The BIG 2️⃣🧁

Today we turn 2 years old! 🎉 I am deeply grateful to Jesus for His grace, gifting, and divine enablement to keep writing, to keep showing up, and to keep sharing my thoughts with you all. So today, our Reflection Friday is exactly that, to pause and reflect on the journey of The Yielded Center Blog. Where we have come from? What have we walked through together? What have we built, learned, and overcome?And most importantly how do we move forward from here? Shall we? 🥰

Name

The Yielded Center

Tagline

Living a Spirit-led life

Guiding Verse

“If the Spirit is the source of our life, we must also allow the Spirit to direct every aspect of our lives.”Galatians 5:25 (TPT)

More information is provided at the foot of the page, where the writer shares the heart, purpose, and vision of the blog.

Launch Date: 9 January 2024
Age: 2 years

Overview

The Yielded Center blog is a faith-based, reflective platform focused on personal growth, life reflections, and Christian living. Our content blends personal essays, spiritual reflections, interviews, and series (multi-part posts). The blog is single-handedly managed, edited, and designed by Vanessa Moonkie, who also serves as the main author.


Posting frequency:

High, often multiple posts per week


Top posts:

1. When you leave
2. The Wound – Series
3. I question the love


Special Edition Thursday:

Features individuals from around the world. Notable guests include:
• Naledi Dike
• Ps Alice Halidu
• Lilo Kolisang
• Sibusisiwe Makhubu
• Prosper Iyo
• Jerry Duza
• Erica Williams

Peak engagement:

Activity trippled statistics. Women’s Month 2024 (August) reflecting the blog’s thematic resonance with readers.

Comments

A total of 669

Author / Founder

Vanessa Moonkie

Role:

Founder, sole manager, editor, designer, and main author. You can also find posts where she mentions her counselling expertise as well as book sales. You can find her social media links at the foot of the page for further enquiries.


Responsibilities:

Writing, editing, design, content management, and overall site administration.


Total reads (2024–2025):

About ~8,100

Yearly trend:

2024: Higher reads (~257 posts)
2025: Slightly lower (~177 posts), reflecting 80 fewer posts than 2024

Global engagement/readership:

Africa: South Africa (as number one), Zimbabwe, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda

Europe: Poland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden

North America / Caribbean: USA, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados

Asia: China, India, Hong Kong, UAE, Indonesia (ID), Japan

Oceania: Australia

The blog reaches readers across multiple continents, attracting an audience interested in faith, personal growth, and inspirational content.

Hate / Spam Comments

The blog occasionally receives negative feedback or spam, which is actively moderated:
Examples:

1. Scary content complaint: A reader was “scared by a woman who speaks like a ghost” in a post linking to Kathryn Kulman’s video posted on here. Her comment was deleted.

2. Criticism about content: Spam comments stating the blog focuses on “silly things” rather than “real-life issues”

3. Profanity: A comment containing a cuss word

• Spam comments are automatically filtered and not visible to readers
• Negative or inappropriate comments are moderated
• The comment sections remain active, safe, and constructive

Blog Writing Style & Workflow

• Freestyle writing: ~75% of posts are freestyle, written and posted on the spot without prior drafting. The writer’s most used words are;

1. Yielded People
2. I love you
   
   
   • Featured posts / special content: ~25% of posts, including Special Edition Thursday interviews and themed features, are drafted and scheduled.
   
   • Real-time posts: Most other posts are written spontaneously, reflecting Vanessa’s immediate thoughts and creative flow.
   
   • Impact: This workflow creates a fresh, authentic, and personal feel, keeping content engaging and reflective of real-time reflections
   

Monetary:

The author does not financially benefit from this blog. All content is shared freely with readers, and there is no monetary charge for access or engagement. Any financial support is purely voluntary and given at the discretion of the reader as a gift or donation. Such contributions serve as encouragement and support for the writer, who tirelessly creates and shares content.

Banking details for voluntary giving:

Account Number: 10233478009

Account Name: CN Mbazo

Bank: Standard Bank

Alternatively, support can be given via the following link:

https://buymeacoffee.com/ziyambivanx

Your support, whether through reading, sharing, or giving, is deeply appreciated and helps sustain the work of the blog.

Writer’s comment

Starting off, I honestly had no idea what I’d write about. I didn’t want it to be too formal, but not too informal either. I wanted a space that was in-between, where both the young and the old could find simplicity, understanding, and something that would make them want to come back the next day to read again.

That desire pushed me to be consistent which is NOT easy, especially since I usually freelance or write on the spot. I’m always reading or studying, so I’d always have something to write about, even if someone handed me a pen and paper on the spot. But honestly? Having the drive to sit down and write consistently was a stretch.

I am so grateful that through this blog, I’ve written books, connected with incredible people, and grown not just as a writer, but as a person. I’ve discovered things about myself too, like apparently, people think I’m humorous, and that I say “I love you” a lot… like a lot lol.

I’m incredibly thankful to all of you , those I know personally and those reading from parts of the world I’ve never even been. Your presence matters.

So my ask for this year is simple: please comment a lot. Don’t let me just see the statistics of your country , let me see your comments too. And yeah, I love you❤️.

In summary:

The Yielded Center is a vibrant, two-year-old blog managed solely by Vanessa Moonkie, combining faith-based reflections, personal growth insights, global features, and interactive engagement. Its freestyle approach, featured interviews, and consistent posting make it a unique and authentic space for readers across the globe.

Now we want to hear from you,

How has this blog been a blessing to you?

Share on the comments and celebrate with us!