How Blogging Has Changed My Life

I wouldn't blame you if you didn't care.   But, I was tagged by Ted Gossard with this meme and it did originated from LL Barkat...so how could I not respond?  However, I've decided not to tag anyone else and hence I've broken one of the meme rules.  

I started blogging around the middle of 2006 so it's been a couple of years.  I have to admit there have been times I've thought of packing it up but just knowing that I'll disappoint the mass of readers out there (all three of you) has kept me going.

So here are the five ways blogging has changed my life

1. Through blogging, I've met some really great people, and their interaction with me has truly enriched my life and I'm grateful for it.   Wonderful folks like Marcus Goodyear, LL Barkat, Ted Gossard, Susan/Halfmom, Craver, and many more.

2.  I have less time because of blogging... although recently, I've simply blogged less frequently.  I started by blogging every other day, then three times a week and eventually twice a week.   Although I've been told it's really only 1.5 times/week since one of the posts is a "quote of the week" which is kind of cheating. I guess.

3.  Even though I've spent my entire professional career in high tech, blogging offered an entry point to learn about new web 2.0 technologies.   It's kept me on the cutting edge of what's going on in technology with wikis, facebook, twitter, etc...   Let me digress and tell you why it's so important for a high tech professional like me.   [Warning - boring high tech blurb coming]. 

The way technology is created and adopted has changed over the past 10 years.  It used to be that really complex technology was developed for big business and then it filters down to smaller businesses and eventually the consumer market - think email, accounting software, fax machines, laptops.    But that's not how it works now - the flow of technology innovation and adoption is actually in the opposite direction.   Technologies like IM, blogs, Skype were built for, and adopted by, consumers and then migrated to the corporate environment.  Fascinating, isn't it?  

4. I've learned to appreciate my church and family more.   When you traverse the "Christian" blogosphere, you realize something pretty quickly - there are a lot of unhappy people out there. They are unhappy with the church they attend, their pastors, friends, family and even God.   It's made me appreciate just how good I have it.  I love the Internet but for everything wonderful you can do through the Internet, there's a ton of stuff that you cannot do.   There are limits to technology and those serve to remind us that God builds His church through living, breathing, touching, hugging, non-virtual, communities.

5. Blogging has permitted me to scratch a writing itch.   Apart from the couple of technology books I've written in my past,  I'm really not a professional writer.   I just like writing... the way some people love to paint or sketch.  And if God's wired you that way, you feel compelled to write.  Writing on a consistent basis also serves to clarify and organize my thoughts on certain matters concerning the gospel and how it's applied in our lives.

What I've Been Doing for Thirty Years

My blogging friend Marcus Goodyear was the first to introduce me to the concept of memes earlier this year. Now he's sprung another meme on me - What Have You Been Doing for Thirty Years?

So, I'll play along - why not, it's a wonderful life ~

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Thirty Years Ago

In Malaysia. I'll spare you the pictures of an uncoordinated, painfully reserved, 13 year old, spending every free moment playing soccer or basketball. Little did I know that in a couple of years, God would graciously intervene in my life with his glorious illuminating gospel - from death to life - blind, now I can see - yes, blessed assurance.

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Twenty Years Ago

In the United States. I'm in college, on the brink of graduating, laboring through the Electronic & Computer Engineering program, struggling to keep my GPA respectable.

In a year or so, I'll be making plans to be married to my girl - best decision I ever made. I've also found home as far as church is concerned - Sovereign Grace Church - except back then it was called Fairfax Christian Community - that's before they changed it to Fairfax Covenant Church.

Professionally, I stayed with my first job for all of six months, before I figure out that what I really want to do is software development. So I join a startup...before startups were cool. At one point, I didn't get paid for 3 months. Funny thing is, I kept showing up to work every Monday.

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Ten Years Ago

We have three children, learning how to navigate through marriage and family life. Frankly, I'm not sure where we'd be today without God's sustaining grace. Ten years ago, I'm enjoying a successful career, having advanced from writing code to Vice President, R&D for a public company. We're plugged into our church community, serving, prospering, doing all the right things - life is good.

But then, in 2001, we discover Kathy has cancer - it was simple check up for an unrelated pain. It seemed so surreal. It was a painful trial but it was the kindness of God.

You see, when you're 37, you don't expect to hear that kind of news - after all, you're invincible... except you're not. When you're enjoying a successful career - you're the captain of your own destiny...except you're not. When you are so busy building a life on earth - sometimes you forget that you're an exile and stranger in this world.

So God reminds us - we're not home yet, we've only one life to give and everyday together is a gift from him. That's what grace and mercy looks like.

Memeing My Own Business

Marcus Goodyear who blogs at GoodWordEditing is in the middle of what he calls "Meme Week". Not being a hip blogger, I don't really know what a meme is but he's asked me to share my productivity secrets. The best I can tell, in practice, this meme thing is the blogging equivalent of a chain letter.

Marcus insists that if I do not blog on this, I will be apprehended by the meme police. I highly doubt that the meme police will find me (the blogosphere is a big place) but nonetheless, I've decided to give in to Marcus' request since he's a nice guy. The sad thing is, I don't really have productivity secrets but I'll try and make them up as I go along.

#1 - Do what you like and like what you do

Doing what you like - If you like what you're doing, you're going to be a lot more productive. So pursue work that aligns with what brings joy and root it in God. Use the gifts God has given you and you'll maximize productivity in your life

Liking what you do - Sometimes you're not going to find work that exactly matches your gifts or aligns immediately with your bliss. Still, trust God to help you find joy and purpose in what you do. You can learn to love where God has put you - the secret is to trust God. I can truly say, by God's grace, that I've enjoyed every job I've had.

#2 - Dream, be bold, take risks

Being bold and taking risks is often linked to creativity...but it also leads to productivity as well. If you're pushed beyond your comfort zone, you're going to learn new skills, work harder and trust God. I find that I become more productive with my time when I'm not coasting. Do something that requires you to trust God to "show up" for the endeavor to be successful. There are a lot of caveats to this point but I won't go into them. The whole topic of risk taking is interesting and I hope to post on it sometime soon.

#3 - Mitigate and manage risks

This seems to be counter to my prior point but it really isn't. After I'm committed to doing #2, I then manage my time with an eye to mitigate (not eliminate) risk. This is more about juggling priorities than it is about eliminating or minimizing risk. For instance, if I'm overwhelmed with work, I address what is most pressing by focusing on the items of greatest risks to the enterprise. I'm not saying that's the best approach but it seems to be the one I take.


OK, Marcus - I've done it. Here are my productivity secrets...you can call off the meme police now.