“Routine, usual, to be expected in the normal order of events, of common quality”—all of these appear as descriptors in the dictionary for the word Ordinary. Not necessarily an appealing adjective, and certainly not the word most of us desire to hear being used in a description about us–“Oh, Julie, yeah, she’s this Ordinary professor that I know…” However, since the unprecedented days of the 2020 pandemic, I would imagine many of us are longing for life to return to the usual, to go back to our routines, and the expected normal order of events; therefore, we might release our reluctant use of the word Ordinary and encourage its use instead.

Personally, I am opting to embrace this designation, whether the discussion revolves around my personality, Ordinary Time, Tuesday People, or the Mundane and Monotonous (as I’ve shared previously), and after reading Blogging for God’s Glory, I will find absolute delight if a reader labels Flourishing @ Life as an Ordinary Blog. Vrbicek, Beeson, and Challies offer one of the best explanations I’ve uncovered that captures the heart behind the Spiritual Discipline of writing, in addition to, articulating practical advice for entering the blogging world as a Christ follower. Rather than focusing on metrics of growth (i.e. more followers), the authors share the importance of being Ordinary, “Most cities have a church or a few churches that have grown rapidly, just as there are plenty of examples of authors with blogs that have grown rapidly. But the ordinary church and the ordinary blog still serve God. John and I believe the only way Christian bloggers will have the stamina to do the kind of slogging that most bloggers do each week—the kind of blogging that honors God and serves a small number of mostly overlooked readers who rarely say thank you—is when we blog for God’s glory, not our own. But here’s the best thing. Blogging for God’s glory, in fact, doing anything for God’s glory, is actually the way we get the most joy in life.”

What I treasure about considering this concept of an Ordinary Blog is that you can substitute your own personal endeavor after the word Ordinary and I think we will both arrive at the same destination—a flourishing life. “Let me propose the definition of blogging for God’s glory…It’s a two-pronged answer. Blogging for God’s glory means . . . first, to have our motivations aligned with God’s, and second, to pursue excellence in the craft, including theological precision, beautiful prose, visual appeal, and the edification of readers, all drawing from the best industry practices.” Imagine if you switched the activity of blogging with one of your own. A flourishing life is one where [coaching, running, singing, painting] is aligned with God’s motivation and we pursue that calling with excellence? Yes, I believe this is what Scripture has in mind when we read John 10:10. He desires us to have an abundant and flourishing life, but it might be easy to reject unless we alter our view of how we use the word Ordinary.

Now, I readily admit to a bit of Confirmation Bias when reading Blogging for God’s Glory for the simple reason that over the span of reading the book, the authors share from many of the same resources that I am finding so relevant in cultivating the Habits of a Flourishing Life. Along with the ease at which I jot a note in the margins for an already published post or ones in my “unpublished” folder on my computer—titles like Make Your Bed, Fickle Feelings, and Sign Here to name a few—I find it easy to view the work of this Ordinary Blog in a new light.

My hope is that you will view your God-given desires and ambitions in a new light also—to consider being faithful in the little and Ordinary aspects of life. Perhaps these final words will be an encouragement for you to persevere in whatever endeavor God is calling you to do. “That longing for grandeur and for a lasting legacy was given to you by your Creator. The issue isn’t the glory orientation; the issue is its alignment. Our heart whispers lies about what will satisfy our longing for glory. We think praise and a platform will satisfy. But no amount of readers will ever satisfy, and no pat on the back from your favorite author will make you content. My platform will never fix my insecurities. Praises will never grant me security. No book deal will ever fill that hole in my heart.” May you, like these authors, find a flourishing life in the Ordinary or Strange Gifts He’s placed in your heart.

References:

Ordinary. (2022). In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordinary?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld

Vrbicek, B., Beeson, J. & Challies, T. (2020). Blogging for God’s glory in a clickbait world. [Kindle version]. Fan and Flame Press. (Unlimited) (February 2022)