blogging isn't everything.

Lately my mantra has been "Blogging isn't everything." I've repeated it to myself in the shower, while doing homework, while blogging.

For awhile, I visited others' blogs for the sole purpose of getting my traffic to my blog. I didn't go so far as to ask them to read/follow my blog, but I came pretty darn close to it a couple times. 

I wanted so badly to be a "bigger" blogger. I wanted to have tons of comments on every post. I wanted to have an insane amount of readers. I wanted this so badly, I began to neglect what was important. Instead of spending time with my family, I spent time on my computer. Instead of going outside and enjoying God's creation, I stayed inside with my computer. 

I was becoming addicted. And it wasn't healthy. 

My trip to Europe was so inspirational...and it helped me in many ways. It opened my eyes to the fact that there's so much more in life than blogging. I realized that while blogging is a whole lot of fun, it isn't everything. If I knew I was going to die in an hour, would I rather spend time with loved ones or try to grow my blog readership? I think we would all choose the first option without a moment's hesitation. 

Having said this, blogging has definitely benefited me in so many ways. It's motivated me to improve my photography. It's done wonders for my writing. And it's been so amazing to have a little circle of friends that I don't even know in real life. To tell you truth - being a professional blogger, like Ree from The Pioneer Woman, is my absolute dream job. :)

Do I love getting lots of comments on posts? Definitely. Do I do a happy dance every time I get a new follower? Yep ;) Do I love sharing my photography and getting feedback? Sure. But is blogging something that you need to be obsessed with? Is it everything?

Definitely not. There isn't anything in our life that is everything. The only thing we have that is everything is Christ. He's the one that fulfills every desire, the only one who can truly make us happy. And until he returns, or until I pass from this earthly world, I'm going to try to glorify Him in everything I do.

If you read all of this, thank you. I just needed to get it off my chest. :)

-carlotta

PS Don't worry - I'm not going to quit blogging. I love it way too much! I'm just slowly weening myself from being so dependent on the computer :)