Tuesday, September 24, 2013

How To Benefit From This Blog


Hello, if you don’t already know me, I am Nina Andres. I am the writer and creator of this little blog. Technically, it’s not really a blog because these posts aren’t exactly blogs, but articles.  Meaty and in-depth articles that get you thinking about God, His Word, and the world around us. Some of these topics can be controversial and alarming, but I didn't hold back because I was following orders and carrying out tasks that were set before me.

Me and my son Charlie - Summer  2013
Updated January 1, 2015
I have decided to continue this blog because I have too much to share and can't fully speak my mind at Virtuous for Love, because the audience there is primarily for women looking for love. Moving forward, this blog will have more of a personal touch and I will be more open and blunt ... because life is too short to hold back and say the things that need to be said. I pray for those who have ears to hear to find this blog. 

 So moving forward, this blog is:

  • Christian based
  • Knowledgeable in End Times and current events used to  fulfill the events written in the Book of Revelation in the Bible
  • Where I share my personal triumphs and struggles
  • Where I post updates on my products and services
  • About motherhood as a Single Mom
  • Where I write raw and straightforward messages inspired by God
  • Also going to be linked to Youtube where some of my articles most popular articles will be videos so you can watch/listen instead of read. COMING SOON for your convenience!

Please email me at nina@virtuousforlove.com and suggest which articles I should turn into a Youtube video. I will no doubt be creating a video for 7 Ways To Tell If You Are In A God Ordained Relationship. This is my most popular article to date. I receive emails almost every week and have had over 9,000 views and counting!
 
Have a blessed and prosperous 2015 and many thanks to my faithful readers. I love and appreciate you all!

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This site is really an archive that houses the articles that were printed for a local newspaper here in Los Angeles, California called the Philippine Tribune. Every time I posted an article for the newspaper, I would post here. The last entry that was published was “Ode to Caregivers and Woe to Mean Old People.” Anything posted after that was not published in the newspaper.

Some of the articles are quite long because they were released in three to five part series’. So when you open an article, you'll get an eyeful and wonder, “When is this going to end?” So pace yourself … Set aside some quiet time to read these articles.

My Process
All of these articles took a lot of time and effort, because I was writing them with God and for God. Although I wasn’t getting paid for it, I treated it like a full-time job. They were written with a level of urgency and understanding of the current climate and uncertain times we live in. During this juncture, I was being refined by God, so my struggles were great and painful. This writing took place shortly after my serial dating days, so I was undergoing a lot of withdrawals and loneliness. He isolated me from many people to get me alone, so I could walk closely with Him and hear Him more clearly.

They are all God breathed, because I wouldn’t write anything without His hand driving me and guiding me. Before I started writing an article, I would wait for two or three confirmations from Him to make sure He really wanted me to write about a particular topic. Then I would pray and worship for several hours. Afterwards, I would ask God for the verses He wanted me to include. Then I would do extensive research: reading articles and books, watching YouTube videos, and/or listening to podcasts of other speakers/pastors. After all that, I would start writing an outline of what God wanted me to say. Then the real writing would begin. I would edit and re-edit about ten times, because I didn’t have an editor. My perfectionistic tendencies would come out. Some articles took 10 hours to write, while others took 100+ hours. You may still find typos and errors, but you'll find God's hand in the flow and spirit of the articles.

Many people don’t know this, but I would stay home for several days at a time writing many of these articles. At times, I would quietly wait on God and focus on what He wanted me to convey in the articles. There were times when He would wake me up at three in the morning to jot down what He wanted me to say. Other times I would prepare for one article, but then something would come up and God would intervene and make me write something else for that particular week. 

Once an article is ready, I would email it to myself and read it again. Then I would pray and meditate over it before sending it out so it will minister to the right people. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even post the articles to this site because I didn’t think it was good enough and that no one really wanted to read it or was following my posts anyway. 

Looking back now, this 18-month writing period was training for the next chapter in my life. I have grown by leaps and bounds through this experience and have a deeper and more intimate relationship with God as a result. My writing and process has matured, but I still heavily depend on His Spirit to guide me. I have been transformed through this work and am continuing to see the ongoing alterations take place.

 I have entered the world as a dating expert and have created a website called virtuousforlove.com, which is a resource that includes blogs, books, and videos to encourage single women in search for God’s best in a future mate. You will find that many of my books don't have Christian titles. I made a decision to write with a different voice that is more practical than spiritual in nature.

 I also want to mention that Charlie, my ten year old son has read all my articles. We would openly discuss the topics afterwards. He has grown quite a bit from reading them. He has also gotten angry at me for mentioning him too often. He has however gotten a clearer picture of God's loving nature. The result of this is ... now he doesn't want to go to the kids section at church. He insists that he doesn't learn enough there and would rather sit in the main sanctuary. I am not suggesting that you let your ten year old read these posts, a few of them have adult subject matter. But if your child is mature and is spiritually curious, let them read a few posts. 

 My twelve year old nephew had some questions about homosexuality and got many of them answered after he read my article, "COMMENTARY: Obama's Support of Gay Marriage." I find that children have a deeper understanding of the world than we think. We don't have to dumb down a subject for them to better understand. We just have to be available to clarify and clear up any misunderstandings. I am richly blessed to have had the chance to walk through these articles with Charlie. His resulting maturity is clearly seen by everyone.


Quick Tips
1 - I recommend reading one article per week.
They are not bite-sized like other blogs. They are more like three to seven course meals, so you may have to pace yourself and read them in bite-sized pieces.

2 - Since all the articles are God breathed, everyone can benefit from reading all of the entries, even if some of them are about kids. God’s Word is made plain and injected in ways that are fresh and easy to follow and ingest.

3 - Set aside some time to sit and read each article. Don’t rush through it, but savor the morsels that God wants to feed you. Many have been blessed and changed by them.

I have received encouraging emails from people who have been enlightened and transformed by my posts. Some are noting that they are reading their Bibles more and are praying more often.

Top Rated Articles
This list is based on how many times the articles have been read. Over time this list will change.
1 - 7 Ways to Tell You Are In a God Ordained Relationship

The Articles I Slaved Over
This lists the articles I spent several weeks researching, contemplating, and writing; logging 100+ hours. I was consumed by that particular topic and immersed myself during those several weeks/months of writing.


Articles I am Most Proud of
This lists the articles that made me grow in many ways. I am proud to attach my name to this body of work. 
Charlie's Favorite Articles
These are the articles that Charlie enjoyed reading and many questions about afterwards.


The two articles that negatively affected me the most while writing them were, “The Wicked One: is on His Way” and “COMMENTARY: Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage.” These two articles wiped me out, because I experienced fierce and heavy spiritual warfare while writing them. I even experienced depression during and after the writing process.

I plan to write more blogs and articles in the future as God leads, but my main focus is writing the dating books at the moment.  I am also posting blogs on my Virtuous for Love site, so please subscribe to both sites so you will get notified when I post anything.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will heed my suggestions so you can benefit from them. Please share them with others as you find yourself being transformed by them and click the “Like” button below to like it on Facebook. Also, please write me. I would love to hear from you and how something I have written has blessed, altered, or shifted your paradigms about life, love, and God.

God Bless You,
Nina Andres

Email me at nina@virtuousforlove.com

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1 comment:

  1. Nwamaka OnyekachiMarch 9, 2015 at 4:21 AM

    Hi Nina, I've added to your blog to my blog list so I don't miss any of your fresh post. May God keep using you to spread his word.

    amakamedia.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete