Riding on the Clouds blog is almost 2 weeks old and I’m taking this moment to comment on the process and reflect on the goals and direction. I had a ‘family blog’ about a decade ago (8lanefreeway – ‘the freeway of our lives’) but the blog set up has advanced a long way since then. It’s a challenge just working out how to set it up and learning about WordPress, Gutenberg blocks, Blocksy and so on along with host sites, widgets, themes and numerous other matters.
My thanks to Paul Charlton who runs WPTuts. I found his video ‘How to Make a Word Press Blog 2021‘ a very helpful start in terms of setting things up and choosing Blocksy. Thanks Paul – and, I see, there are hundreds of other videos that he has on his website.
It was a big effort to get the first blog posted – the birth theme fitted nicely with the launch of the blog. I was preaching on Genesis 20-21. I still intend to write and post on Genesis 20 but, I have to admit, that my focus became very absorbed in studying and preparing the next sermon on Genesis 22 in the week after and so the blog writing was put on hold.
I have had some time to return to it this week and have posted a few random entries: cheese and hunchbacks, hewn from the rock and then I put up my sermon from last Christmas. With each post I’m very much in practice mode and getting used to using these wordpress dashboards and the options available. It’s all very early days and I’m conscious that every post could have a lot more done to it. But there is only so much time that can be spent looking for images of cheese or hunchbacks…and then working out if there are copyright concerns and so on. So I’m just taking it a step at a time and will build slowly.
I have been wondering about ‘short quotes’ – a post with some of those. Like this one which comes from David Lodge’s book ‘Thinks’:
‘A journal is a kind of mirror in which you look at yourself every day, candidly, unflinchingly – without the protective disguise of a mask, without even the flattery of makeup – and tell yourself the truth’.( p 226).
A journal is also a private place…the funny feature about this blog is that as it goes out into the ‘blogging wilderness’ it certainly feels more like a journal than a public forum. Perhaps one day I’ll have to let some people know it is here…in which case there probably won’t be these ‘blog updates’ happening! Talking ‘masks’ – Sydney is nearing the end of mask requirements…but the question does remain whether it is a city that will heed the truth! Lord, have mercy on our city and our country, Australia!
But in terms of purpose and direction…I am using the site as a place for reflections on Scripture, ideas and the like. I’d like to interact with the podcast ‘Riding on the Clouds’ and perhaps some of my online devotionals and sermons. But that’s all down the track. At present, I’m still practising, and the random nature of it is the easiest way to proceed at this stage. So I’ll just keep posting and see where it goes.
“Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” (Psalm 85:8)