nawinter.com

I started blogging over five years ago. At the time, it was on a whim and my first few years of participating in the blogosphere were very inconsistent. I would write when I had the inclination and the time – and the posts came in fits and flurries. There would be several posts in one week and then the blog would lay dormant for many weeks, maybe months to follow. It wasn’t for lack of things to write about but strictly a matter of being disciplined enough to regularly and faithfully post.

About two years ago, I decided enough was enough. If I really believed that writing was something that God had called me to do (and I did) then it was something that I needed to be serious about doing. So I made a commitment to post every weekday. It was a good goal because it kept me accountable and helped me develop the practices that I needed to have in place to write faithfully. My list of archived posts quickly grew, and although I am sure there were some weekdays where a new post wasn’t published, I am pleased that for the most part, the commitment I made has been upheld.

Recently, however, I have realized that my two-year old commitment may be in need of an adjustment. There were several factors that led to this starting with the fact that the amount of things that people have to read has grown exorbitantly even in the past two years. Keeping up with the daily posts had become difficult even for those who wanted to read them every day. On top of that, I found a desire to write longer, more substantial posts but quickly believed that a daily consumption and production of these would add to my readers’, and my, level of overwhelmingness. In addition, I believed that God was leading me to also pursue other things. So along with making some design changes, I made the decisions to alter my posting schedule. Specifically my plan is to do the following:

1. Publish longer, more substantial posts 2-3 times a week.
2. Continue sharing the “Bits and Pieces” on a daily basis in order to provide my readers with links to other helpful resources.
3. Share shorter posts such as interesting quotations or short Scripture reflections on the weekdays when a longer post isn’t scheduled.

My goals in doing so are to:

1. Write better, more thought-provoking, and more substantial longer posts and give those who regularly read some time to reflect, process and apply anything they have learned. 
2. Cultivate other writing projects including guests posts and the development of several book ideas that have languished for far too long.
3. Pursue more speaking opportunities –  both at my church and other places where God may lead.
4. Read more so that I may be better equipped to do all of the above.

As I make this transition, I would love any feedback that you may have. I appreciate the opportunity that God has given me to share with those who read and I hope He continues to use this space to point people towards the better things ahead.

Many blessings,

N.A. Winter

• Inconvenienced by Inconvenience – Tim Challies reminds us that our house, our time and our home are not our own and just like the Good Samaritan, we should be willing to be inconvenienced in order to minister to those God has placed in our lives.

• Painful Prayer – ” If euphoric feelings are what hold my affection, then I will be destined for a roller coaster ride of euphoria and despair. But if God is my rock, then I can rejoice. I must live according to the truth that joy in the Lord can be found despite the darkest of feelings. “

• Rivers of Peace & Waves of Sorrow – “Sometimes adding a simple conjunction can go a long ways. Things easily passed over appear in a new light. Or at least this happened for me when I was recently singing one of my favorite hymns, ‘It Is Well with My Soul.'”

• What is Forgiveness? – Kevin DeYoung offers an interesting perspective on forgiveness – “Overcoming anger and resentment is important, but forgiveness is something more, something different, something that involves two parties instead of one.”

• 7 Books to Enjoy with Kids – The number of kids books is staggering but it seems like it’s often difficult to find a gem in the midst of the myriad of options. Here are 7 that Trevin Wax recommends.

• Silencing the Devil – “How easily, because of his craftiness, we confuse Satan and Santa. Their names are indeed anagrams of each other, and they both were obviously told by someone, somewhere along the way that they look good in red. We tend to think, however, that just as Santa carries about a giant bag of goodies, so the devil carries around a giant bag of temptations, that his principle weapon is to tempt us toward illicit pleasures. Truth be told Satan’s name is derived from the word for Accuser. He is far more interested in pointing out our past failures than he is enticing us to new ones.”