Facebook Live

Well, as many of you - at least those who are my Facebook friends - know, I recently discovered Facebook's new tool. (At least, it's new to me.) It seems like a great way to discuss how the gospel applies to life. I have done three videos so far: One on the nature of truth, one with some thoughts from Batman vs. Superman, and one about what it means to have single mindedness.

My friend BJ has referred to what I've done as a "vlog." I've got to admit it's a pretty cool way to communicate. Not only do I get observations out there quicker than with a written blog, but there also seems to be a bigger audience.

(This is actually a concern for me, because I never want to publish or post for pride. I want to influence as many people as possible to live life as it was meant to be lived, in fellowship with our Creator, and have some dialogue about how to do it. Motives are a funny thing; I pray that mine would be as pure as possible.)

If it's going to be worth doing, a lot of viewers/readers is a good thing. So, unless and until it gets old, I think I'm going to keep that up. But...

There's nothing that replaces writing, is there? It requires thought, style, and the ability to organize information in an interesting way. And it's easy to save for future reference, and thus is a good way to create a legacy.

So, the writing is not done. I will continue this blog as long as I think it can make a difference. Sometimes I will write about the same topic as a video. Sometimes it will be something completely different. But it will always be based in what the Lord is teaching me, both through life and the Scriptures.

Let me know your thoughts...

Let's try this again...

Blogging is now well over a decade old, and certainly it has been changing. As a new medium, it was the home to all sorts of clutter - daily ramblings about any and every thing that might be on a person's mind. As well as any and every thing they did. Then it moved on to have themes...sometimes. Today, there are so many blogs that it's hard to tell which ones are worth reading.

When I began my blog in 2010, the original motivation was to write about my missions to Africa. To let people know what God was teaching me, what he might want them to know, and yes, to hash out my feelings. But it was never intended to be especially focused. Here is a quote from my first post:

So here we go. (I won't post) every day or maybe even every week. I plan to post when there's something that would be fun, interesting, or informative.

Yeah, pretty vague.

Almost a year ago, I developed some sort of writer's block. It's been weird posting so infrequently, but at the same time I think it has allowed me to think more about why I did this. I need for it be focused and regular. In other words, if I want you to give me your precious time to read it, I want to respect and honor that decision. So now I plan to start back. This is what I want it to look like:

Frequency:

• Weekly, on Mondays.
• Extra posts when something significant is going on, like posting from Africa while on a mission.
• While writing fewer posts, share links to them more often so that they will show up in more newsfeeds.

Topic:

Insight on living life as a follower of Jesus. This will include things I've learned from Scripture, observations on culture where the right questions are being asked (TV, movies, books, music, etc.), and observations from around me. I will try to relate everything to this overall theme.

So here's the first post from the new blog. In the next few weeks, I will touch on:

• A book I recently read that nails what's going on in American Christianity, 
• Batman vs. Superman,
• A motivational presentation that was good, but missed the mark,
• And more.

I hope those of you who used to read will jump back on. I hope others will take advantage of the newfound consistency to start following. In any case,

Here we go.

Again.

He's baaaa-aaack

So yesterday I got a Facebook message from a friend. It was short and to the point:

"Is the blog dead?"

Yeah, I can see why he asked. I last posted in July, a summary of our latest Visiting Orphans trip to Ethiopia. Over the past five years I've averaged 5-10 posts a month, and suddenly...nothing.

I'm not sure exactly why. I have been learning amazing things through reading the Scriptures, life experiences, and seeing the hand of God in media (movies, TV, etc.). All things that I like to write about. But for some reason, lately I've gotten this nagging feeling every time I started to write: Am I really saying anything new? Am I starting to repeat myself? Is the blogging avenue played out for me?

Let me just say, no. I don't believe that. I can't believe that. I may be more selective about what I write, how often I write, and whether it's fresh. But I'm ready to get back in the game.

So if ever been a regular and you've let your link to this site slide to the bottom of your reading list, maybe try to get back in the habit of checking for posts. I can't promise I'll have anything interesting to say...but then I've never promised that.

But maybe, just maybe, you'll find a nugget worth thinking about. Or laughing at. Or crying about.

Let's give it another shot.

To blog or not to blog

Hello everyone! I'm back. Well, I think.

I began this blog back in 2010, after my first trip to Africa. I wanted a forum to share about what God was doing over there, especially for family and friends who were praying for us.

But it became so much more. I discovered that I was able to share my life with friends and others who might be interested. Funny things that happened. Goofy things I did. Scriptures I read. Movies I watched. Books I read. I have enjoyed sharing these things and so much more with the world.

I just looked back and saw that my most recent post was September 1. That was 37 days ago. I want to tell you all right now - that was not from an intentional decision to stop blogging. I also don't think  it was from a lack of worthwhile material.

So what happened? Well, one day at a time, I developed a sort of writer's block. I don't know why. Yeah, life is busy. Yeah, I get tired and think "maybe tomorrow." But mostly I think it was just a case of not being sure that what was going on in my brain was worth sharing with the whole world.

Now maybe that has always been true, but I've written anyway. But I do know this - I promised in this post over three years ago not to blog for sake of blogging. I promised that I would only write when there was inspiration. It took a long time, but in September of 2014 the evidence arrived - I really meant it. You will never see me write a blog post just because I haven't written in a while. I want to make sure that if I say something, it's because I have something to say.

So will I keep blogging? Of course. Maybe the desire to write this one is a sign that my writer's block is over. Or maybe it will be a while before the next post. Or maybe I'll come up with a plan to write regularly, like once a week on a certain day. But regardless, I have not decided to stop. I just went a long time between posts.

I'm back. And I'll be back. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Maybe next month.

When I do, I hope you'll be around.

Drought

Hello? Hello? Anyone there?

It's been awhile…did anyone notice?

My last blog post was a full eleven days ago. I am pretty sure that's the longest I've gone since I started blogging in 2010. There are several reasons. First, I have been traveling for much of the last week, and did not have a ton of time to reflect and write.

But mostly, I have not had anything that needed to be said. Not that life has been boring or anything; it's just that when I would think about writing, nothing was dying to jump off my fingertips.

That's okay. Sometimes in life, we just need to take it all in. Live life, learn what God wants us to learn, and apply it on a daily basis. And a long time ago, I made a promise to my modest group of readers that I would not write just to be writing. Well, the last few days have been a marvelous opportunity to keep that promise.

Don't worry though, dear friends. Plenty of stuff is brewing, stuff that will make rich blogging material. There are some good movies out, movies that with stories that I'm sure will contain reflections of God' story. I'm reading some pretty interesting books. My friends, family, and work are always doing fun stuff. And - here's the biggie - I leave three weeks today for Ethiopia. Yep, that will mean lots of material.

So I have just enjoyed this time. A time for God to remind me that life is not about me. If I write just to be writing, then clearly I am seeking attention. It's my prayer that I will avoid that trap, and only write when I truly have something that I believe will benefit you - either by building you up in your faith, challenging your worldview, or maybe just brighten your day with a fun story. I want it to be about y'all, not me.

So that's about it. Catch ya soon…maybe.

"donniemanis.com"

Starting today, it will be much easier to get here.

Get where?

Here. This blog site.

Up until now, you probably found this site by searching for a topic or following a link I left on facebook or twitter. I hope that continues. But it recently occurred to me that it was pretty hard to find this place on your own. I mean, yeah, I thought I was pretty clever with the name "bubsbanter." but it's not easy to remember, and then when you have to add the blogspot part, it can be pretty daunting to find.

So now, if you can remember my name, you can remember the site. donniemanis.com. As simple as that.

Why did I decide to make it easier? Well, I think I first considered it when our teaching pastor Patrick Quinn was sharing last week. He was teaching about John the Baptist and made the point that every person on earth needed to find their voice. Each of us has a sweet spot where life is really humming along in tune.

So I realized I've been trying out the idea for about three years that part of my voice is using this blog to share my life with friends, family, and anyone else who will join in. Am I right about that? Who knows, other than God. But if I'm going to try to see, I'd like to make it easier for you to join in.

So come by often. Leave comments - let's have some dialogue.* And maybe together we can find our voice and become all God intended us to.

donniemanis.com

Y'all come back.



* - I'll respond to comments if it looks like you want me to. Answering a comment like "I enjoyed this" would just be feeding my obsession about closure. :)

You don't have to thank me

You will say the wrong thing

   if you talk too much--

   so be sensible and watch

   what you say. (Proverbs 10:19, CEV)

Don't you just love those facebook statuses?  You know, the ones like this: "Eating breakfast." "Just went through the car wash."  "Brushed my teeth."

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating. A little.  And I'm guilty of that myself, more on twitter than facebook.  It does seem that we have all developed a compulsion to share every little detail of our lives.  Even the ones that are so routine as to be, by definition, uninteresting to anybody.

But that's forgivable.  Hey, it's just a few words and I can skip over it if I want to.  To me, the biggest danger of boring people to death online is not the mundane tweet.  No, it's writing a blog post without having anything to really say.  Writing just because you feel it's time to post again.  This is a trap I pray I can keep from falling into.

You see, I've only been blogging for about six months.  I began partially because I had so much to say about my experience in Africa.  And then I realized that I saw funny or interesting things in life that someone else might want to read about.  I enjoy it, and I hope most of you have enjoyed reading it.  And then came last night.

I made a big mistake last night.  I had some time on my hands, and I looked back and noticed that I had only one post so far this year.  Yes, I actually counted the frequency of my posting.  Big mistake. And for some reason, I decided that it was "time" to post again.

So, I booted up my Macbook and logged in to blogspot.  I sat and thought.  And thought.  And thought. And then I started to write.  Fortunately for the entire free world, I stopped and deleted it.  Then I thought some more.  And started to write again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

I finally realized, how nuts is this??  I began doing this because I wanted to share interesting, funny, exciting things with my friends; maybe even occasionally something that would help them grow.  If I ever - ever - write just to be writing, I need to shut it down.

You know, this applies to life offline as well.  How often have I talked just because it seemed the thing to do?  To avoid awkward silences?  Because I wanted people to know I existed?  Just to hear myself talk?  The Scripture at the beginning of this post is right on point: we should talk only when we have something to say.

So, you're welcome.  I did not expose you to the drivel I tried to write last night.  It was horrible and boring - even to me, and it's my life!  And if you ever wonder, "Hmmm, why hasn't Donnie posted in a while?" know that it's not because I've stopped blogging.  It's because I'm waiting until I have something that I really want to say.  Hopefully, that will keep you reading.

No, seriously...you do not have to thank me. :)