Companionship and Change

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“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

The other day I was switching over my company’s domain from another provider to WordPress. My hand hovered over the “Submit” button as I went through my mental check list one more time.

No matter how many times I do these things, they give me pause. But I was emboldened by a recent podcast conversation Vicki and I had with long-time blogger, Mark Petruska about embracing tech and non-tech change. Isn’t it amazing how knowing you are in good company helps? It certainly is one of the great benefits I get from doing these podcasts.

Vicki Atkinson and I loved this conversation with Mark. It’s his 15th year blogging on WordPress. And he blogged on a different platform before that. Clearly, he’s a pro.

So he walks us through the many things that he’s done to keep things fresh over the years. Switching themes, changing site names, even combining two blogs and changing URLs.

His advice as a veteran? Know the purpose of your blog and keep it in mind as you redesign.

Mark tells us about December snow and, for us relatively new people to WordPress, it’s some cool history.

One of the takeaways that I love from this conversation is that Mark talks about site design as a creative act in and of itself. So if we are ever stuck in a writing rut, it’s one idea to get us out!

This is a really encouraging episode that on the surface is about  the considerations behind designing a good site and all that goes in to a WordPress blog. But really it’s also about knowing your purpose and embracing change in any area. Mark’s long experience is both illuminating and emboldening.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling – not only in our words but also in our site designs.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 96: Embracing Tech and Non-Tech Change with Mark Petruska

HoTM Episode 96 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Mark’s book – a brilliant thriller: https://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Kings-Mark-Petruska/dp/1614344604

Mark’s blog: https://markpetruska.com/

Other Episodes with Mark:

Episode 65: How to Be the New Guy with Mark Petruska

Episode 41: Enter if You Dare with Mark Petruska

Episode 33: Love Lessons with Mark Petruska

Episode 26: Eye of the Tiger with Mark Petruska

Episode 18: No Time for Kings with Mark Petruska

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

32 thoughts on “Companionship and Change”

  1. I soooooo get this! It’s that last second balking that gets us! Tech continues to be a challenge for Mark has such a funny and friendly, and you can do it attitude that it does help me to overcome some of my fears. He’s a great guest.

    Liked by 3 people

  4. So relatable! I’ve now developed (unintentionally) checklists for my double-checks and third-looks on anything with a Submit, Publish, Go, Agree, Buy, Yes, Maybe, Next, More, Cancel, Delete, Add button. 😆🤷🏾‍♀️

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Yep, you nailed it, Wynne. I’m going round and round with ProWritingAid because of a change in the app. Time wasted, or is it? Such a change made me reevaluate what I’ve been taking for granted, and that’s leading to new discoveries. Some are good and others are not so good. Growth. Don’t you just love it?

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I’ve been blogging on and off now for 3 years and I still haven’t got a clue how to configure the website theme and the layout. I just settled for the one I have now as I was fed up with it all. I have found that the posts receive more likes when they are concise and not too long and tediously worded. To quote Alan Watts (nice to see you included one of his quotes on your post), “When you get the message, hang up the phone”. The meaning behind this is that once you’ve got your point across you don’t need to include further writings or anything.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I enjoyed this conversation with Mark, and I’ve been blogging for almost as long, 14 years. 🙂 I like the analogy of renovating a kitchen to renovating our blogs. I love changing things up and have made subtle changes over the years. However, anything big scares me. My tech knowledge goes only so high. I don’t have plugins because of the cost, but I do pay for ad free. The issues I’ve had are with adding a widget. Sometimes, I’ll add one, and then an existing widget will disappear. I just renovated my sidebar widgets and by some miracle, everything worked to my liking. 🙂 I remember that snow too and miss it. I wish Santa could bring a blog manager for Christmas. Wouldn’t that be nice? 😊 Thanks, Wynne and Vicki, for a fun and informative chat with Mark. 💖

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, a blog manager for Christmas. Wouldn’t that be nice?! Thank you for chiming in with your long experience as well, Lauren! We are so grateful for your companionship and participation!

      Liked by 1 person

  13. What I appreciate so much about your and Vicki’s podcast is that you can make a seemingly niche topic like updating a WordPress theme so engaging and all about the human condition.

    Love hearing Mark and all your thoughts around the purpose of updating the theme or a URL and how it’s driven by personal or professional motivations.

    Interesting to hear the discussion on how online posts stay beyond the intended timeline so good to think through grinding one’s gears beforehand. I’m just so glad I am not a teenager today! 😂 The things our kids will have to navigate through their adolescence with us hovering nearby.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ah, Ab – – that’s such a wonderful compliment that we can make it engaging. The credit goes to Mark! Thanks for listening and for always being such a bright spot in our lives!

      Liked by 1 person

  14. The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

    Yup, so true! Hesitate too long and we can talk ourselves out of moving forward!

    Liked by 1 person

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