Category: 30 Day Blog Post Challenge (September 2023)

30 lessons in 30 days–what I took away from daily blogging

Here are 30 lessons I learned this past month:

  1. I really enjoy writing industry-specific posts 
  2. I really like creating content on a less conventional platform
  3. I love writing about Jesus
  4. Blog posts can be really helpful in creating value props 
  5. Blog posts are excellent ways to package a project or idea
  6. Blogging daily is a reasonable and achievable goal
  7. People actually read my posts, and I really appreciate it 
  8. Haikus are such a / great backup plan to have for / a blogging challenge
  9. Honest writing makes for really great material
  10. Less is usually more
  11. My wife is excited for me to stop writing during bedtime
  12. My website looks a lot better with more content
  13. Writing in the real world is completely different than in formal education (I already knew that, but this reminded me)
  14. A lot more people can relate to you than you might think, and that’s usually a good thing.
  15. DevOps is cool
  16. Worry is a waste of time
  17. Taking offense is a waste of time
  18. Not everyone is going to like you
  19. Ideas are fun to talk about
  20. We cannot rejoice in others’ believing the truth, but rather in the truth itself
  21. Identity crises are heartbreaking
  22. I am just like the prodigal son–I once departed, but Jesus called me home
  23. When feeling stuck, change into jeans
  24. I need to prioritize disconnecting from technology
  25. It’s okay to fail, as long as we use it to get better
  26. Perception makes a huge difference in life
  27. Rest is mandatory
  28. It’s important to share in our struggles
  29. Disruption leads to success

And finally:

  1. Everyone should write. 

It doesn’t have to be public. It doesn’t have to be eloquent. It doesn’t even have to be “good.” (that’s subjective, anyway.)

Writing every day this past month has really helped me shape my voice as a writer, but it’s also molded my thoughts in general. 

Everyone should experience that. 

Signing off

Well, I suppose that’s a wrap on September’s challenge. Thanks for joining me on this journey! It’s been a blast.

I appreciate any and all who read my posts, it’s been a nice motivator to keep on writing. I’m looking forward to continuing this practice in the near future, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

John P. Ciannello

10 Things to Do Instead of Scrolling

Scrolling. 

I don’t have any real stats, but it’s got to be one of the top addictions in America today. It’s a major problem. 

So, instead of mindlessly and endlessly plummeting through the abyss of social apps and online content, here are 10 things that you can do instead that will have a positive impact on your life.

  1. Read a book.
  2. Write about literally anything.
  3. Call a friend. 
  4. Create a new goal.
  5. Pray.
  6. Go for a walk. 
  7. Make a new recipe.
  8. Go to a new coffee shop.
  9. Plan a trip. (real or imaginary)
  10.  Create a value proposition for your company, a company you’d like to work with, or for a business you want to start.

Don’t let the temptation to scroll overtake you, because time isn’t the only thing it’ll kill–it’s coming after you too.

Let’s be better.

Keep a loose grip

Once upon a time, I was a football player. I loved the game and decided to go play college ball. That was my plan, and I was so excited to make it happen. However, I graduated high school in 2020…so I’m sure you can assume how quickly my plans changed without my approval.

So, everything went awry. I was at a school that I only decided to go to because I wanted to play football, I was away from my family, and honestly, I was lost.

Nothing was going the way I had planned.

But it got better.

Fast forward several months, and enter Praxis. A business-driven apprenticeship training program that absolutely changed my life.

Here I am, 2.5 years later, with relevant experience in the fast-paced startup world, a wonderful wife, and a baby on the way. I couldn’t be more excited about the trajectory of my life now.

So, I definitely had plans for my life back in 2020. I thought I knew what the best course of action was. I was certain of it. Turns out, I had it all wrong, and I’m so glad I did.

Things didn’t go as I once intended, but once I let go of my intentions, I was able to step into a life that I couldn’t have come up with at that time.

Of all the things I’ve learned from that experience, the most important is this:

Be great at what you’re currently doing, be ready for the unexpected, and don’t grip your plans too tightly, because sometimes when you let go, you find something so much better than what you had in mind.

Light

Darkness cannot overcome light.

The darker a space is, the brighter the light is.

So in our darkest hour, it is then that the light of the world can shine the brightest.

It is then that He can come in and show us His glory.

Let Him shine His light on you.

The things you’ll hear, places you’ll go, and sights you’ll see will be so much greater than what you ever imagined for your life.

While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
John 9:5

Son, Husband, Father.

Today is my wife’s birthday. She had to go into the office and I had a few things to write, so she requested I write them all before she got home in order to maximize our time together tonight. So, here’s today’s blog post. 

Her request reminded me of something very important: My marriage is my first ministry. Not that I had forgotten, but it still served as a great reminder of my identity and my calling. 

Chiefly, I am a son of God. A member of His family through the power of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

Then after that, I am Emma’s husband. Called to love her as Christ loves the Church. 

Soon, (even though I have already embraced the role) we will meet our child, and the responsibilities of fatherhood will begin. 

Then, and only then, come any other ministries the Lord calls me to.

As men of God, we must understand and embrace this hierarchy if we hope to live the Christian life and live it well.

Above all else, we are children of God. Welcomed back into the family. Bought and paid for by Jesus Christ. Praise God for rescuing us. If we understand this, then the Lord will empower us to be good husbands. 

To be a good husband we must die to ourselves daily, to embrace a sacrificial love, as Christ did (does) for the Church. Love is patient and kind. It isn’t jealous or full of pride. To love our wives well, we must first accept and cherish the love that Christ has for us. 

Then, the Lord will help us to be good fathers just as He helps us to be good husbands. As we love our wives with Christ-centered love, our wives feel safe, protected, and cherished. This then encourages and enables them to be good mothers, and together we can love our children well, and raise them up right. 

After you’ve made sure all these things are in their proper place, then you can be empowered to be a good steward of the other ministries the Lord has called you to.

If our alignment isn’t right from the top down, everything will be thrown off. 

So, with that being said, it’s time for dinner and cake 😁.

Disruption comes before greatness

Greatness always disrupts. 

What makes something great is that it presents a challenge to the status quo. It disrupts. 

Grand slam businesses disrupt. Game-changing athletes disrupt. The gospel of Jesus Christ disrupts. 

The key to greatness is to disrupt. To come into the mundane and challenge the complacent. To encourage people to aim for a higher standard.

By nature, we don’t welcome disruption. It freaks us out. It scares us. 

It means we have to do something different than what we’re used to. It means we have to sacrifice. It means we have to be uncomfortable. It means we have to change. 

But it’s on the other side of the change where we see greatness. It’s then that we see why we sacrificed, why we made ourselves uncomfortable, why we chose a different path. We see that the work we put in brought us to something so much better than we ever imagined. 

At first, disruption is hard. 

But when we embrace it, and press into the thick of the challenge, the reward on the other side is far worth the sacrifices made to get there. 

So, if you want to do something great, welcome disruption with open arms.

I can’t wait for this

The excitement that I experience when I feel my child’s kicks and pokes from the inside of my wife’s belly is like no other. 

I can’t wait to hold my baby. 

Love. Joy. Anticipation. Ferocious protection. All things that have multiplied during this pregnancy. 

Other dads keep telling me that I won’t get it fully until I see the baby face-to-face and everything changes. I can’t wait for that moment.  I can’t wait to raise this little one. To bond. To make memories. To be a father. 

I’m pumped.

Fuzz

Imagine this: 

You’re washing dishes, playing games, reading books, scrolling through social media, working on your spreadsheets, writing blog posts, having conversations, etc. Basically, doing anything that you do on a typical day.

Throughout all of that, something in you just feels…off. Something is turned on that shouldn’t be on. Something in you is firing that should be relaxed. Something really isn’t right, but you’re not quite sure what that thing is. 

You aren’t anxious or depressed about any one thing in particular, but you’re inclined to label it one of the two. So you seek out answers. 

Bible verses on worry…

Deliverance from depression…

How to relieve anxiety…

You pour into the results and you appreciate what you find, but most of the explanations apply to people who are worried about their health, not sure about their finances, suffering from irrational fear, etc. This isn’t you, and you still don’t know what’s wrong. 

It’s not anxiety, you don’t feel trapped by fear, but throughout each day, there’s a constant feeling of something being not quite right. I call this fuzz. 

Nothing is actively wrong in your life, you’ve got plenty of things to look forward to, tons of opportunities to relax, and a bunch of things to occupy your time, but for some reason, you can’t just be still. Everything feels sort of fuzzy. 

So – what is this? I have found that it’s usually spiritual warfare. Sometimes it might just be our own psychological hang-ups, but I often have to stand firm in truth in order to beat it. 

To get through it, I rest on the word of God, and in particular this verse from the prophet Isaiah. 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

If I ever find myself wrestling with this fuzz, I meditate on this verse, and it brings me into a secure place with the Lord. It reminds me that He is sovereign over my life and that He is my protector. 

I’d like to write more about this because I think it’s something that many can relate to, so I’ll be sure to circle back in the near future. 

But for now, I’ll conclude with these words spoken by Jesus:

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I’m stumped today. 

Full transparency, I’m just wrestling with quite a bit presently, and I don’t have much mental bandwidth for writing. (I’ll make sure tomorrow’s post is interesting)

So instead of forcing it, here’s a Psalm that’s really encouraged me through some tough moments.

 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 19 O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. 20 For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way. 

Psalm 139

Blessings,

John