  I had been blogging consistently for 2 years when the Lord led me to change directions. I was asking Him what He wanted with my blog and how it can better glorify Him. And the thoughts He put in my head were much different than anything I had ever dreamed up. How He was leading me meant letting go of what I knew, expected, and was comfortable with. He led me turn my blog Beholding Glory into Missional Women, this contributor site. (Here's more on how the Lord led me.) Something you'll soon read is way out of my comfort zone. So after 2 years, I re-lauched and had a fresh blog start. 5 things I learned from my flesh blog start. 1. Be willing to yield your "rights". Though my blog was for the Lord, it had become my blog. The place I could do whatever I wanted. The place I didn't have to be a team and didn't have to be dependent on other people. I had the right to do with my blog whatever I thought was best. I lost sight that my blog was something to be held loosely so the Lord could lead as He pleased. The reality is, we don't really have any rights of our own. Jesus bought our rights on the cross. So, just as our life is not our own, neither is our blog. 2. Don't go it alone. Scripture tells us there is wisdom in the multitude of counselors. The more we seek wisdom and instruction, the more wise we become. As I alluded to in the first principle, I am a very independent person. Doing things alone means I get my way, all the time. And really, that just makes for an ugly attitude without Jesus' intervention. When we ask for peoples thoughts and feedback about our blogs, when we search out how to do things, when we invite other people's perspective, not only will we be blessed so will they and so will our readers. 3. Focus on the point. Our purpose and mission are two different things and are easy to loose sight of. Our purpose is our north star. It's the big picture. It answers the question, "Why in the world am I really doing what I'm doing?" As followers of Jesus, and as bloggers, our blogging purpose is to glorify God. This can look a ton of different ways but if we loose sight of the big picture it so easily becomes about us instead of the Lord. 4. Keep your mission in mind. Your mission is how you want to see your purpose accomplished. There are a thousand things in life that can distract us and it's easy to be controlled by the tyranny of the urgent in the mission of our blog. It's easy to see other attractive, engaging blogs and want to be a little bit more like them. Learning from others is a good thing but copying someone else without regard to your overall mission is not wise. When we keep our mission in mind, it enables us to think outside the box. It helps us think about what we want our readers to think, feel and do. And it helps us process how our blog is going to help them get there. 5. Take initiative by faith, bathing each step in prayer and dependence on the Lord. I was reminded of this when I had been praying for my big re-launch. I had been praying for my new contributors and for the ladies who would visit the site. But I hadn't prayed about what article to post when, I just did what what easiest. My re-launch happened to fall on the same day as the Connecticut shooting. There were some really fitting articles that would have been perfect to have up that day, but I didn't. I'm confident that if I had turned to Him with that detail, He would have used it to encourage many people. I missed an opportunity to encourage women because I did what was easiest instead of asking God about it. Whether the Lord is leading you to a fresh start with your blog or not, I pray this is an encouragement to you. What tip most applies to your situation? 
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