When I was a little kid I participated regularly in a community prayer called ‘barangay’. In one of the prayer sessions, I was called by the prayer leader to lead a mystery in the rosary. I silently declined. She called me repeatedly, but I didn’t budge in even a single inch. Why? I was afraid to make a mistake and embarrass myself.
Pass forward many years later. I had a nagging in my heart -- to serve God. Like the little child in that prayer session, I silently ignore it. Why? I was afraid to confront it directly because I was worried of what God would ask of me to do. Maybe He would ask me to make a fool out of myself. Who knows? So I ignored it.
But God was persistent. Through a series of events I came to a point that I ‘decided’ to open my heart to what He would ask of me. And this was how the Daily Snacks for the Soul was conceived. I wrote and published the first message – I like to call an article a message – on Feb. 17, 2010. That was a year ago.
To celebrate the first year anniversary of this blog, I posted a series of questions addressed to myself. This will give you a better understanding of why I am doing what I am doing now. Hopefully, you will be inspired.
Why blogging? I really don’t have a lot of natural skills, but I do love to write poems. So one day I gave writing a try. Later I found out that I was truly happy writing articles related to God. There was peace and deep satisfaction. Also the experience was quite unique. It’s hard to explain. It was like entering a tunnel without knowing where it would lead me to, and once I was on the other end, I was amazed -- “Whoah! I didn’t know that.”
Why I chose the name ‘Daily Snacks for the Soul’? I only wanted to write short articles. So it’s like a snack, not full meal. Also, the articles that I had in mind should be inspiring, enlightening and biblical, so I put the ‘soul’ in there. Finally, I added ‘daily’ because ‘Snacks for the Soul’ was already taken. Maybe I should have chosen ‘weekly’ over daily, but it was the latter that stuck to my head.
Why I decided to do this? I was tired of being afraid, and of saying ‘no’ to God. Also, there was a series of events that made me realize that I have to make a choice then. I chose to serve God in my own little way. Now I am happy that I made that decision.
How did I overcome my fears? When I decided to do this not for myself, but to give glory and honor to God, that was when a lot of my fears vanished. I figured that some people may laugh at me or criticize me, but I know that my God can see clearly my motive. And what He thinks of me is more important than what other people think of me.
Did I have struggles along the way? Discouragement, distraction, writer's block, criticism, self-doubt, time constraint were just a few of my struggles in the past year.
Did I receive praises and encouragement? I really believe that God is looking after those who serve Him. In times when I was at a low point, God sent people to inspire and encourage me. I like to call them angels. A simple ‘thank you’ or ‘your blog touched and inspired me’ can really go a distance. I think the sweetest reward in my chosen role is to know that what I am doing makes a difference, a positive impact in the lives of other people. To me that’s priceless.
How did I keep myself grounded? Every time I receive a compliment I always remind myself that I am not the source, I am just a messenger.
To the readers of the Daily Snacks, it is my hope and prayer that through this blog you will one day discover (if not yet) the role that God has sit aside for you in His kingdom, and that may you find the courage to accept it. It can be scary. But believe me that once you get over it your life will never be the same…
Congrats Bro! I hope that seeds that you have planted fell on fertile ground.
ReplyDeleteMy blog will be on its 6th year next month. I also changed the url.
@RSS: Thank you bro! I hope also. The truth is that only God can change the hearts of men. What you and I can do is only to spread His good news. The rest is up to God. Congratulations for your upcoming 6-year anniversary. Wow!!!
ReplyDelete