New year, new microblog, new E-Newsletter, and FREE prayer, 2009: A bondChristian site update

This is an outdated article. Check the new one for the updated scoop.

New, new, new, new, new.

First, a new year.

2009.

Amazing. 2008 is gone. No more Beijing Olympics in the middle of the night. No more Obama/McCain commercials in the middle of everything. No more economic meltdown. Well, I’ll leave that alone. . .

Moving right along, I have some exciting updates planned for 2009, both personally and related to this site. Here are a few related to your experience at bondChristian:

A New Microblog – Micro-bondChristian

[Update 12/05/09: The microblog is no longer active here. You can follow @bondChristian on twitter for site updates or @marshalljonesjr for personal interaction with me. Please do.]

Did you see Micro-bondChristian on the home page yet? Let me explain what that’s all about.

Many days I don’t post anything at bondChristian. On a normal schedule, I try to post articles twice per week. That means on five other days of the week, there’s nothing new. That can be a little disappointing for visitors, especially if you moseyed all the way here just to read something new. Sure, you can always check out the archives, but deadness still looms. No one knows if the blog is still active – if I’m going to post soon or what.

To remedy this, I set up a microblog. What is a microblog, you ask? At least in this case, a microblog is a blog that updates with short bits of information for you to chew on. Over the past month or so, I’ve become a big fan of twitter. Twitter is a free service that allows you to post updates like for a blog but under a 140-character limit. The limit forces posts to stay around one or two sentences in length.

Over the past week I set up a twitter account specifically for bondChristian. In fact, the account is ‘@bondchristian’. Catchy, right? I then set the posts to update to the home page here at bondChristian.

I’m fairly excited about this new feature because I think it will make the blog a lot livelier on off days. You can read more about what to expect from Micro-bondChristian here. I’ll wait.

You’re back. In addition to that list, what else would you enjoy reading? I’m not sure where this is going yet, so I expect it to develop as it goes. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

If you’re on twitter, you can follow @bondchristian here. Otherwise, stop by bondChristian.com often. If you haven’t seen Micro-bondChristian on the home page, now’s a great time to check it out. A few updates have already been posted.

Let me know what you think.

A New E-Newsletter – Serving Suggestions

This one took a lot longer to set up than the microblog. But it’s up now (at least I think it is. Leave a comment if it’s not working for you).

While the microblog is for those crazies who want to show up daily (you know who you are, and I love you), the newsletter is for everyone else. Particularly, if you’re not interested in reading everything but would like to stay relatively current with any major activities here, the newsletter is for you.

If you’re here all the time anyway, I’d still suggest signing up for the newsletter. It won’t be sent too frequently so the emails won’t pile up. But by signing up, you’ll get a little behind the scenes info and bonus articles and tips to boot. I think you’ll enjoy it.

You can sign up now by filling in your email address and first name in the box at the top left, or you can read more about the newsletter and what will be included here. Again, I’ll wait.

A New Offering For Prayer – FREE Prayer, January 2009

Those of you who’ve followed this site for at least a little while know there is a perpetual offer for free prayer. You know the guidelines. Just post any requests you have. We’re still here to pray for them.

Here’s the January addition…

The beginning of a new year is usually a fairly exciting time as you all reevaluate your direction for the coming year. Let me offer a few verses as reminders of our direction in 2009.

“The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” – Isaiah 58:11

My blunt summary: God will lead you…

“…[Y]ou yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.” – Romans 2:19-20

…and you will lead others.

I pray that in 2009 you and I will allow the Lord to be Lord and lead us in His direction. May we lead others to Christ more than ever before. Lead us, God to live examples of service for you. Amen.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Check out Micro-bondChristian. Often.

(2) Sign up for the newsletter. Additions will be sent shortly.

(3) Pray that God will lead you to lead.