About the Author

Now graduated from her role as a homeschooling mom of 8, Dawn Camp devotes her time and love of stories to writing her first novel. She enjoys movie nights, cups of Earl Grey, and cheering on the Braves. She and her husband navigate an ever-emptying nest in the Atlanta suburbs.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Thank you! I been struggle with that for years since I started blogging as well. It even maked me depress that I don’t have the perfect kid or the perfect husband. But, I just concentrate in the Lord and what He has for us.

  2. This is a huge, huge deal. Thank you so much for writing about it boldly. I have struggled with the “numbers game” since I started blogging more consistently a few weeks ago. Can I share what the Lord’s been speaking to me lately about my blog?

    (…which, coincidentally, has a mere 21 followers – 16 in blogger and 5 via email…)

    Here it is: “YOUR voice, YOUR personality, and YOUR words….are UNIQUE. I will express Myself through you in unique ways. My heart will come out through you in ways that it wouldn’t through anyone else. And there are people out there who will be able to receive from you and whose hearts will be captured by Me through your writing, that maybe wouldn’t be through anyone else’s. And the same goes for the next blogger down the block. So don’t quit because your numbers are small. Trust Me to bring the people who need what I’ve put in YOU…uniquely. Be responsible to steward and express what I’ve given you.”

    I think I’m STARTING to get it….. 🙂

    Thanks for this, Dawn.

  3. Amen, Sister! What you wrote is the honest truth! It hurts me to see the kids comparing themselves to others. They can miss who they truly are by comparing themselves. They usually see the “what’s wrong with them” instead of “what makes them beautiful inside & out.” I have also seen when kids will follow another kid and do what she’s doing instead of what they want to do. They think it makes them popular & cool by doing exactly what the other girl is doing. But look at everything they can miss out on life by not doing what they truly enjoy doing.

  4. Ah, the daughter is learning young. We all struggle and the sooner we learn that we really only have an audience of ONE… we are better off. Luckily she has a mama who will help to soften the hurt.
    I love the Klout comment… what a silly place that is… they told me I influenced people about BEER. Within a few days I was influencing womeni n Wichita about beer. Great! That was my goal in the first place! Before Klout my influence was encouraging women to walk in the freedom of Christ, but thanks to Klout, I am now on track. Lol
    blessings to you.

  5. That’s why I’ve sort of kept social media at arm’s length a bit, and why I’ve taken a big step back from blogging. Twitter never really “clicked” for me, and I tried and tried to blog often but it began to feel forced. I too fell into the trap of the numbers game. It’s hard not to get swept up in the rush, the sort of feeling of celebrity, the feeling that “I’m important because I have such-and-such many followers!”. No, that’s not what matters. I’m important because I’m important to God. And I think more of us could stand to get back to that truth.

    Thank you for being honest about what can be a really touchy subject.

  6. That last line is a keeper! What a wonderful reminder. We get so caught up in who “likes” us and what we say that we forget that it matters most that God likes us and is pleased with what we say.

  7. This is such an important topic and great article. I worry for kids’ self-esteem because of the ability to constantly compare through social media. My kids are young, but I fully plan on teaching them as they begin to use social media & the internet that the internet metrics just really don’t matter. They don’t have the ability to measure what’s really important in life.

  8. Amen! I’ve fallen into that trap, and I’m still there some days! That’s not how I want to live my life though. I’d much rather focus my attention on Him.

  9. AMEN!! I don’t do a lot of social media–facebook once in a while & read a few blogs that’s it. Don’t really care what others think of me–God made me this way & like me or not this is it! I do want people to see Jesus through me–That makes me happy!

  10. AMEN!! I don’t do a lot of social media–facebook once in a while & read a few blogs that’s it. Don’t really care what others think of me–God made me this way & like me or not this is it! I do want people to see Jesus through me–That makes me happy!

    Forgot to put name & e-mail!

  11. Dawn, this is *so* true. How is something so full commonsense *so* easy to forget? Loved this: “Show me a score that measures face-to-face interaction, how much time I spend doing laundry, and whether my husband and children feel loved. ”

    I will be remembering this. Actually, I think I’ll post it to my computer!!!!! =D Thank you so much.

  12. Unfortunately, being a writer it’s all a part of building your audience. It’s part of the job. So you do have to worry about the numbers, but if you don’t intend to write a novel or book, then what you say is true. The numbers game shouldn’t be played. You write to your audience.

    I like to balance it all out and put a face to each number. Face to face in real life and online is equally as important. But I can’t believe that teenagers think the numbers are that important. It’s like an amped up popularity game.

    Sometimes, I do wish we could go back to no computers. There was a lot more face to face, letter writing, and quality time spent outside with our imaginations. I think in some ways we have allowed the computer and video games to steal away our children’s childhood. But don’t get me started on that. We live in the here and now and it is what it is. Great blog and great points.

  13. you go girl, you tell them how it is. you are right about all that you have written
    real relationships or figures based on technology are not the same.
    it is a crafty war zone out there with this tpye of battle , don’t get sucked into it.
    you go girl!

  14. Oh my this is me!!! I need to stop counting and comparing… I treasure the people who are in my life… at the end of my days it’s the people that I want to remember… not how many people read my blog!!! Thank you!!! God has really been speaking to me about his area of my life…

  15. Yeah, about Klout. Kind of bizarre that people would even care about that, isn’t it?

    Comparing yourself to others is so hard, and is really good for no one in the end. God made us all individuals, different for a reason, and it’s easy to forget that. I’m finding the more I focus on Him, the less I focus on things like comparing, worrying about blog numbers, or even what my weight is. Crazy, I know!

  16. Thank you! Everything pushes you to go there and there you find yourself sleeping less, enjoying less, missing the truly important things, missing the simple beautiful things, all for what? I just finished a post on my blog about a season of change. I am happy to see that others realize the trap that all this technology is robbing the quality of Life from people. Stand firm and simplify your life, we only get this one previous life to get it right!
    Thank you again for having the courage to say so.
    Kim
    http://Www.Imgirlwithoutwings. Com

  17. the fruit of comparison = self-doubt and I’m admittedly a victim. It’s the one thing I don’t like about blogging. And I think Ann Voskamp is up to something, turning all the stats off and just listening to His voice. And btw, I’ve loved seeing all your Instagrams with Deidra as you travel today. so fun!

  18. Every time we compare ourselves to people, it’s never apple to apples. We either compare our worst moment to someone best moment, resulting in the feeling of being a complete failure or we compare our best to someone worst and come out prideful. The word says pride comes after the fall. After the subsequential fall we, again, compare our worst to someone’s best, resulting in a rollercoaster of emotions! If we choose to step outside of society’s regulations and choosing God’s Grace, we will actually have less stress and more peace. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10. – OUCH! LOL To take my mind off troubles is to pray, worship, read and repeat the word and finding little ways to be a blessing to someone else fills my hope with a little more pep! It’s even more fulfilling when done anonymously 🙂 We desire to make a big impact on others by striving to do big things. The best way to impact a person is through their heart…a heart is delicate and needs soft loving gestures of kindness.

  19. Unfortunately, when numbers means sales, comparisons are necessary in order to keep ahead of the bill collectors. Both my daughter and I have to earn a living from home, my daughter because she has to stay with me 24/7/365, due to seizures and myself because I am not able to work or get disability.

    I have no home church; it is not for the lack of trying. My hubby tries as hard as he can, but the need for income to add to his has been immediate for 27 years, since I lost my job due to a fire. I try not to compare myself to other but so often, those who are health do not understand invisible chronic illnesses and will heap recrimination on you due to such. I have had to beg for help over the years, like the beggar Lazarus in the event Jesus spoke of and the comments (or silence), denial and being ignored, I have gotten in return throws it back up in my face constantly of my lack of independence.

    For a long time my own husband and son turned away from God because of the way, I was treated in different churches. It was only by hiding the hurtful comments in Christ, and living is forgiveness before them that caused them to see you cannot judge God by how His people behave. The reason we end up comparing our selves constantly is, because that is the “spirit” in the world, which often finds its way into the fellowship of believers.

    The enemy of our soul has a way of getting this through to so many people and it is why our Lord told us to encourage each other. It is also by renewing our minds daily in His Word that we overcome the world and such things even when they exist within the body of believers.

    We have had to learn to keep an eye on the numbers with our heart guarded, for numbers matter when it comes to sales or page views. Most advertisers will not even look at you until you average over 100,000 pages views monthly. So when you have a blog that must earn an income, well, when there are no replies or comments for months on end, one does begin to wonder if what they have to say does not impact or matter, so it kind of gets touch on the way one feels about self. It is then we must be reminded of looking up, not inward that counts.

  20. Today so much of life is about “what are the numbers”? I get strange looks from friends and some family members when I tell them I don’t “do” Facebook, or Twitter etc. My reasons are simple.

    Hiding behind words I could be anyone I wanted to be. I’m intelligent so I can come across as someone you’d “like” or perhaps not. My numbers could be high for “likeability” but would they be accurate numbers?

    No! You only “like” me because of what I’ve written, not even a small Viewmaster snap shot of who I am. You don’t “like” me because you know me, my heart, my passions or even where I keep my soapbox for those times I need to take a stand on issues I feel passionately about.

    So my stand is this, I don’t need to share everything about my life on a public social media page. I am not so desperate to be “liked” or my life so devoid of human interaction that I seek the approval of people I will never know, nor would care to know.

    People who have met me and “know” me will either like me or not but they will do so because they’ve met someone of substance, in the flesh.