Why I am Resuming my Blog When I’d Rather be Starting a Podcast

I have always loved learning new things. Probably my schooling experience taught me to love researching new things and tackling new projects (thanks Mom and Dad!). Maybe some of you are like that. Many farmers are because we have to be adaptable and proficient in so many areas. But I have found that my eager interest also presents some challenges. Especially when it comes to sticking with things when I lose my interest.

As many of you have probably noticed my blog has been lacking new regular content for like . . . years. The few posts I have done continue to get traffic since there is not much else out there on Christian Agriculture. My passion to encourage the Body of Christ involved in gardening or farming has remained and grown. In the past several years I have primarily focused on in-person trainings and a few conferences. Which I believe is where most of my time investing in those outside my own family should be spent. Face to face. However I still feel called to share some of the things God is teaching me with the larger body of Christ.

I am not in a season of life where I can travel much to speak so I have been praying for some time about starting a podcast. I know a lot of Christians in the world of agriculture who have some great stories to tell and I would love to use the podcasting medium as a way to share them for the encouragement of all.

But . . . my wife has been hesitant to say that she has a peace about it yet. Which is a BIG red flag for me since I know that God so often speaks to and through my wife in ways I don’t hear. So I have put it off and focused on learning to be more faithful in the little everyday things with my farm, family, and community. Which has been great! Guys, take the time to listen to your wives. Your are still responsible at the end of the day but she will so often see things you don’t.

Lately as we have been talking about our goals for the next year we were talking about what ways I can continue to use my gifts and experiences to share about God-glorifying agriculture. I then listened to a podcast by Michael Hyatt about why every leader should have a blog and was convicted that I needed to start there, rather than starting a podcast or beginning to develop some other resource. When I shared this with my wife she was very encouraging and said she had a peace this was what God was telling us! So the following are three reasons I am resuming my blog when I’d rather be starting a podcast:

1. If I can’t faithfully write a blog post every week, what makes me think I would stick to a podcast?

This reminds me of what I say to people who want to buy land and start a homestead. “Have you successfully grown an amazing garden where you live now?” If they haven’t done this then I encourage them to start there first. Somehow Satan seems to convince us that it’s ok to be unfaithful in small things, since when something comes along that’s important or big enough we will obviously take that more seriously. But I find that even when I do my dedication is short lived since I haven’t developed the character needed. Which would probably be the case with the podcast. Which brings us to my next point.

2. If I only work on projects when they are easy I will never get lasting results.

I’ve done blogging just enough to know it is hard. Just sitting down here and doing this is hard. But I know that even though starting a podcast sounds exciting it will be hard too. Worthwhile things cost. Our salvation was hard-won and costly to Jesus. So I want to practice discipline for a season investing in this blog so I can learn to be faithful to invest what it takes for God to bless my efforts.

3. In God’s economy, he invests more in people who have proved themselves faithful with what they’ve already been given.

God is a shrewd investor. He invests where his investment has proven fruitful. I want to grow in my impact and ability to serve God. But if I get greedy and jump ahead to new things without showing myself faithful with what I have already been given he will take it away from me. God wants me to show faith through obedience in hard things. He adds to faithfulness, not random zeal.

4. A blog is still a great tool to communicate ideas.

While a blog is not as attractive to some people as a podcast or YouTube channel it is still a good way to clearly communicate ideas. I believe the written word will always have a special ability to speak to us. It can also be a great way for me to learn and flesh out ideas that can help me be more obedient and communicate what God is teaching me more clearly. And it can be a launching pad or home base for other communication mediums and social media.

My blogging Goal

To help set a habit of creating new content on a regular basis and provide accountability I have set a goal of writing one blog post per week for 20 consecutive weeks. You can hold me to it. They may be short or messy but I want to be consistent in sharing things God has been teaching me in my life that I think may be helpful to you.

What about you?

I want to challenge you to think about your own life. Pray about whether there is an area where you are trying to run ahead when you aren’t being faithful where you are right now. See if there is a measurable goal you can set to make progress in that area. Deciding on a reward for when you complete it can be helpful and motivating and is something I have had fun doing. Even Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before him”! If you feel led share it in the comment section to help with accountability. I would love to hear from you!