I’ve Tried the One Year Bible- It Doesn’t Work for Me

I’ll be honest: I’ve tried to read the Bible through in a year, and I can’t do it. Each attempt leaves me feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. The structure, rather than helping me, I find becomes a hurdle. I’ve realized it’s not the right fit for me, and that’s okay.

pink pencil on open bible page and pink
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I grow Spiritually (for lack of a better phrase) by wrestling with individual verses, dissecting their meanings, and pondering their relevance in my life.

Sometimes, I’ll even do a deep-dive study into a specific book for several months, going verse by verse.

Quality over quantity and relationship over immediate knowledge is what we should pursue. What’s important is finding a method that works best for you.

The only key is- A daily habit.

The Art of Mindful Listening

There was a moment in my life when I realized the extraordinary power of simply stopping and noticing. It was as if a hidden switch had been flipped, illuminating sounds I had been oblivious to. These sounds, though always there, had been overshadowed by the constant noise in my mind.

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Our daily lives have become an endless battle against stillness and presence. We find ourselves separated from the tranquility we need, consumed by the digital world and our own repetitive thoughts. Whether it’s scrolling through social media, checking emails, or automatically reaching for headphones when we walk, we rarely give ourselves a moment of silence.

I’m not talking about the new-age hipster type of meditation. I’m talking about actually shutting off the noise and listening.

The idea of breaking free from this cycle might seem daunting, but the solution can be surprisingly simple: listening.

Taking the time to intentionally listen opens a gateway to a world filled with beauty, and a reality that’s always evolving. This isn’t just a theoretical concept – it’s something you can try right now.

Why not gift yourself a 30-second pause? Wherever and whenever you’re reading this, take a brief moment to listen. Hear the sounds around you and let yourself be present in the moment.

By engaging in mindful listening, we reconnect with the world and ourselves, uncovering the beauty that is always there but often hidden by the chaos of our thoughts. Try it, and embrace the calm and connection that await you.

On Leaving Twitter

I mentioned a few weeks ago I had deleted the Twitter / X app off my phone. I haven’t logged in or checked it much since. It’s kind of sad to be honest. I opened my twitter account in 08, and at one time had well over 7K followers. However, like so many other social media spaces things change.

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My reasoning for leaving Twitter has nothing to do with Musk. To be honest, it has to do with my philosophy of social media. My philosophy of social media is to be authentic, connect with others, share my story, and have fun. I have a personal policy that I don’t discuss or comment on politics, culture wars, social justice, and / or controversial discussions. I’m of the belief that social media is not the place for those topics to be chatted about. Many probably disagree with that line of thinking, that’s fine. I’m okay with that. But for me I’m in a much happier mood when I steer clear of it online.

Lately Twitter has been less fun. None of the authors I once connected with seem to be there. None of the community that I once goofed off with are around. And the only thing showing up in my feed are topics I could care less about. Even the hashtag search seems to be irrelevant anymore.

The fact of the matter is Twitter is dying and it’s not because of Musk. It’s the same reason authors who use to get 40k advances from big publishers as a mid-list author in the 80’s and early 90’s now only gets about a 5k to 10k advances from those same publishers. The world changes and so does competition.

Back in the day you had Facebook, Twitter, and if you were lucky a slow dying My Space (because of all the tech gurus Tom seems to have been the only smart one.) Today, you have Facebook, twitter, Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, Mastodon, Threads, YouTube, and about 10k others.

The problem is the internet is no longer independent. In the early days we as authors had our own website, our own blogs, all interconnected to RS feeds, with multiple forums. Today, we must choose which sandbox to play in and hope our audience shows up and our stories make it past the algorithm.  

But that begs the question- If not twitter: Where?

Author marketing is changing. And if I’m being truthful it’s going to get tighter and harder to reach readers. As TikTok gets banned for national security purposes (and it most likely will happen in the next year) and Twitter drains itself of any usefulness whatsoever, different groups will gravitate to different places. Heck, it’s happening now.

For me the question I need to answer is: Where will my readers be? Or better, as a Middle-Grade author: Where will those that have influence power over my readers be?

My online strategy for the time being is simple.

One: For Marketing I’m planning on using Instagram and Facebook online. I’m marketing to parents, and primarily to mothers and this is where they are at.  

Two: For connecting with other writers- I’ll be on Threads and in Facebook groups. I enjoy Threads, but the initial hype seems to be waning. There are a few things I don’t like about it but I’m having fun there. (And yes- I know all about their terms and conditions. I just don’t really care and don’t post anything there that would affect me in that way). I would personally love it if the RealmSphere for realm makers became more active with both readers and writers!

Three: I will be utilizing my website and blogging more. This year alone I have had 7k hits on my website and 1K on my online store. So, traffic comes when I blog. Therefore I plan to keep the content up.

The thing is- Just like some book’s stores collapsed, along with the Mass Market Paperback market, so there will be changes in social media for authors. My advice to authors is if you want to reach readers, stop thinking about what you enjoy or the places you enjoy being, and start asking where your readers are. Because you might need to shift your mindset and step into a new realm.

Happy 9th Birthday

Wishing Hobbit Two a Happy 9th Birthday today!!! This crazy gamer is growing up way to fast!!! I don’t like it!!!

This is always a crazy weekend here in our house as it involves back to school, my birthday, and our youngest birthday. My amazing wife navigates the weekend like a warrior in a minefield bending over backwards to make each day special and meaningful.