Dad in the Middle » Blog News

Ads or No Ads – What I Decided

Wayne — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Dad in the Middle has become a bit of a labor of love for me. Sometimes I think I should give it all up, and I wonder whether it is all really worth the time. What I started as an outlet for me has become something that other people read. Every time I think about that, I am extremely humbled and somewhat astounded. That coupled with some very encouraging words from people I have met online and several that I spoke with last week at the CM Expo really encouraged me to persevere. I write what I write and publish what I publish not because I feel like I have anything special to offer but because people have expressed to me that it has been edifying to them.

With that introduction, the purposes of this post is to explain why I have decided to offer advertising space on this blog. I feel like this site has a loyal group of readers, and I felt like I owed you some explanation for the change. That said, I have some idea who those readers are, and I don’t think the advertising is going to be a put-off to them, but an explanation still seem warranted. When I started this blog, the thought of including advertising was the furthest thing from my mind. I never imagined that enough people would read it that anyone would even want to advertise (maybe they still won’t). Don’t get me wrong, the site doesn’t get massive numbers these days, but it does get enough that some people may want to advertise their products on the site.

As the site has grown, I’ve spent more and more time and more and more money on it, and if some of that money can be recouped from advertising, it seems like a win-win situation. Secondly, and more importantly, one of the purposes I have for this site is to be a source of information for people in children’s ministry. My hope is that the ads on the sight may expose you to products and services which you are not aware of but which would be beneficial to your ministry.

I have this tendency to over think things, and perhaps I have done that in terms of advertising, but I did actually wrestle with the issue of whether or not it was a good thing. I came to the decision that so long as could control three things, advertising on the site would be acceptable:

Advertisers cannot, and will not, impact what I decide to write about. My articles are guided (I hope) by biblical principals and my relationship with Jesus Christ. I can’t, in good conscience, alter my opinions, review, subjects or anything else because someone has chosen to advertise on this site. I do not set out to offend in anything that I write, but if an advertiser decides they don’t like something I’ve written and wants to remove their ad, that’s fine with me. I’m really only doing this to recover some costs – not to make money. I am beholden only to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, not someone’s advertising dollar.
I will not advertise things which I find offensive or otherwise contrary to the goals of this website. I have total control over some of the advertising on this site, and will exercise that control to choose to advertise products which I think will be of benefit to the users of this site and consistent with my beliefs. For those avenues where I do not exercise total control (like Google Ads), I do monitor them as much as possible to make sure nothing offensive is included. If you see something I miss, please let me know about it.
My goal is that the advertisements would be a resource and not a detraction from the site. Personally, I don’t like sites where the advertising is more prominent than the content, and I don’t want Dad in the Middle to become that type of site. I will do everything I can to make sure that advertising is an addition to the site but not the main content.

There you have it. I may be the only one who ever reads this posts, but I feel better putting my criteria out there. If you are an advertisers and you feel like your product would be a good fit for Dad in the Middle, please feel free to click on one of the boxes to the right!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Wayne — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 12:00:16 +0000

Today, I have big news to share with the readers of this blog! It’s been a little over a year now since I started earnestly writing this blog here at Dad in the Middle. In that time, I have made a number of online acquaintances within the children’s ministry community who are also bloggers. I have learned a lot from them and have enjoyed sharing my own thoughts here on Dad in the Middle.

For those of you who are consistent readers of this blog, you know that one of my favorite sites for children’s ministry tips and ideas is Ministry-to-Children.com. Over the last year, I have participated a number of times in their Children’s Ministry Think Tanks, promoted their forums, participated in their Kidmin Blog Madness Tournament, and included their articles in the monthly Children’s Ministry Blog Patrol more than any other single blog. Ministry-to-Children.com is one of the largest and fastest growing children’s ministry sites on the internet today.

So, when Tony Kummer asked me to join the talented team of writers he has assembled for Ministry-to-Children, it was an opportunity which I had to jump at. So, I am pleased to announce that, starting today, I will be publishing several articles a month on that site as well.

Last night, my first article titled WHO IS WAYNE STOCKS? was published on Ministry-to-Children.com. The article introduces me to Tony’s readers and provides some insight into my personal mission when it comes to working with kids. I hope that by partnering with Ministry-to-Children.com I will be able to further that mission and ultimately assist in reaching more kids for the Kingdom of Christ.

So, where does that leave this site? Now that I am writing for Ministry-to-Children.com, where does that leave Dad in the Middle? My plan is to continue to write for Dad in the Middle. Given the additional articles to be published at Ministry-to-Children.com, the frequency of posts to Dad in the Middle may decrease, but I hope that the quality of the posts will not. Tony has asked me to write a handful of articles each month for his site. Given that I have a whole lot more than that to say, I imagine that I will still have plenty to write about here on Dad in the Middle.

Furthermore, as my articles are posted over on Ministry-to-Children.com I will post a brief synopsis and link to the article here for Dad in the Middle readers. I do not intend to duplicate posts from Ministry-to-Children.com on this site.

FYI, for those of you checking in for the normal Saturday morning video, make sure you check back tomorrow for the post I had originally intended for today.

Dad in the Middle Finally Has a Permanent Home

Wayne — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:38:59 +0000

After much debating and consternation, I finally decided to move Dad in the Middle to its own domain. When I changed the name of the blog several months ago, I purchased the domain name to go along with it, but in the end, I decided to move everything to WayneStocks.com instead. If I’ve done it right, all links should still work, but you might want to update your rss feeds and links going forward to make sure there is no interruption. Also, let me know what you think of the new layout. I’m not set on it yet, but I had throw something together! No housewarming gifts needed!

Dad in the Middle – The Year in Review

Wayne — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:49 +0000

In a couple of days, I intend to post on some New Year’s Resolutions and look forward to the coming year, but today I thought it made sense to look back at the past. Specifically, I thought it might be interesting to look back at the past year of this blog. As any of you who read these posts have probably surmised, I am a list person, and will get to some lists of best and most popular in a little bit. Before we do that though, I want to take just a bit to reflect.

It has been an exciting year for me here at Dad in the Middle. I started this blog back in the Summer of 2008 with a series on the Biblical Definition of Love. Not many people read it back then – which was OK. I mainly started the blog because I like to write out what I am studying, and I decided a blog might be an interesting way to do that and if a dozen people or so read it or got anything out those posts, that would have been fine! I continued along that way for a while and even wrote about a few other things. I took a couple of month break from writing anything at the beginning of the year, and the first post was not until February 21 when I posted I’m sorry…an open letter to my family and friends a combination of confession and testimony. After another month of two or three posts, something happened towards the end of March. I started to feel more and more called to try to use this blog more for the glory of God and less as my personal note taking site.

On March 29, I summarized an interesting Nightline Debate on the topic of “Is Satan Real?” After that, the posts became more and more frequent. On April 7 I started The Blog Patrol which has morphed several times during the year and become a popular feature on the sight. It is now a monthly feature called The Children’s Ministry Blog Patrol. Over the course of the year, my focus has also shifted from general issues related to Christianity to a greater focus on issues related to Children’s Ministry.

Another significant moment came following a post I did called 8 Reasons to Get Involved in Children’s Ministry from Psalm 78 in June. Following that post, David Wakerly was nice enough to link to it from his site Kid Inspiration. He was also kind enough to take a good natured dig at the unimaginative name of the blog (which at that time was Wayne’s Random Thoughts) which in his words “is what you call your blog before you realise there are approx. 18.7 million with the same title.” In his defense, there was a smiley face after that text! In all seriousness though, I had thought about changing the name previously and David’s post was enough to prompt me to come up with something we gave rise to renaming the blog Dad in the Middle.

There have been times throughout the year when I have considered taking a break from the blog or stopping altogether. Invariably, I get a comment or a kind word from someone who has found the blog useful. I have been, and continue to be, amazed how God has worked through this simple blog to affect lives. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised though – he is a big God! I am looking forward to the coming year and what it will bring, but the following are some of my favorites from the past year:

TEN MOST VISITED POSTS/PAGES THIS YEAR

These are, very simply, the ten posts and/or pages which received the most traffic during the past year. The only one that really surprised me was that my About Me page made the cut, but I guess people want to see if what they’re reading was written by some nut job. I hope they weren’t too disappointed when they found out that is was!

I should point out that this list was compiled about two weeks ago. Since that time, The Real Christmas Story propelled itself up to #7 on the list from #12 and almost took over the #6 spot. Rather than redo the list, I thought I would mention it here!

MY TEN FAVORITE POSTS IN THE PAST YEAR

Some of my favorite posts to write did make it into the most popular list like 30 Ways to Get Connected with Your Kids, but many did not. The following are some of the stories I enjoyed the most and/or most enjoyed writing about.

TOP TEN UNDER-VIEWED POSTS

Then, there were a number of posts that just never took off, but I thought were worth reading (in my humble opinion). Feel free to check them out now.

TEN FAVORITE SATURDAY MORNING VIDEO POSTS

It didn’t happen by design, but Saturday morning has become a day where I generally post a video that I’ve come across that interested me. Here are some of my favorites.

TEN FAVORITE JUST-FOR-FUN POSTS

Sometime on Saturday mornings, and sometimes on other days throughout the week, I’ve posted videos or other items that are just for fun. I believe God gave us laughter for a reason. Here are some of my favorites!

TOP TEN (PLUS ONE) “LIST POSTS”

Finally, if you didn’t catch on before this recap, you should have by now – I’m a list person. I keep lists of lists. Technically, this is a list of lists, and since there were so many of them, I actually made this a Top Ten plus 1! These are some of my favorite list posts from the prior year.

Finally…an index!

Wayne — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:09 +0000

Well, it finally happened! Yesterday, I published my 200th article on this blog which means it is now officially impossible to find anything. I maintain (as time permits) index pages for each of the series on this blog, but there was no easy way to find a specific article or to browse articles on a given topic. So, I am pleased today to announce that I have added an INDEX to Dad in the Middle. A button appears at the top of every page allowing you to access the index. Please let me know what you think!

Wayne’s Random Thoughts Is Now “Dad in the Middle”

Wayne — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:58:21 +0000

So, I got a little bit a grief about the name of blog today from Dave Wakerly over on his blog [Kid Inspiration]. Here is what he had to say:

Love this post from Wayne Stocks brilliant random thoughts blog, which is what you call your blog before you realise there are approx. 18.7 million with the same title. (Man, I really know how to build up and tear down in one sentence)

I appreciated the link to my post and also the good natured ribbing about the name of my blog. I have been meaning to come up with something for a while, and his post inspired me to try something new today. So, I am pleased to announce that I am changing the name of this blog (for the time being) to:

Dad In The Middle

Why Dad in the Middle? Well, one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs is Somewhere In The Middle about how we live torn between our old self and our new seld in Christ. I like it so much, I did a little expository post on it several months back. You can find it here if you\’re interested! I was thinking about just going with the song title for the title of my blog, but someone already owns the rights to Somewhereinthemiddle.com, and I wanted to pick a name where I can migrate to a unique URL in the future if I like it. So, I needed something else. Dad just seemed like a natural fit. One of the many things God has blessed me with is four wonderful kids and the privilege of being their Dad. The little about me blurb on my blog has always read “I am a devoted follower of Christ, a husband, a father and a dedicated Children’s Ministry Worker” and Children’s Ministry Worker in the Middle just seemed too long!

Anyhow, please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new name. I’m not set on it, and if you can think of something better, I might just steal it!

Announcement: Plans for the future of “Wayne’s Random Thoughts” Blog

Wayne — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:00:06 +0000

To those of you who frequent this site, I wanted to update you on my plans – at least as they now stand. I never really had a plan when I started the blog other than sharing my thoughts about God, the Bible, Children’s Ministry, etc. Since sometime in March, I have posted a new article every day (with a couple of exceptions), and I have really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I am now at the point where keeping up that schedule takes up too much of my time. So, for the near future at least, I plan to cut back a little. Here is what I am thinking:

1. I have been posting my chapter-by-chapter synopsis of Tedd’s Tripp’s book Shepherding A Child’s Heart on both Sunday and Thursday. I think I am going to cut out the Sunday post and just post a new entry each Thursday. That will leave Sunday as a day off for church and spending more time with the old family – seems appropriate. I may occasionally post on Sundays, but as of right now, I’m not planning on it. I have other books for which I am planning similar series once we’re done with Shepherding a Child’s Heart.

2. I still intend to post an entry in the Monday Morning Prophecy each Monday. I may go to en every-other-Monday schedule at some point, but I’m not planning on that for right now.

3. Tuesday is still ogoing to be reserved for The Blog Patrol a weekly round up of the best blog entries from the blogs I review. This is a popular feature on the blog which I’m not intending on changing it anytime in the near future.

4. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but Saturday has become a day mostly for video posts of fun stuff I find from around the web related to Christianity, Children’s Ministry, the Bible, etc. So long as I keep finding stuff, I plan to continue this, but I may take the occaisional Saturday off.

So, that leaved me weekly “series” for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Sunday is a day off. So, that leaves Wednesday and Friday. My plan, for the near term anyhow, is to post an entry on one of these two days. That entry may be a continuation of one of the other series: I Believe, A Love That Surpasses All Knowledge, or Questions Kids Ask. Or, it may be some other issue based on the sciptures I am studying, my work in Children’s Ministry, or some other issue.

I have found that this blog, and recording my study and thoughts, has deepened my walk with God, and I hope that in some small way God may use it to influence others for his glory. I hope that this post helps to bring you up-to-date on what I am planning for it going forward.

Wayne's Random Thoughts is moving!

Wayne — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:31:58 +0000

So, I’ve only been doing this blogging thing for a few months now, but I decided it was time to move the blog. I’ve started a “mirror blog” here!

While I like the features of WordPress.com, I’ve decided to move the blog over to my own homepage. I’m also really excited about the new layout over there. Let me know what you think.

I apologize for any inconvenience, but I decided it would be easier to make the switch now then wait several months down the road. I am still learning the ropes with the new blog, so I’ve decided to run them as “mirror sites” for at least a week or so until I get comfortable with the new site. After that, I will leave the old content here so that links will still work, but only the new site will reflect the new content.

Thanks again.

Wayne