciting stuff, we have to understand what our purpose here on Earth, and by extension in the blogging world, is to bring glory to the Lord.  How best to bring glory to Lord but by doing as He did, giving more than He received.

How are some ways you can give more than you take in the blogosphere?  Here are some of my thoughts:

• Reviews/Giveaways - If you do product reviews and/or giveaways, consider donating some of the products you receive.
• Guest Posting - Share your knowledge with others.  No one says you only have to write on your blog.
• Showing Support - If another blogger is having a hard time, see how you can help.  With all the natural disasters that have been happening, there are many ways you can show your support.

What are some other ways you can give more to the blogging community than you receive?  Would love to hear your opinions and suggestions.

courtneysig