Discovering New Blogs through Carnivals – or How Joining the Christian Carnival Can Boost Your Blog
Starting out with blogging had me listening to everyone all the time and trying to implement all those suggestions. It left me doing a lot of running but getting nowhere. I quit worrying about it for a season, and focused on my words instead. I began to make some progress.
Along the way, I started stumbling over ideas that worked well for me and fell within the mission and vision I had for my writing, my speaking and my career. One of those was how to make the most of a Carnival – where one site hosts a slew of connected blurbs and links from other sites and they all promote within that group. The key is to be prepared for the new visitors AND to follow through with the carnival connections.
In other words, you need to first have plenty of valuable content available for those new visitors that will come to the site when you post. You prepare you home when you are having a large number of expected guests. Do the same with your blog.
Also, make a point to visit the other blogs in the carnival. You are not just posting information, you are building relationships. Relationships will determine the journey that you take. Invest in growing those connections that come through the new blogs you meet in the carnival and from the visitors to your blog.
Learning with the Christian Carnival
Learning about change – Shannon Christman shares a unique journey through the Chesapeake area and the Ohio Canal that challenges us to be prepared for change as missionaries in the ever changing missionary field. It comes from Ridge Burns over at Ridge’s Blog. Ridge has a comfortable voice that gives you a new perspective. Be sure to check out his other stories.
Learning about choices – I recently read a Tweet by Chris Brogan that reminded me that the only thing in my way was me. Choices today make all the difference in my tomorrow. Rhonda Sanders had a different way of looking at the decision to choose – and it involved chocolate. Chocolate can make everything a little better. Her post, “Dessert in the Desert” over at Rooted in Faith is a call to live life not just exist.
Maurice Kande from over at the Dreamcatcher also offers some thoughts on choice. Sometimes the place that we are may not be the place that we desire to be. Jesus was a carpenter before he began his ministry. Just because you are here does not mean you will not be able to go there.
I shared a little of my own experience with choice and with change. It made me think of Ridge Burns post about Autumn. “Falling Leaves” is just a quick reminder not to settle.
Learning about dealing with others – People can be tough to have around. A person is easier to tolerate, but more than not they show up in groups instead of singular. Learning how to accept and love makes it easier to live with people.
Chip Gruver has some words of advice for the wife that is struggling to deal with the addictions of her spouse. His words will help anyone dealing with an addiction. It is not easy watching the hurt in those you love and caused by those you love. His post offers steps you can take to help the addict and to help you as well.
Seeing the issues in lives from a new perspective can help you be a comfort, support or encourager in those lives. ChrisB over at “Homeward Bound” offers some thoughts on tough and controversial issues that we face today as Christians and as a society. It is not always pretty, but sometimes it is necessary, to talk about things that we would like to ignore.
Supporting others is not always about agreeing with others. Sometimes we need to be willing to listen, to really hear, so that we can find a connection in the hearing. John Wallace shares an interesting take on Mary, and by listening to his story I learned that we both have a reverence built on a foundation of childhood church experiences.
Learning about growing relationships – there is nothing more important than community and relationships. “It is not good for man to be alone.” God wants us to connect and to be connected. The connections give us the courage to walk in this world. I have been talking a lot about relationships recently, because I have been growing in my understanding of how relationships are the building blocks to finding my place in God’s purpose.
Silas Eke shared a devotional about Jesus comforting the sorrowful. He reminds us that nobody is ever truly alone.
Silas Eke also shared a post from Tim Challies about the importance of community. He made his point in such a unique way that I immediately hungered for a community worship opportunity. Sometimes you just need to be in the presence of the worshipping body so that you can be covered in their praises.
Take some time to build relationships with the people at these different sites. Be an encouragement in their lives by commenting or sharing and you will find that through encouraging them you find your own well of encouragement filling up.
You may also want to join in the Christian Carnival next month or just keep in contact with the group. The blog posts are ever changing and the host blog is constantly on the move. Just click the tab marked submitting to learn more about the process. Maybe you want to host the blog yourself. There is a tab for that as well. We want you to be a part of our community. The Christian Carnival, or any other blog tour or carnival, can be the perfect opportunity for you to reach out and begin growing relationships through consistent communications.
