2-07pm
When I first started writing a daily blog, it was for one reason only: to see if I could keep it up! It was December 2009 and I had just seen 
the movie, Julie and Julia, where blogger Julie Powell used the cookbook from celebrity Julia Child as a basis for her blog. She tried a new recipe every day and wrote about it on her blog. I wondered how easy it would be to write every single day and so I began to try. I used a couple of online forums… the CCfm website, an iblog and eventually settled nicely here. Wayne (my Rise and Shine content producer) registered the helgavan.com website and got me up and running on WordPress and away I went. I have always been a ‘people watcher’ – I love hearing people’s stories and following their lives. If I’m like that, there must be plenty of other people like that. I found myself fascinated with people on FB and would read their FB statuses and watch their lives unfold. I wondered if I let my life unfold in a public forum, if people would follow it. It would be pretty mundane, certainly at times, but the mundane sometimes is very safe. And, I thought, if I live a Bible based life & I blog about tough times, readers may see that faith in God brings with it a strength the world cannot give.
I regularly come back to ‘why am I blogging.’ There has to be something of eternal value in each day’s blog. Because at the end of our lives, when our bodies have broken and our minds are bent, all we have left is the eternal part of our lives – our souls. If I can give you some soul food every day, that will last forever. That’s the most valuable part of the blog! The Bible says, ‘the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of the Lord abides forever.’
So you’ll never see my bank details on this blog! Neither will you see a donate sign next to a Paypal logo. If I ever write a book, I may advertise it via the blog, but that’s about it!
BUT! I did discover that I can put a bit of advertising on this site, so with Stacey’s amazing help, I registered for decent adverts. The money I receive from the advertising (and after 2 and a half days it is R10!!!) will go towards the costs of running the blog while I’m on holiday!
So that’s how the advertising came about. It’s hardly blogging for bucks! I am using Google Ads but there are lots of other places you can register for online advertising for your blog or website.
I am sure most people reading this will know the feeling of being abandoned by friends or colleagues at a crucial time. Maybe even you feel family members have let you down. You are not alone. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:16:
“At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.”
That, right there, sounds loaded with pain. Imagine standing before a judge, having to account for your defence of the Gospel and having no one to support you. Paul continues,
“But the Lord stood by my side and gave me strength…”
Paul did not become resentful. He focused on God and trusted Him. As Jesus, Himself knew, people will let you down. God never will. Trust Him today!
He has you in His Grip.
God bless you loads.
Helga xx 🙂