Much if this will be familiar to those of you who have been visiting this page for a while, but there are some brand new resources that I would like to introduce you to for those who may be new to this website, or to the Common Sense Christian and 30 Day Bible Challenge Facebook pages.

My name is Rick Bloodworth and I began the commonsensechristian.com website in 2010. I had been a preacher in the small town of Happy, Texas for 15 years and was noticing a need for wholesome, Bible based messages that didn't take a lot of time to read, but which would provide an encouraging word from a practical point of view. There were already an abundance of websites that seemed to focus on gloom and doom, or which highlighted the doctrinal differences that seem to be a hallmark of our modern day world, and I wanted to have something that was a bit more positive - something that would unite Christians in our common goal of serving our Lord and Savior.

About eight years ago, with much help from my wife Carolyn and our children, we started the 30 Day Bible Challenge, a simple method of reading through the New Testament in a month's time. This challenge seemed to hit a responsive chord, and it quickly expanded to a 90-day commitment to study the New Testament, followed by four separate 30-day challenges for reading through the Old Testament. Since that time, more than 400 churches have taken the challenge and we have sent out over 100,000 of the challenges to various churches and individuals. 

It got to where it was keeping Carolyn and I so busy just staying up with that effort, that we made plans to retire from the local work (I say "we" because a good preacher's wife such as the one I have has nearly as much work as the preacher). So, I turned in my "five-year notice", and stepped down from full-time preaching in October of 2023. Since that time I have been working on getting a YouTube channel and a podcast channel started, something that we finally got up and running a few weeks ago. Both channels are called "Common Sense Christian" and you can find them on YouTube and Spotify at the present time.  

Before going any further, I do want to be clear as to why we chose the name "Common Sense Christian". It was not because I think that I have so much common sense, but because I am convinced that the Christian life is the most common sense way to live. Further, it is the common sense instruction contained within the pages of the inspired Bible that guides the Christian in leading his or her life in this wise path.

Since most of you are reading this on Facebook or the website, I won't go into anymore detail on the written articles, but I did want to describe the format of the new YouTube and podcast channels. At the present, I am planning on having 4 episodes a week that will typically range from 15 to 30 minutes in length. On Sunday's at 7:00 AM, I will have a Bible themed message that will contain a positive and inspirational lesson designed to encourage and make you think about your service to God and Christ. For lack of imagination, these episodes will be called, "Sunday Sermons". As with all of the episodes, once it is on the site, it will be available for viewing at any time you find convenient.

On each Tuesday I will be doing lessons about the nation in which most of you who will be watching actually live - America. If you are like me you will have noticed that our nation has been on a destructive path for a number of years and, like me, you are probably concerned about that direction. These episodes, however, will not be as focused upon the problems as much as on the solutions. By looking at the history of the United States and her founders, I believe we can have a much better frame of reference as to the impressive start that this once righteous nation had. By looking at the lives of the godly patriots who started this nation, I believe we can become inspired as to how we can help take this nation in a better direction. These episodes will be under the category of "Patriot Tuesday". 

On Thursdays, I will have a message that is based on stories that are positive in nature and that will help us think about how we can better live. These stories will be selected from various sources that I have found to be both inspiring and motivational. I always enjoyed listening to old radio broadcasts by men such as Paul Harvey and Earl Nightingale. I have loved their positive and thought provoking messages and I hope to have a similar theme in these programs. We have so many sources of programs that focus on the harshness of life that we often miss out on its beauty, and I hope to spend a little more time "smelling the roses" in these programs. These episodes will be called "Story Teller's Thursday".

Finally, I also want to address the economic realities in which we live and provide some practical ideas as to how to address these difficulties. My education was in Business Administration for my undergraduate studies, and my Master's Degree is in Finance and Economics. That combined with my work as a real estate appraiser for over a dozen years, and my career as an overpaid preacher on a mostly low paying income, have given me additional experiences that I hope might help you, at least in the area of avoiding the multitude of financial mistakes I have made along the way, These episodes will cover everything from common sense prepping, to budgeting on various levels of income, to ideas on a range of savings and investment strategies, as well as ideas as to how we might actually retire some day. These episodes will be under the category entitled "Financial Friday".

I appreciate so very much all of you who have taken time out of your busy days to read these articles, and I hope that you will check out these new channels to find out if they might also help you in some small way. I am convinced that we need to be realistic about the world in which we live, but I am convinced that we truly need to be optimistic about the future. After all, by God's grace, we are planning on going to Heaven someday, aren't we? Why not enjoy the journey and do our best to help as many along the way as possible while we are at it?