Revisiting Goals (Blog Improvement Project)

Original goals listed in the first task of the Blog Improvement Project

The twelfth assignment for the Blog Improvement Project is to revisit your original goals and do a mid-year review.

So what has happened since January 5, 2009? Well. I've done some redesigning. New header. New background. Some color changes on the columns. Set up a twitter account. De-cluttered my sidebars. Celebrated my one year blogoversary. Joined some challenges. (Finished a few as well.)

The original listed goals for the blog (January 5, 2009)

I want this blog to be a reflection of me, an extension of myself. That doesn't mean it's a me-me-me blog. But it does mean that it is okay if a post isn't explicitly bookish. I want to capture my life--the books I read, the music I listen to, the sermons and podcasts I listen to, the movies I watch--particularly if they're clean/Christian.

The books I read. I want to read the Bible. That's obvious I know. But true. This blog is primarily there to motivate me to actually read the Bible.

This means that every week I need to write a post with my progress reading the Bible. This isn't about me bragging saying look I was "good" this week. It's about me being accountable to someone. Even if that someone is an online stranger who has stumbled across my blog.

It's also about slow encouragement. For days when I feel like I haven't done anything. I can look back on where I've been, what I was feeling. It's easy for days, weeks, months, years to blend together. And when you're having a desert experience it's hard to remember that you've ever ever been anywhere else. That you've ever felt that mountain-top high.

I want the blog to be a reminder to keep things in the moment. That way I have all these moments to piece together somewhere down the road.

I also want the blog to have reviews of the Christian books I read--all ages. Fiction. Nonfiction. I want to read more Christian books in 2009.

My goal is to read TWO Christian books per week. This is in addition to reading the Bible.

So that automatically is three posts a week I've committed to. But I'd like to at least try to have a few more per week--whether it be a reflection/journal type post, a poem, a song, a meme, a music review, whatever.

I've joined several challenges here on the blog to encourage me to read Christian books.

I'd love to connect with readers. I haven't really done much (if any) exploring in the Christian blogging community and/or the Christian book-blogging community. I'd like to be a part of a community of some sorts. This means that I'd read other blogs--that I'd seek out new blogs, new friendships, etc. But that I'd also hopefully build a readership for this blog too. That people would find my blog and enjoy it for what it is. So I suppose this means: comments, memes, participation in community events when I find them.

Assessing those goals:

I do think the blog is a reflection of me. Usually when I stop posting, it reflects the chaos in my life.

I have read the Bible. I am continuing to read the Bible. I don't always read the same Bible. When I was sick, I switched Bibles to "protect" it (my leather one) from getting germified. And there was one night when I didn't have electricity so I didn't have enough light to read. But generally speaking, I've made Bible-reading a daily habit in my life.

I have continued to write my Bible-reading progress in each week's Sunday Salon posts.

I have read more Christian books in 2009 than I did in 2007 and 2008. But I'm still not where I wanted to be. Were my goals too high to be realistic? Am I just undisciplined? I had wanted to read two books per week. I wanted to read 100 Christian books in 2009. We're twenty-five weeks into the year, and I've only read 36 books. I have 64 books to read from now until December 31 to meet my goal. Does that sound very likely? I didn't think so! To look at the glass-half-full side of things, in 2007 and 2008 combined, I don't think I read 36 Christian books. So it's still an improvement over previous years.

I've failed miserably at seeking out other Christian blogs. Other than the participants of the Operation Actually Read Bible challenge, I've not gone out of my way to find new and new-to-me blogs of the Christian persuasion.

I think part of the reason my goals have been unattainable is because they aren't concrete enough. They've declared my intent. But they've not been measurable.

New goals:

• To keep on keeping on in my Bible reading
• To stay more focused in my reading of Christian books.
• To strive for the 'impossible dream' of finishing 100 books in 2009
• To be more consistent in my posts
• To schedule a few more posts in advance
• To consider ways to become more balanced as a blogger/reader. Perhaps to focus on ways to relax more and worry less about doing it all.

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible