My Tips On Unplugging Social Media!

Posted on

Have you ever wanted to take a break from Social Media?

I may be able to help you with a couple of things since I recently decided to take the plunge and unplug.

With my Facebook, I deactivated.  You can deactivate and then you can reactivate with your username and password.  You can also just log out.  I chose to deactivate for a short time    I am using my time that I would have spent on Facebook to do other things that need to be taken care of.   When deactivating or logging out you need to let your friends know. The way Facebook works, not everyone will see your post about your checking out of Facebook for a while.  You may want to post that you are checking out and leave it up for a couple of days before you completely unplug.

I received an email from a dear friend who thought I had unfriended her.  I was heartbroken that she thought I would have done that to her. (*I have only unfriended three people the entire time I’ve been on Facebook and I regret doing so.  I unfriended one because they posted too many questionable things that I didn’t want to read. I since learned, that you can unfollow people if you don’t want to see their posts for various reasons.  The other two were for personal reasons and I really regret doing so now.)  Anyway, back to my friend who thought I unfriended her.  I assured her that it was not what she thought.  I’m glad she contacted me to see what happened.

I also decided to get off of Instagram.  This is where I messed up terribly!  I’ve had my Instagram since 2012.  Guess what I did?  I deactivated my Instagram instead of logging off.  I didn’t realize how important it was not to do that. I have now lost my account and I can’t get it back.  All my followers and those that I was following are gone.  Not only that, to set up a new account, I can’t use the name I had.  I had to set up a new Instagram account with a my blog name.  Remember this if you decide to take a break.

I love my Pinterest boards.  I’m able to really control my time on Pinterest.

I did delete my LinkedIn account due to it really isn’t a benefit for me.

I’m not on Twitter as of now.  A few years ago, I was on Twitter.  I really didn’t do anything with it.  When I served in women’s ministry, I had the honor of taking Lysa TerKeurst to dinner.  She made a post on her Twitter to follow me.  I gained some followers due to her tweet. I’m sure there are some that would realize how amazing that is to have Lysa TerKeurst  mention to her followers to follow you.  If you do, you also know how silly I feel to not have done something with that.  During that time I never really knew what to tweet, so I deleted my account. I know!!!  I sort of regret that today as well.  But what can I say?

The number of followers on your social media and blog are really looked at when submitting articles and book proposals to book publishers and magazines.  It’s very important to have a large following on all of your social media accounts. This is a bummer for someone like me who is not very good at promoting myself on social media.

Speaking of followers…..feel free to hop over and follow me on Facebook, Instagram,  Pinterest and of course, my blog.  I would be honored if you would and I hopefully will provide things that will inspire and encourage you each time I post.

NOW FOR SOME FUN NEWS!

Right before I “deleted” my Instagram account, I dowloaded the app called Chatbooks!  With this app you can have photo albums made with all of your pictures on your acct.  Each book holds 60 photos.  I had 11 books made and they just came in the mail today.  I just ordered them last week!  I  love my Chatbooks!  I would encourage you to download the app and have these cute photo albums made of all of your pictures on your Instagram.  I had so much fun sitting down and going through all of my pictures from the past 5 years.  Here is a link that you are welcome to use to get started.  Click here to find out more.  If you use this link, I just may get a discount on my next order. Is that exciting or what?  By the way, each book is only $8.00.  You can choose the hard or soft cover with your choice of photo.  I did the soft cover.  I’m wishing I would have chosen the hard cover. Maybe on my next set!   If you decided to do this, I hope you are as excited over your books when they come in the mail as I was!

 

MY 10 TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA: (that I learned from experience)

  1.  Chose one or two platforms that work best for you.  Don’t think you have to be involved in all forms of social media.  You will probably find one that fits you and your lifestyle the best.
  2. If you find that social media is consuming way too much of your time, take a break and rethink how you are spending your time.  Set up a new plan and don’t hesitate to change it if you find it isn’t working.
  3. Don’t lose site of being social in person and not just online.
  4. Don’t spend your time checking your phone for updates while in the company of friends and family.  Have a time when alone to take care of your conversing with online friends.
  5. You control your time; don’t let social media control you.
  6. When you take a break from Facebook, you can log off or actually deactivate.  Just don’t lose your password!
  7. If you take a break from Instagram, DO NOT deactivate or you will lose everything.  Trust me!
  8. Use your social media to inspire, encourage and build up others.  You can make a difference in someones life with your kindness and positive outlook on life.  Don’t get caught up in arguing over controversial matters.  I think it’s sometimes a good thing to share difference of opinion, but if it turns to arguing and being hateful, that’s when it’s a bad thing.  In my eyes anyway!
  9. Don’t lose connectivity with those that are close to you thinking that the only way to  communicate is over social media.
  10. Make a plan to mail a note to someone through the mail. You know… the old fashioned way.  You can’t beat getting a heartfelt handwritten note from someone.

Speaking Up For Christ!

Posted on

I wrote a short devotional for Denise Hughes who has an amazing writing ministry called, Deeper Waters.  She is doing a study in the book of Ephesians now and she asked me to write one on today’s study.   Be sure to check out her ministry at www.Deeperwaters.us!

the-more-we-share-1080x626
Day 29 ~ Ephesians 6:16-20 ~ Freedom from Fear and Insecurity
Welcome to DAY 29 of our online Bible study on Ephesians!

DAY 29
Read: Ephesians 6:16-20
Growing up in a single-parent home and a having a father that didn’t have much to do with me, left me extremely shy and very unsure of myself. I never had the confidence to speak up about things that were important to me. In school it was a nightmare when I was called upon and had to answer a question. The teasing of my quiet and soft voice was hard to bare. And the redness that appeared on my face was even more reason for teasing.
I became a Christian at the age of 14 and slowly became more sure of myself as I learned more and more of how much God loved me and I became more secure of His love for me.
Shortly after I married, my husband and I went in to full-time ministry after he graduated seminary. I was then finding myself in situations that were way out of my comfort zone. Things like praying out loud in prayer meetings with other women, leading a study for teen girls, introducing speakers at events, and going out on visitation to knock on doors and share the gospel with whomever was willing to listen.
I would beg God to give me boldness and wisdom to do and say just the right thing. I so wanted to be a bold witness for Christ.
Whether it is face to face, speaking before a crowd, logging on to social media, or silently by our lifestyle, we have a message to share and we can share it boldly.
Just as Paul was in chains desiring to speak boldly for Christ, you may be in the chains of low self-esteem like I was, wanting so desperately to speak up and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Paul even prayed for such boldness:
“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” (Ephesians 6:19)
Have you been caught in the chains of insecurity yet you broke free to speak boldly for Christ?
If so, I would love to hear how you are using your voice and your life to be a bold witness for Jesus Christ!
The more we share the message of Christ, the easier it will become.

~ Diving Deeper ~
Have the shackles of insecurity kept your from sharing your faith?

Share in the comments!

Beverly Dillow
The desire of Beverly’s heart is to have a heart like His. She invites readers to live life to the fullest from the hardest of times to the best of times.  We were created for such a time as this. Join her in the everyday tasks of life at www.BeverlyDillow.com as she shares what she’s learned in 50+ years and is still learning each day.

There it is…..I hope it somehow encourages you to speak up for Christ!

Blessings on your day!

Thank You!

Posted on

BlogHousekeeping!

Hi Friends!

I’m doing some “housekeeping” on my blog today.  A few updates and a few changes are always needed.

To all the readers of, His Heart, My Desire……THANK YOU!  I so love to hear feed back and my heart skips a beat when I get a message or a comment that something resonated with them in what I wrote.

If you haven’t noticed, I seem to LOVE everything.  Especially, if it sparkles!  I’m an avid magazine reader and I like to think of my blog as an uplifting, inspiring and encouraging magazine.

The Lord has shown me many things in my life.  He has brought me through some dark times and then His blessings have always amazed me.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask you something.  If you haven’t subscribed to my blog, I would be honored if you would subscribe today.  There is a little box to your right and all you need to do is enter your name and the email that you would like my latest blog post to show up.  For you, it makes it convenient to not miss anything and second, it builds my subscriber list.  I have found out that when publishers look at your proposed book idea, the first thing they look at is your followers and subscribers.  Isn’t that something?  How did authors do that before social media?  I guess times have changed as they say!

If you are on Facebook, I would love for you to follow my page for His Heart, My Desire.  Again, on the right hand side, there is a little sparkly button with the F on it and if you click that, it will take you straight to my page and you can hit LIKE!  Yay!

Thank You!

I am working on some freebies for my subscribers.  Hopefully, I will be announcing that very soon!  Hang with me!

Things coming up:

During September, I will be writing for Homeschool Moms along with my other posts that will cover anything from decorating, fashion, Bible Study, book reviews, life, empty nest, family…..you get the idea….I told you I love everything!

In October, I will focus on Women’s Ministry along with the before mentioned posts.

My mission is to glorify God in everything I do, say and write and I want to inspire you to love life and to stay strong and keep on going, even when it gets a bit tough.   Notice I didn’t say if it gets tough?  Because life is tough sometimes and not very pretty.  But, by the grace of God, we can carry on and think positive and accomplish great things in our lives.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a reader of, His Heart, My Desire!

I do hope you will be a subscriber and hop over to like my Facebook page!  Oh, did I mention Instagram?  Come on over there, too.  I mostly post pictures there that I hope will make your day brighter!  That button is to your right and is a little sparkly camera icon.  You can click that, it will take you to my Instagram and you can tap the follow button and we are instant Instagram friends!

If you are a subscriber, I hope you will stay, but I so understand if you have to bow out.  My heart will break a bit, but I so understand that we all have different situations going on, or you may be saying, “this girl is crazy, I think I will move on.”  Either way, I understand.

Have a FABULOUS Labor Day weekend!

Happy Blogiversary!

Posted on

IMG_0764 (1)Nine years ago, I wrote my first blog post!  Well, it was really, nine years and one month ago.  But, who’s counting?

I began my blog, His Heart, My Desire, on a whim.  I had been writing some magazine articles and I was told that I needed some type of presence in social media.  So, I began with a blog.  I began writing and loved it!  I especially love the feedback from readers.  I’ve met some amazing friends through blogging.  There are so many talented people out there!

My goal in the blog world is to inspire and encourage people in whatever season they are in.  My even bigger goal is to be a light for Christ someway, somehow through my words and pictures.

When I served as a Women’s Ministry Leader in my church, I began a separate blog for that.  After I stepped down from serving in that capacity, I deleted that blog.  I also had one for Homeschool Moms, but, it was very time consuming for me to keep up with three blogs, so I deleted that one, too.

I now have the one blog and I love it!  Many times I will receive an email from someone to tell me that something I wrote inspired them and that makes me very happy!  It confirms that maybe something I say can make a difference.

All that to say, “Happy Blogversary!”  Nine years and counting.  When will I stop?  I don’t know.  I think the Lord will nudge me when it’s time to call it quits.  Although, I am now reading a book called, “5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit” by Nicki Koziarz.  I’ll be posting a review of it soon, so be on the lookout for that one.  Yes, I have a habit of quitting things when I don’t feel like things are just like I want it.  I have let the enemy deceive me too many times in thinking that what I do isn’t worth anything or that it is making a difference. He has been able to use people to discourage me and I took it to heart.  I’ve listened to that ugly voice more than I should.  No more!  I’m reading the book, so stand back!

Boy, am I digressing or what?  (I’ve wanted to use that word for a while, anyway.)

Thank you for being my blog friend by reading, commenting, sharing and encouraging.

A Bloggers Mission Statement

Posted on

Focus Slider

I have so many interests and so many things that I’m anxious to share with you, that I have to hone it all in and focus.  Focus on who I am and what I really have to offer in the way of sharing the things that I believe God has set before me.  I’m learning everyday.  Even at the age of 56, I’m still learning.  I can look back on my marriage, my child raising days, my service to the Lord in His church and just plain every day living and think, how did I make it this far!  I wish I could go back knowing what I know now and do all those things and do it with confidence and peace.  But, I can’t.

What I can do, is share from my life experiences.  Even those things that I’ve learned the hard way. Not only that, but those goals I never accomplished.

The things of this world can sometimes look pretty bleak and dark.  My desire for my blog and my writing is to maybe be a little flicker of a light of who God is.  Wherever we are in life, whatever season, whatever is going on, there is a way to use it all to God’s glory.  All the passions and desires that have been instilled in us, we can use it to be a light.  Yes, even those fun things, like fashion, beauty, decorating, creating and even my least of these….cooking!  Being a parent, a grandparent, a friend, neighbor and all the titles that we have, we can use those to help change our world for the better.  Until Christ returns, we have work to do.  Are you with me?

In the blogging world, it is wise to have a mission statement.  This is simply something to keep you focused and on track. Oh, how I need to stay focused on what is before me!

My Mission Statement is:

“Through my blog and writing I will strive to always offer encouragement, inspiration and teaching in the things that fill my everyday life.  Through my posts, my prayer is that a life will be changed or at least inspired to keep on keepin’ on and make a difference right where they are.  We were created for a time such as this!”

If you are a blogger, do you have a mission statement?

New Year, New Blog!

Posted on
hearthisheader9
( My header on my first blog with Blogger.)

This is my 9th year of blogging!  I started my blog when I began writing for some magazines and began working on my book idea.  I actually started three blogs.  One for writing, one for Homeschooling and the other for Women’s Ministry.  I later decided it was best to combine all on one blog.  I wasn’t keeping up very well.  Even with one blog, I have to stay focused.

If you have a blog or maybe you are thinking of starting one, I hope I can inspire you to go for it!  I have several blogs that I love to read and I will be sharing those with you.

When I began, I started out with Blogger and after several years, I switched over to WordPress!  I have to admit that switching from Blogger to WordPress just about did me in.  Learning a whole new language and a completely different set up was crazy for me.  Remember, I’m not tech savvy at all!  Not even a tiny bit.  I’ve bought a few books on WordPress, thinking I was going to master this if it were the last thing I do.  Long story short…..that’s not happening!

Three years ago, or maybe four, I went to a bloggers conference called Blogging for Bliss.  My head was spinning with all the information I was hearing.  I met some amazing ladies that had such inspiring blogs.  One young lady I met was Lindsey, with Pretty Darn Cute Designs.  She was the sweetest!  I had a few questions to ask her about blogging and she was so patient and kind.  After getting home and viewing her work on her site, I knew I wanted to try one of her templates for my blog.  Her assistant, Susan, helped me get it all together.  Did I say help?  Maybe the word is, did!  Susan got my blog up and running with the new design and I was so excited.  A year later, Lindsey of PDCD was giving away a new template she designed.  Of course, being the type of person that loves everything, I registered for it.  I couldn’t believe it!  I won!  So now, I have my second template, (I hope that’s the right word) and I do LOVE it! The name of my template that I have now is, Pretty.  You must go to her site and read all about Lindsey and see all of her designs.  I think you are going to like it!

Pretty

 

Tomorrow, I will share the details on how I got my new look on my blog.

See you tomorrow!

 

 

End of September Blog Challenge!

Posted on

I may have been late a couple of times and combined more than one day on a couple of posts, but……

I did it!  I honestly was going to give up a few times….so glad I didn’t.  It feels so great to complete something, doesn’t it?

Here are the final two challenges:

#29 -Write your own list of 10 blog topics to inspire us next month.

I will be doing the 31 Days of Writing with Crystal Stine.  My topic is:

31 Days To Have a Heart Like His

Each day there will be a post that hopefully will empower and encourage you to strive to have a heart like Jesus.  I hope you will follow along and share your thoughts as we go.

Among the daily posts, I will also be sharing a Home Tour of our new hill-country home toward the middle of October.

#30 -A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies. If you’d like a prompt: how did the Blog-tember Challenge go for you? Any surprises? What was your favorite prompt, or what would you like to see included next time?

I enjoyed meeting other like minded bloggers.  I found a few blogs to begin following and look forward to their future posts.  I thought all the writing prompts were challenging and helped me to think outside of my box a bit.  It also helped me to try harder to form the habit of being consistent in my writing.  I also loved the feedback from others.  I’m looking forward to next year!

Thank you Bailey at Braveloveblog!

Blog-tember Challenge #7

Posted on

Today’s Blog Challenge from Brave Love Blog is:

Tell us about your blog name. Where did it come from?

2015blogtemberFINAL

 

I started my blog in 2007 when I began writing and was submitting articles to various magazines.  I was also working on a book and was told that I needed to start a blog in order to begin some type of platform.

I didn’t really give much thought to a blog name.  I thought my name would be okay.  While preparing for my first writer’s conference, I was told to bring business cards.  As I researched for ideas on designing a business card, I noticed that many writers had catchy names of their ministries. I was getting close to the deadline of getting my order in for my cards and knew I had a scripture I wanted to put on it.  “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:4.  This is one of my favorite verses.  One of my greatest desires that I have always strived for is to have a heart like Jesus.  Now, you know and I know that  I will never be able to have a heart just like His because His heart is perfect and pure.  I am not perfect and never will be.  The good news is,  I can strive to have a heart like His.

I love reading the story of David in the Bible.  When I read I Samuel 13:14 about how God said David was a man after God’s own heart….I’ve always thought how amazing that would be to have God describe me as that type of person; “Beverly was a woman after God’s own heart! “ That would be awesome to be described by God that way.

That is my desire… to have a heart like His.

That is how I came up with the name of my blog, His Heart, My Desire!

hearthisheader9

Collage of My Blog

Posted on

Day #3 of Blog Challenge!  Thank you to Brave Love Blog for this 31 Day Challenge.  It’s Day 3 and I’m still hanging in there.

*Create a collage or mood board that describes my blog……

When I was in high school a few years ago, okay, so it was  38 years ago; I made collages of things I liked out of magazines.  I was an avid fashion magazine reader.  (I still am)  In those days many of the ads were of hope chests, wedding rings with pictures of beautiful couples and I would use those pictures along with the pictures of the latest fashion.  I haven’t thought of that in years, so when I heard the word collage, that is what immediately came to my mind.

As I’m typing this I can’t help but wonder how I’m going to choose my pictures and most of all how to make it look like a collage.  Maybe that is why I’m rambling on…..trying to put off the disaster that may happen when I begin working on the collage.  When it comes to tech savvy…..I struggle.  I can type, though. 🙂

 

PicMonkey Collage 1 PicMonkey Collage 2 PicMonkey Collage 3 PicMonkey Collage

 

My goal for my blog is to reflect beautiful things while encouraging and inspiring.  As I go through my life and sharing the things I love and have learned, I can only hope to make a difference somewhere, somehow.