Blog Housekeeping - Help with Comments

*UPDATED*

Hi ladies!
I just need to do a little blog housekeeping today. Thanks for putting up with the boring stuff. We have new siestas joining us every day, so it helps to do this from time to time.

Let's talk about comments for just a minute. In the wonderful world of the Internet, there are many options for communicating: blog comments, instant messages, emails, message boards, chat rooms, etc. Sometimes the choices are overwhelming! At LPM we are only using email and blog comments. Of course, we do regular mail, telephones, and faxes, but we're just talking about the world wide web today.

We love hearing from you through the blog. Here's a quick explanation of how to leave a comment. Click on "(number of) comments" underneath whichever post you want to respond to. Then it will give you a space to leave your comment. Type out whatever you want to say, then do the word verification. The word verification protects us from spam. Then you will click "choose an identity." If you have a blogger/google account (which means you have your own blog or profile on blogspot), fill in your name and password. If you do not have a google/blogger account, choose "other" and fill in your name and your web site address if you have one (that's optional). You can also choose "anonymous." Then click "publish your comment." You will see a line at the top that says something like "Your comment has been saved until owner approval."

Here's an important question. When should I send an email and when should I comment on the blog?

If you would like to...

-Ask a question about resources, Beth's calendar, a specific conference, Beth's favorite restaurant, something you heard through the grapevine, how the blog works, etc.
-Suggest something for a future blog entry
-Receive a personal response for any reason
-Share something (perhaps tragic or troubling) that we will want to respond to
-Share sensitive information about yourself or your family
-Share anything like music lyrics or poems with Beth
-Submit a comment that accidentally turned into a novella (I'm so guilty of this)

...please go to our contact page and send us an email. The contact page will allow you to choose an area of the ministry to send it to. "The LPM Blog" is one option among several. Basically, it will help us stay organized and serve you more efficiently if we can keep everything that needs a response out of the blog. For your convenience, there is a permanent link to the contact page on the sidebar of the blog underneath "Questions?".

Sometimes I read a comment that I agonize over because I wonder if the writer will regret having shared so much. Then I either post it and wonder if I should have, or I don't post it and then I feel bad because I will never be able to explain to that person why. So please read through your comment before you submit it and make sure you have not shared anything about yourself (or another person) that shouldn't be posted online until the glorious return of our Lord. Because once it's there, literally anyone with access to the Internet can read it at any time. We should all assume that the one person we wouldn't want to read it will in fact read it.

Please also keep in mind that not everything you read on the Internet is true.

With that said, I want you all to know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this blog. It is an absolute joy to be the blog gardener of sorts. I'm not sure why I just got that mental picture, but I kind of like it. Especially since I do not have my mom's green thumb. If someone has written a handbook on how to manage a Christian ministry-based blog for women, please let me know. I will have us all read it together. Since I don't know of one, we will just continue to learn together as we go. Not everything in life is black and white and that carries over into blog-land. I really appreciate how patient you all have been with me over the last seven months as I've tried to figure out how to handle everything from moderating comments to navigating the gray areas. Thank you so much!

I got a great suggestion from a blog sister to add a permanent link to this post so that it will be easy to find. You'll see it in our links section for future reference.

Blessings,
Amanda

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6b).