I’ve Put This Off For Years

I have had the desire to create a central resource for any teaching. writing, testimonies, and thoughts I have gathered over the years. For the longest time, I have been on the proverbial “struggle bus” as I deal with the tension of having a heart and mind full of ideas that I know will help people while simultaneously being afraid of coming off like a know-it-all. At times, I decided that I would rather do nothing than to have people think that way about me. I know that’s not what’s in my heart, but the struggle remained.

It took until 31 for me to finally shrug it off and realize that I was letting my fear about how this would be perceived set the agenda for me. Fear is an awful foundation for decision making. So I’ve finally made the leap. I guess there is still the opportunity for anything I do on here to be taken the wrong way, but nothing that makes an impact is ever without that possibility.

We all know how gross it can be whenever self-promotion is on display in Christian Culture.

I’m not going to go on a social media rant here, but man, it is kryptonite to our need for significance. I have put this site off for so long because I know that social media is kind of a necessary evil to building any sort of digital resource. So I’ll be sharing blogs, videos, etc. and, in essence, promoting what I’ve created. It’s hard to do that on a regular basis without falling into the trap of being overly focused on how it appears to be received. To reduce it down to stats. I even struggled with the idea of getting the domain grantbraaten.com because I don’t want to try and “brand” my name. Gross.

All my reluctance aside, here I am.

I’ve spent enough breath telling you what I don’t want this site to be. Here’s what I believe the purpose actually is:

I know I am called by God to preach His Word. I have a divine purpose to share the Message in every form I can. So I am using the platforms available to me.
I am called to write. I have been obedient in a small sense, but not nearly to the degree I feel a pulling inside of me. I can’t stuff it anymore. I am not the most technically proficient writer, but that’s not the point. I must write.
I am called to be a resource. I want this site to be a reflection of that.

Content-wise, I will be sharing testimonies, messages, podcasts, blogs, and random blurbs of info that I have created.
I will have a place for people to be able to buy my books…mainly because it would be silly to go through the work of writing books and give no way for people to actually buy them.

I am hoping to encourage an organically built community through this site on a regular basis. I hope you join me for the journey.

If one piece of content helps one person draw closer to Him, it’s worth the effort.

Grace and Peace.