The story behind the blog and the future of the blog

The story behind the blog and the future of the blog,

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This week, I am going to tell you the story behind Weekly Biblical Encouragement and some plans for the future. There are several things I need you to know to tell this story. First my name is Cas Medlin, I am only 17 years old, I have attended Christian schools and been in Church my whole life. The Weekly Biblical Encouragement idea first came to mind when I was about fourteen years old, but thinking about my life before that, I can see God was preparing me for what I am doing now, for almost my entire life. I received my first phone at 15 and about that same time I started reading my Bible consistently again, because I received a track/flyer that encouraged me to read through the book of John. I started reading through the book of John and then I wanted to study John with my classmates, but they all said they had their own studies and were too busy and we already had two Bible classes each day. About this same time I became fascinated by the internet and the idea of making Christian art and photographs and uploading them on the internet. Which really started when my church asked me if I wanted to make some Easter images, because they knew that God had given me a creative gift. When I did, to be entirely honest the images were too low resolution and designed so poorly that they could not use them. Which was okay, but I was a little hurt. You have to know that before I got the phone 5 months earlier, I basically had no experience with design or photography or for that matter the internet. So, one day the idea came to me to make my own website. I had been publishing a few images, but mostly they just stayed on my phone. I started to watch videos on how to start a website and how to design high quality images. The pastor of my church had also given me the name of the software they used, so I downloaded it and started learning. I started designing a website to host my photos. Then, I had the thought that instead of just trying to convince my friends to have a Bible study, that I could host a Bible study on the internet where more could join in. Before this, to my knowledge I did not know what a blog was, so I researched about blogging and how it worked. I scrapped the prototype of the original website and started designing a new one with the blog at the center. Another couple weeks of research and I was ready to start the blog, with the goal of reaching as many people for God as possible. 

The whole time during this process I had this voice telling me that everyone knew everything I did, that I had nothing to teach people, that I was wasting my time and that I had no idea how to do what I was trying to do. That I was not talented enough at design or writing to make a difference. There were times I almost stopped trying and gave up, but then I would change my mind and start back at this goal. The thought that I did not know enough or did not have the right tools was a lie, God had given me exactly what I needed to start this and the devil saw that this had the possibility to reach people for Christ, so he tried to stop me. The first day of my summer break May 20, 2019 I set the website visibility to public and that is how I started the blog. As our long time reader may know, last week I rewrote the first blog I posted. For the last month I feel like God has been telling me that it is time to get back to the root of why I started Weekly Biblical Encouragement. Because I never did do a bible study through the book of John like I originally hoped to do with my friends. So starting next week we are going to start with the first chapter of the book of John. We will also be referring back to the first couple chapters of Genesis, so I want to encourage you to read through the 1 chapter of John with me this week. Just like I wanted my friends and I to talk about what we read, I want to hear the listeners’ thoughts throughout the time as we work our way through the book of John. One of my favorite things that my family and I do is to discuss the scriptures at the end of each blog. I will tell you what the next passage is and I want you to read it with me and then for us to talk about it for the next week in the comments. This is what I feel like God has been calling me to. So this week, I want you to read just the first chapter of John with me. Share this with your friends, so they can join you in reading and in the conversation about the book of John. Also, know that if God asks you to do something He will give you what you need to do exactly what He asked. It just takes the faith to trust Him and start it. Remember, that sometimes we need to get back to the root of why we are doing something. Sometimes I feel like quitting and that I am just putting noise into the universe, that there are thousands of others that are doing the same thing I am. When this happens I pray and ask God for wisdom, knowledge, and confirmation that I am doing what He wants and so far He has always answered yes. Most of the time He points to me and says look at your own life, you are impacting yourself as much as the readers, if not more, is that not enough. Click the link below to read the first chapter of John. Send it to your friends and family, so they can read along with us and join the conversation. It is the easiest way to start reading the Bible. https://www.bible.com/bible/59/jhn.1.ESV