Not a Camouflaged Soul

Author: Jon Wellman

  • Blogifying Part 1: Mistakes and WordPress

    I’ve decided to blog about blogifying for a couple of posts.

    Why blog about blogging?

    Let me make this point very clearly: I am NOT an expert. I have been doing this for a while, but I am just learning. However, I have decided to document these processes because…

    1. I consider this blog a type of online journal. I describe important events, outline milestones, and record thoughts and opinions that can be accessed for years to come. How all this came to be seemed, at least to some extent, noteworthy.

    2. There are some people I know that have indicated they would like to get started in blogging, but are unsure how to proceed. I have made some missteps along the way, but I believe I have found a pretty good system and intend to stick with it for the foreseeable future. Maybe I can help people add to the society of ideas while avoiding the mistakes I made.

    3. Another aspect of number 2. I truly consider this blog as a ministry, and would love to see others take advantage of blogging to further the distribution of the Gospel in particular and Christian living in general.

    Mistakes

    I have had Not a Camouflaged Soul on a couple different platforms before this one. I started out on Blogger. I was never pleased with the formatting of my text and the interface seemed clunky. Back then, I was without a reliable computer, so I was attempting to blog from my Samsung Blackjack. No matter what I tried, my posts never achieved a cohesive look.

    The biggest leap occurred when I accidently posted a blog from iWeb on my brand new iMac from work. I had a MobileMe account, and one day I put together a basic website in iWeb and hit publish to see what it would do. As it turned out, my MobileMe subscription came with web hosting (much of my techy-ness comes from happy mistakes). I thought, “Hey, that’s neat!” So I started messing with it and found a template I really liked. Then I contacted Church Media Hosting to acquire my domain, and voilà: NoCamo version 1.0.

    I got some really good traction out of that site, but I saw its limitations early on. The primary limitation was a big one: in order to update, I had to be physically at my iMac. I actually continued to use Blogger for a while as an instantly-updateable “iBlog.” I would run an RSS feed from Blogger to a page of the website for updates when I was on the road or when it wasn’t convenient to be at my Mac. Then, when I was able, I would update iWeb with my iBlog content to make it an “official” post.

    Platform

    Then, a few weeks ago, I got on WordPress just to look around. Apparently, I set up a profile some time ago and forgot about it. I got to looking around and realized it was what I was looking for.

    I am a newly minted WordPress junkie. I love the interface, the tools, the reliability. I am able to update from any computer I choose, from my iPhone, even instantly add audio from any phone. Things I only dreamed of doing before.

    Now, many of the über-bloggers I read, like John Saddington, Michael Hyatt, Carlos Whittaker, Scott Williams, and  Jonathan Acuff utilize a customizable, self-hosted version of WordPress that is tempting in many ways. But I feel that, at this time, I am content to live within the boundaries of the free version that requires virtually no upkeep. I just write the content and it looks great in spite of me!

    In the weeks to come, I will likely do some more tweaking. Specifically, I plan to move my domain from 1.0 to 2.0. I am also considering a couple other custom options, but time will tell.

    Next: why do I blog?

  • Deconstruction: 2 Chronicles 7:14

    From time to time, a verse will jump out at me and have a specific, intense significance in my life. A truth is exerted into my very being that shakes my core and lifts my awareness of Biblical truth and refreshes my spirit in a multitude of ways.

    On another note, I like Food Network.

    One of the things they do on the competition show on Food Network is called deconstruction. This is a process by which chefs take a dish that is known by a specific recipe and use the ingredients in a different way, essentially taking the dish apart and using its elements individually.

    I have done this with scripture on my blog before, so I thought I would give it a name. So, from time to time, I will “deconstruct” a verse phrase by phrase and write the truths that jump out at me. Let’s begin…

    if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

    At FBC-FH, we selected this verse to be used during worship services set aside for prayer for revival. I couldn’t get this verse out of my head the other night.

    if my people who are called by my name

    Those who proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord are God’s people. According to Galatians 3:29, “…if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

    humble themselves,

    Pride gets in the way of blessing.

    and pray and seek my face

    This verse is part of God’s answer to Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chronicles 6. If we are called by God, we should desire to communicate with Him. It is a privilege to pray, and one I am guilty of being “too busy” to do at times.

    and turn from their wicked ways,

    If you continue reading this chapter, you will see that this passage is both a promise and a warning. Repentance is key to being a part of a movement of God and a precursor to blessings.

    then I will hear from heaven

    We serve a present, invested, interested, all-loving God. This phrase is not implying that God is not omniscient. He doesn’t tune out His people. It implies that only those who truly seek God truly follow God, a prerequisite to answered prayer.

    and will forgive their sin

    Forgiveness of sin by a perfect, sinless, matchless God is a blessing in and of itself. The very fact that our wickedness (Acts 8:22) is forgiven upon repentance is grace beyond measure.

    and heal their land.

    Not just their land, but their relationship with Himself.

  • Audio Post