I don't know what I'm doing.

But I'm glad my God does.

My personal Facebook page got deleted yesterday. I received a notification in the morning that I had violated Facebook’s Community Guidelines and had to dispute the decision. The customer service member I talked to was polite but could not help me understand what I posted or said to violate the policies. And after review today, I have a Facebook page again.

I say all of this not to start an uproar. I don’t expect anything more from Facebook or Instagram or social media in general. I’m very grateful for the tools they had been to me in both connecting with friends and family long distance, and in posting and sharing poetry publically. It’s been a gift from God to share my own prayers in the form of poetry and hear from readers the encouragement and challenge it has been to them. I’m grateful.

I’m also not naive that I’ll be able to use Instagram or Facebook forever to post or share poetry and devotionals. Apps and services come and go, and one of the clearest ways God speaks to and directs me is through closing doors. I see His hand guiding me to move to a new primary form of communication, and to collect and organize my poetry in a more secure system than an Instagram feed. It seems wise to get the “verified” sticker on Instagram for a little more protection. And I’m very grateful for a God who is in control, even over things like algorithms and exposure and social media.

Here’s what I’d love to hear from you: As I move from social media as the primary way of communicating - I’ll still post some but not as often - what’s most helpful to you in the realm of writing and artwork and poetry? What would make you open and read an email from me? What are your favorite poems - so I can collect and organize them?

And finally, if you’d like to hear more from me, sign up for my substack. Stay if it’s helpful. There’s certainly no pressure to do so. I’m grateful for your time and attention. I’m grateful to write poetic prayers that point you to Jesus.