• Facebook
  • Twitter

Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

  • Home
  • My Books
  • Essays
  • Contact
  • About Me

How Spiritual Blogging Keeps One Honest!

By Anita Mathias

Image Credit

 Spiritual blogging is the most joyous and interesting thing I have ever done.
I embark on it with a sense of caution and diffidence though. For one, is it making something public which should be private?
Jesus stresses secrecy in spiritual practices—praying, giving and fasting—because if people are impressed, well, you’ve had your reward, and a pretty paltry reward it is compared to the mysterious, unknown and numinous rewards that the Lord himself might be planning to give you.
The wonderful Norwegian writer, O. Hallesby, said that one’s secret life with Christ in the secret places of prayer is like a cosy, warm Norwegian cottage in a blustery winter. If you talk about your prayer life, you open the door, and cold wintry blasts enter.
* * *
Ah, why do it then? Because it is my calling.
I have been helped by people’s spiritual autobiographies and journals–Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, Frank Laubach and Catherine Marshall come to mind—and their chronicles of their successes and failures, their highs and lows. Wow, so spiritual giants wobbled as I do? And are these heights of the spiritual life open to me? It spurs me on.
 * * *
And the worst thing about Christian blogging is when your life reproaches you. When you sit down to write your blog, and you realize you are angry with your spouse or children or a friend. That you feel spiritual empty and bereft and lifeless. What then are you to write?
I have committed to write every day I can, and I think the discipline and writing skills I’ve gained this way have been invaluable. When I have been feeling grumpy or spiritually limp, I’ve used archive posts, which I believed and felt when I wrote them, and still believe. However, I now think I will write a secular post, on a subject of general interest, and wait for the well to refill.
* * *
Spiritual blogging has helped my spiritual life, because when I feel distracted and discombobulated, it reminds me to enter by the narrow gate. And the narrow gate for me is surrender. Both “please make your will clear to me so I can do it,” and “Here’s my life; please work in it.”
It keeps me honest. I live with three other people, and have a group of close women friends whom I meet with regularly.  I want the online persona and the real person to match.  To be in real life and at home exactly as I am in my blog. I am working on getting more of the lows and dramas of my life in the blog (if I have discovered a way of dealing with them which may be helpful!).
* * *
When my spiritual life is limp and flaccid; when I am not truly pushing forward, learning and getting excited about new things about God, Scripture and the spiritual life; not following Jesus in new and challenging little ways; getting a bit stagnant–then writing my blog is almost a reproach to me.
When I pray well, new ideas for blog posts spring up; when I don’t I am a spider, not a bee.
However, when my spiritual life is exciting, writing my blog is exciting too—and it touches people.
 In fact, in spiritual blogging, the only way to get your blog interesting is to have spiritual adventures, to be continually filled with the spirit, and ask God for fresh ideas, and check out your ideas with Him. Otherwise, the writing can get a bit vapid and empty, a bit repetitive, yesterday’s melodies in yesterday’s words.

More from my site

  • Why I want to go to Tonle Batie, Cambodia with Tearfund   Why I want to go to Tonle Batie, Cambodia with Tearfund
  • Proverbs 3 19–22Proverbs 3 19–22
  • Pray without Ceasing–First Century Multitasking.Pray without Ceasing–First Century Multitasking.
  • Japan: Cool and Disciplined in a CrisisJapan: Cool and Disciplined in a Crisis
  • Thoughts on the London 2011 riotsThoughts on the London 2011 riots
Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter

Filed Under: random

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    August 6, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    Thanks, Claire and Sandra. I have been thinking about this too.

    There is a writing maxim which has been true for me: the impulse to conceal should be an impetus to reveal.

    It's a sign that a truly good, electrifying and honest story is waiting there in the wings.

    For me, when I hide too much–for instance, if I am rowing with my husband, or mad at my kids, but instead write about prayer, my blog goes dead and boring for me.

    So I have begun to mention these, and what I have learned through the fight, or through the low spirits or sense of failure.

    The lows are necessary to any good story, I've realized.

  2. Claire Alcock says

    August 6, 2012 at 10:44 am

    Really enjoyed reading this as I have pondered too the wisdom of sharing personal things online. And the difficulty of really withdrawing mentally into prayer, without always thinking how this experience would come across in the blog…thanks very much. And keep up the good work!

  3. delemares says

    August 5, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    sorry, should have proof-read more carefully, – that should have read 'it's NOT for me to share other people's secrets'
    Sandra

  4. delemares says

    August 5, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    I can so relate to this, Anita. I've recently been blogging my journey through Cindy Trimm's '40 Day Soul Fast'. It's sometimes been difficult to decide what to share online. I've had some wonderful affirmations, as well as gentle revealing of my weaknesses.
    Also, details of some of my struggles I am not prepared to share online as they involve other people's stories, and it is for me to share other people's secrets.
    Very thought-provoking post.

Sign Up and Get a Free eBook!

Sign up to be emailed my blog posts (one a week) and get the ebook of "Holy Ground," my account of working with Mother Teresa.

Join 642 Other Readers

Follow me on Twitter

Follow @anitamathias1

Anita Mathias: About Me

Anita Mathias

Read my blog on Facebook

My Books

Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

Wandering Between Two Worlds - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

Francesco, Artist of Florence - Amazom.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

The Story of Dirk Willems

The Story of Dirk Willems - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk
Premier Digital Awards 2015 - Finalist - Blogger of the year
Runner Up Christian Media Awards 2014 - Tweeter of the year

Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
  • The Story of Dirk Willems: The Man who Died to Save His Enemy

Categories

What I’m Reading

Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy
Tove Ditlevsen

  The Copenhagen Trilogy  - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright
Michael Richardson

Amazing Faith -- Bill Bright -- Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King

On Writing --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
Kathleen Norris

KATHLEEN NORRIS --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk


Andrew Marr


A History of the World
Amazon.com
https://amzn.to/3cC2uSl

Amazon.co.uk

Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96
Seamus Heaney


Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96 
Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Archive by month

INSTAGRAM

anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
Load More… Follow on Instagram

© 2021 Dreaming Beneath the Spires · All Rights Reserved. · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy

»
«