The Post that Made Me Lose the Most Subscribers. Is Substack an Idol? And Other Online Ministry Moments of 2024

Merry Christmas from my family to yours

What to expect in this post:

• First and foremost, Christmas!!! (mugs, crafts, & one bundled up little Florida family and their Christmas adventures)

• The post that made me lose the most subscribers (& ironically, the one that gained the most)

• NOT making Substack an idol

• Dealing with haters opportunities for ministry

• Why the plan of monthly Dear Daisy letters and the Monthly Mother series dissolved (for now. Surgery, stress, and slivers of time.)

• Jaw on the floor praising Jesus moments (souls saved, the Nigerian church, & more)

---

🚨🎄QUICK CHRISTMAS ANNOUNCEMENT: I have Christmas gifts to give!

From November 29th (Black Friday) to December 31st, the Annual Paid Subscription will be 50% off. So, instead of $50 for the year, it will only be $25 (that’s about $2/month!). All new Annual Subscribers (including existing ones) will be emailed a Christmas bundle I created, 3 downloadable Christmas poster prints to decorate your home (in addition to the regular Annual Subscriber benefits. Click button below for details).

---

1st family Christmas card photo in the spot we got engaged on Christmas Eve 2022

Merry Christmas! I would like to start by saying that everything you see on Writing with Jesus is free. However we do have paid subscribers (two of which are my mother-in-law and pastor’s wife. Thank you Jeannie and Jenn!), and I felt led to fill these people in on the ministry efforts that their finances are supporting, and overall, how my first 7+ months on Substack have gone so far. Everything the Lord has taught me and the biggest highlights. Some are good, some are a little ugly, but they all glorify Him.

It’s the matching puffer jackets for me

I also wanted to showcase some behind the scenes of our Tona Family Christmas season for anyone interested in the gal and her crew behind the screen.

If there was something pertinent to the Gospel in this post, I’d make it all free. But this is more like sitting down for coffee in Santa mugs while my 9-month-old, Daisy, crawls to everything that is not one of her toys. Without the interruptions of her fussing and needing a diaper change of course.

Don’t hate on our tiny Christmas tree. She was $10 USD from someone’s garage and that’s what I call a DEAL.

I started Substack on May 4, 2024. I remember it specifically because it is the day that the “May the 4th be with you” Star Wars memes are flooding the internet. I was eight weeks postpartum and had just gone back to work part-time as a mental health therapist, working only 2 days a week. While on a prayer walk with a tiny sleeping Daisy snuggled into my chest, I cried out to the Lord.

I didn’t feel ready to go back to work. And while I was thankful that I had a job at all and that I had the privilege of working part-time so I could spend the majority of my week being a mom, I also deeply, painfully, did not want to work at all. I wanted to stay home with my baby every hour of the day. I was dreaming of homeschooling when the time comes. But my husband and I know there are bills to pay. And we can’t afford for me quit my job. And so, I brought these longings to Jesus’ feet.

Lord, I know that at one time you called me to be a therapist. But I just want to be a mom. And I want to write. You know that. They are the only two things I’ve always been passionate about since I was a little girl. I promise, Lord, if you make a way for me to write so I can help support my family, I’ll glorify You.

And then, strangely, Substack came to mind. It was as if the Lord dropped it into my spirit. I was subscribed to only one publication, Jak Major’s

Feminine Genius

, who I only knew from her old Instagram influencer days. Other than that, I didn’t know anything about Substack. I didn’t know it was an app, or that anyone could use it for a writer platform. But a spark burst within me. If you’re a creative, you know the one I’m talking about.

It was almost as if the Lord was saying, “Then, write.”

I had a blog on Wix since 2022 (that nobody read. And I mean nobody. Except maybe some of my Facebook friends which basically means some women from my mom’s church and people I went to high school with). It was something fun, something just for me. A place to expend my creative energy, process my miscarriage and pregnancy after loss, and practice comedic writing. That day while Daisy took her naps, I took the time to start a Substack, to export all my old blog posts (shoutout to Substack for making that quite easy), and create what we now know as Writing with Jesus.

So, here’s some highlights. It’s been a little over 7 months and boy, have they been fun.

T-shirt and tank top Christmas season with the sweetests because this is Florida

The Post that Made Me Lose the Most Subscribers (& ironically, the one that gained the most)

I am not sure of exactly how many people unsubscribed from this post. Substack doesn’t offer those statistics (and maybe that’s a good thing), but I do know that the numbers started dropping immediately. I stopped counting around 15. And the most wonderful thing happened. For a few minutes my flesh was hurt, my stress elevated. Oh dear, how we can easily slip into the approval of man. And then I began to pray.

The Lord instantly reminded me that my validation comes from Him alone and not people. 2,000 years ago, people watched Jesus perform miracles in front of their very eyes and they still didn’t believe Him then or follow Him. In fact, they killed Him.