Why I Write About More Than Recovery

If you've been following the blog for any amount of time, you know that I write a fair amount of content about recovery from addiction (see here, here, and a wealth of links, here). That's become my "thing". As well it should. All my studies of "branding" and "focus" tell me that recovery from addiction should be that aspect of existence about which I write so that folks who come to my "social platform" know what they are getting.

But I've had a hard go of focusing. I write reviews, updates on my books, random life musings, and thoughts on Scripture. I even write about toys from time to time. Conventional wisdom rallies against this sort of thing, and the data does not lie. My "social reach" has extended very little since 2012. I try to cover too much. People come here because they want to read about...yeah, that's the problem. They don't know; maybe I don't either.

But here's the deal. This blog is called "Living Life Loving Christ", and that is no singular endeavor. Life is multi-faceted; life is not about a brand (no matter what culture continues to tell us). A human life has its moments of reflection, of confession, of silliness, and of self-indulgence. And dear readers, I mean to live life. 

But the truth is that my doing so does have a singular focus, a narrowness. It's loving Christ. Oh how I want my life to exhibit a love for Christ! I want people to see my name and think, "that dude loves Jesus" (and I want that to be true). Granted, the blog does not always accomplish this; neither does life itself. And inasmuch as I'm guarded and mindful about what I post, I try to provide some vulnerable insights. I try to provide a holistic picture of a person living life and loving Christ while doing so. Maybe I do; probably I don't. Either way, that's the goal. 

So that's why I lack focus. That's the reason my brand consistently fails the litmus tests. For me life is more than recovery. Life is art. Life is disappointment. Life is joy. Life is love, and for me that love is Christ. 

How bout you?