So, you have an idea, or a passion. Homemaking, homesteading, sewing, fitness– the list goes on. Except… you’re an Israelite! And it isn’t easy to hide, it’s not something you want to hide, and you’re excited to glorify Yah in what you do.
But how can you blog, make videos, or grow a social media following in general with these gifts?
I’ll share with you the most basic yet life-changing tips I’ve discovered throughout my years of blogging!
You can keep reading, or you can watch the YouTube video. I’ll pretty much be saying the same things here, but the YouTube video may be a bit more thorough on my personal spiritual experiences blogging. I also filmed the video before writing this post, so keep that in mind.
I want to preface this by saying that blogging, YouTubing, etc is not for every Israelite! Especially homemakers. Don’t feel pressured to build a brand because you *need* to represent Yah, make money, or feel like you belong. Sometimes, most of the time really, homemaking and motherhood are enough for your plate, and Yah may not want to you do more. That being said, sometimes failure in blogging/content creating is just a bump in the road, and sometimes, failure is a sign that Yah wants you to shift your focus. This post is more so about finding out which one fits you, and how to move forward as an Israelite with a brand!
CHOOSE YOUR PASSION
I started The Hebrew Housewife in October of 2019, when I was neither married or a housewife (you can read my first post here). Why? Because I loved homemaking, I was planning to become a wife, and I grew tired of blogging about things I wasn’t truly passionate about.
I’ve had a hip-hop blog, a Biblical Hebrew language blog, an Indigenous identity blog, a general Israelite blog, and so many other blogs based on things I was interested in…but wasn’t passionate about! These are great things to blog about, but my interest fell flat once the visitors, views, and likes didn’t show up, and I’d ultimately abandoned each of those projects.
Why? Because I wasn’t doing them out of love for my content or even to glorify Yah. I was doing it
- to fit in
- to make money
- to be popular
These aren’t good motivations to do anything meaningful in life. Sure, these are great GOALS to have. But motivations? We need less shallow and superficial motivations if we hope to do something longterm and see longterm results.
Even with the beginning of this blog circa 2019, I hesitated to even write about homemaking. Most of my early posts were about my daily life, my reflections, and some Biblical Hebrew lessons here and there. I was ashamed of what I loved, and I felt like it wasn’t going to be profitable– socially or financially.
It wasn’t until early summer 2020 that I heard Yah: “Your blog is called the Hebrew Housewife…but where is the housewife content?”
All I could think was, ‘Hmmm, I only named it that because I liked the name. I didn’t really plan to share homemaking content… Who would ever look at that anyways?’
If you’ve been around since my domain was www.thehebrewhousewife.wordpress.com (a mouthful) then you probably remember when my colors were blue and burgundy– a drastic change from my now pink, white and grey. I was originally ashamed of my blog having too much of a feminine appearance, because I felt like most Israelite women didn’t care for that stuff. I didn’t realize that I was trying to appeal to young unmarried sisters, instead of married women who be more likely to look at a blog with the word “housewife” in the title (go figure).
When I began to listen to Yah, undergo an EXTREME rebrand, and start actually producing Israelite homemaking content, everything changed.
Is it because I applied the formula for successful blogging? Sure. But the first step for any success blog, is having at the core a blogger who actually loves what it is they’re blogging about.
My tips for finding your passion and your why
- Prayer, always
- Write down a list things you love, your hobbies, and things you’re good at
- Circle your top two
- Ask yourself, what could I do for the rest of my life even without getting paid?
- Ask yourself again, in what way can I glorify Yah with my passion for sewing, fitness, gardening, etc.?
- Pray again
Don’t waste your time trying to blog about headwraps if you aren’t truly passionate about headwraps. You’ll be so devastated and discouraged by the lack of viewers or engagement, because it was always about everyone else, and not really about what’s in YOUR heart.
Start with your passion!
(don’t be afraid to try something out anyway if you still aren’t sure! That’s what it took for me to find mine! And your blog can evolve at any given moment throughout it’s lifespan. Have room for grace, mistakes, and rebuilding. And most importantly, keep getting feedback)
Outline Your Motivations
Motivations are different from goals.
My goals as a blogger are to maintain a steady 2k views a month, generate income through my Shop and Resources, and respond to every single prayer request sent my way no matter how busy I am.
But my motivations? To provide homemaking, marriage, and femininity content that is Bible-based, for Israelite women and women walking in the Truth!
My goals are just things I want to accomplish along the way.
What are your why’s?
Why is your content important to you?
My motivation is important to me because this type of content is lacking for Israelite sisters, and it’s like we always have to go to Gentile resources for homemaking, femininity and Biblical marriage content. Not anymore, though!
Your motivation doesn’t have to be as community-based as mine, though. It can be as simple as you needing to have something for yourself outside of your family, or wanting to connect with other sisters who like to sew. The important part isn’t the why, but actually having one!
Try filling in the blanks:
I want to make content about… in order to…. Making content about…. is important to me because…
I want to make content about gardening with children in order to be consistent in gardening and also document my journey gardening as a mother. Making content about gardening with children is important to me because I don’t have to stop doing what I love just because I’m a mother now, and I want other moms to see that it is possible to do this even with little ones running about!
This was the only formula I needed in order to uncover my true why’s, and I hope it helps you to find out why you love what you love and why it matters to you.
Listen to Yah
When you have an Israelite brand or blog, it’s not the same as having a worldly or ‘normal’ brand or blog.
For one, you’re dealing with His Word. That means He needs to be in control. When using His Word and representing His Holy City, we don’t have room to prioritize OUR will. More importantly, He may show you a more joyful, more natural, and more authentic way to execute your blog, just like He did for me after I finally stopped resisting. So many mistakes can be skipped if you just START OFF with Obedience!
Number two: we’re called to be holy. In my journey, I realized very early on I would not do well in trying to blog like the worldly women. I tried what they were doing, from including their children, to making very personal confessions (or oversharing) and even stuffing their websites with ads (hey haven’t you noticed, there are ZERO ads on this blog? ????).
I stopped sharing my daughter (for her own safety and privacy), I stopped detailing every strange bit about my life (even the good stuff), and I was determined to find better ways to monetize this site than putting up useless, junky, distracting and frustrating ads that wouldn’t serve my audience.
It changed everything.
And as I previously mentioned, I also underwent an extreme rebrand mid 2020! From the layout, to the fonts, the logo, and even the topics I covered, EVERYTHING changed except my core message: Israelite homemakers are welcome here.
Do you know what happened when I let Yah lead these decisions?
I grew from 114 to over 1,000 followers on Instagram, I gained over 160 email subscribers, and I even wrote, published and began selling my first devotional for Israelite women (which is still selling today). All because I started obeying.
But why did I resist obeying in the first place?
The same reason most of us don’t obey Yah in the small things: we think He doesn’t care.
Why would He care about this blog, my Instagram or any of this? He’s gonna destroy this stuff, right? Surely He doesn’t care if I do it this way? What’s the big deal?
The big deal is that we’re called to live for His Glory, and do all things unto HaMashayach. This doesn’t just include our service in our homes or communities. It also entails our hobbies, arts and crafts, and personal pleasures (i.e. your blog).
I was so afraid of obeying, because I assumed The Most High would take ALLL the fun out of what I love, and turn it into some sorry, sad, depressing Scripture website that I would once again give up on. I was so wrong! He completely elevated my experience in every way imaginable, and I don’t just mean the numbers, either!
I started having meaningful conversations with other wives, I got the opportunity to fellowship and pray for sisters, I grew as a wife myself, I’ve published a book (as small as it is, it has always been one of my dreams), and I’ve even made the cutest business cards ever (so official! But not necessary).
Most importantly, this blog has become a way for me to connect with Yah when I don’t know how.
He’s a writer… I mean, He wrote the Bible. He wrote the number one best selling book of LITERALLY all time… Surely He can help me with my writing.
Don’t you realize the same about what you love? He knows how to garden (Genesis 1), how to cook (think Manna), how to make garments (almost the whole book of Numbers), how to make art (look at you and me, or any sunset), how to parent (hello!)– He has done any and everything you can think of, and He is the best at E V E R Y T H I N G!
You can trust His wisdom, I promise! With prayer, He will reveal His will unto you, and His Word promises us that His will is GOOD, His will is PLEASURABLE, and His will is PERFECT (Romans 12:2). Don’t worry about what you’ll loose when the Kingdom is what you’re going to gain!
Trust in YAHUAH with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
Go With The Flow & Have Fun
Listen, I know that being an Israelite can sometimes be… unfun. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Our life is not just about end-time prophecy, doomsday prepping, and trying to escape Babylon.
He tells us to enjoy the fruits of our labor, and eat and drink and be merry while we are still alive with the short days He’s given us on the earth for this is His gift to man! (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
It is not a sin to enjoy glorifying Yah. In fact, I believe glorifying Yah is the most enjoyable task we will ever take up. I think that’s how He has wired us. To find true eternal joy when we magnify His Name.
Some months, I publish five posts. Then I go two months without posting anything. Some posts are about homemaking, femininity, and the usual stuff; and sometimes, I share random updates about my life. Sometimes I talk about my husband, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I send emails when I post a new article, sometimes I don’t.
I do what’s natural, what comes easy, and what keeps this feeling like fun as opposed to being labor!
Don’t get me wrong, you’ll come to find for yourself that blogging is a LOT of work, more than most people expect when first starting out. But when you’re doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like work. And when it begins to feel like work, maybe you aren’t doing what you love anymore but doing what you think you ought to be doing.
Having an Israelite brand does put you in front of the impressionable minds of a stiff-necked people, but it doesn’t make you responsible for other people’s salvation. They are to seek out their own salvation with fear and trembling. You are no one’s savior, so don’t use that as an excuse to be boring under the guise of “I’m supposed to serve” or “I’m supposed to act this way or that way”. Truly have fun.
In summarizing this post, any Israelite looking to blog or create a brand should
- Choose and focus on their passions ONLY, otherwise you will fall flat, abandon it, and will have wasted valuable time
- Not be afraid to experiment if they don’t know their passions yet
- Understand your motivations first, NOT your goals. Why does it matter? Why are you passionate about this? Does this glorify Yah?
- Trust Yah’s business advice! He is the sustainer and destroyer of economies. He is a builder of kings, a maker of clothing, a sower, a parent, a writer…He is literally EVERYTHING and He has accomplished everything! We can trust His leadership
- Enjoy this journey! Even though we’re Israelites and holy, we’re STILL human! His gift to us is that we enjoy our short lives while we have them (Eccl. 8:15), so there is no sin in blogging just for fun so long as we’re NOT encouraging or endorsing wickedness or worldly lifestyles!
I still encourage you to watch the accompanying YouTube video if you haven’t already, as I touch up on some other things in it as well.
Thank you for coming by today, I truly pray this post is valuable to you on your journey as a content creator after Yah’s own heart.
Can you think of any other sisters (or even brothers) who want to build a website, a brand or following in the Truth but don’t know how? Share this post with them!
As I state in the video, I’ve taken a brief hiatus to care for my home during this season, so if you want to keep up with me, make sure to join my e-mail newsletter as I share more there than on Instagram!
Shabbat Shloma
