Hi. Thanks so much for popping by. I’m thankful to have made a start into the blogging year, at the same time catching up with last year…hoorah! Oh yes, multi tasking. And here’s the thing…I took part in my first blogging link up! Eek!!

Link ups was a whole new concept to me…I didn’t actually know what it meant. If as a blogger you haven’t tried one yet, then I’d recommend it. Here’s a little about my experience, from the link up in Autumn 2016. I first heard about the link up via the facebook bloggers group Christian Women Bloggers Unite .

I’ll admit I signed up with my palms sweating a bit. Knowing my capacity is lacking (due to that ME/cfs thing), but I thought… I’ll give it a whirl…ok an email!

This link up was organised by My Faith Tree is called Solidarity Sisters , and is now being overseen by Random Crafty Georgia Girl . The Solidarity Sisters link, posted in this paragraph, will take you to the info. and sign up page.

Those who know me won’t be surprised that the title drew my attention. My husband often asks if we can cut down on the ‘girl power’ thing. I have to advise him that I can’t…chuckle!

After signing up, my link up partner was selected….by criteria submitted. Some link ups have a group partnering, but I’m currently not cognitively equipped for that pace of interaction. So this link up suited me well. It is a Christian faith based link up and invites a link ups from a variety of blogger subject areas.

I was fortunate to be paired with Karen of IAMKYT. Karen was very patient with me, myself being a little current tech knowledge deficient, although being someone who once knew QxP pretty well, used Aldus…‘what’!!! & used the early versions of windows on a Mac back in the ’80s, yes, that old!…I live in hope of getting up to speed. 

With us both being fairly new to blogging, we persevered and shared experience and encouragement. We both write with a faith perspective, so it was great to compare notes & share where our inspiration to write stemmed from. 

The bloggers link up duration was about 2 months, and after an initial ‘get to know your partner’ period, an email challenge was then received every 2 weeks, which included extra blogging tips and points to ponder.

I definitely benefited from joining the link up, and it certainly helped to bolster my confidence in the world of blogging. I now have the courage to be active on more social media platforms & generally be more assertive in promoting my blog presence and to interact.

I’m no longer terrified if I’m DM’d with a link on Twitter or if someone comments on an Instagram post. I look forward to the interactions now, and have recently joined a pod on Instagram and am planning on inviting guest bloggers. All things I would never have previously considered.

I’m the first to admit that I struggle with recriprecol reading to grow contact with bloggers and readership, this is due to ME/cfs affecting my reading capacity & cognitive function. My recent B12 injection will help that along for a few days…& hence the reason that I have been able to compile this current blog post. I digress!

The link up for me has been two fold, it has helped me increase my blogging network without over stretching my cognitive capacity and improved my knowledge. And like all things, it’s perfectly fine to go at a pace you can manage, and this I managed.

If you think a link up isn’t for you, then I’d say do reconsider and give it a go. I’d also suggest joining a blogging group. I’ve discovered such a generous and enthusiastic writing community out there. Willing to help, share knowledge and just be interested.

So yes, it may not be something I can participate in often, but the Solidarity Sisters experience was well worth the sweaty palms, and I’m sure I’ll participate again.

…and I have a tick ✔ next to one of my blogging aims for this year! Woop! If you’d like to read more, they’re listed in my Happy New Year  blog post, first blog of the year.

Have a great day, thanks again for visiting and reading. I hope to be posting again soon.

Penny  ○  Hope found in M.E.

 

Philippians 4:13

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

 

Better is one day ~ Matt Redman

 

NB. The images posted in this blog post belong to the affiliated websites & are not my work. Images are courtesy of ~

• Christian Women Bloggers Unite 
• My Faith Tree.com
• Solidarity Sisters
• IAMKYT.com