In 2010, I wrote my very first blog post. I doubt that many people outside of my mom and my husband actually read it, but it was a small, shaky step toward some pretty incredible things that God has done through this blog in the past 15 years. I’ve been amazed by how far God has taken some of the words He’s given me, and how much He has taught me through those very same words.
Now when I look back on things that God has done in my life, things that have been preserved like monuments on this very page, and some details so small that I would have forgotten them if not for the written record here, I’m enamoured with Him in every way. He is so faithful and good, and He has spoken to me here over and over again. I know that He deals with each of us in very personal ways, and here at this keyboard, He has certainly dealt with me.
I really didn’t understand when I started this experiment all those years ago that writing regularly in this way this would be a sometimes grueling spiritual endeavor. I knew I wanted to do something creative and that I wanted to write some things about my life that my kids might someday find interesting. What I didn’t realize was how this work would shape me, force me to think and seek theological answers, that it would help form me into a different kind of Christian, a different kind of mother, a different kind of wife.
Who knows how much of my spiritual formation can be credited to the hours I’ve spent sitting in front of my computer, working through some lightbulb moment that I’ve had or trying to decipher something that God just did in my life? How can it really be measured how often these thoughts have driven me to Scripture or to wise counsel from godly people? While this blog has always been a fairly small, inconsequential work according to Google’s rankings, it certainly has had deep and lasting spiritual consequences in my own heart, and for that I am so very grateful.
For anyone who may dream of some creative experiement, I would encourage you to go for it. God may not change the world through your art, but He may very well change you through it. I know I have a lot more growing and learning and listening to do, so I’m going to keep my experiment going, with love to any and all who ever take a moment to witness it. Thank you for reading, for encouraging, and even for disagreeing. You are all a part of what God is doing here, on this page and in my heart. Thanks for 15 years!
Thank you for your blog. I think I have been a subscriber for about a year now and I always find something in your words that is ‘just right’ for me this day. We share some commonalities – I am a “vicar’s wife” as we say in the UK and we have 2 adopted children. I appreciate your honesty about the struggles of daily and domestic life and how you cause us to remember that God is in the ordinary! Thank you, Margaret
Margaret, I so appreciate your kind words! Thank you for reading and for this encouragement!
Melissa, I have been blessed to read your blogs over the years. Each one has been like a daily devotion to me, with insights that help me grow spiritually and relationally. Thank you for especially impacting young women. Love you guys!
Mr. King, we love you, too! Thanks so much for reading and for all the encouragement through the years!
Congrats on 15 years! I’m pretty sure I’ve been reading the whole time and that I’ve ready pretty much all of it. Keep it up!
Tim, it means a lot to me! Thanks so much for spurring me on through all these years!
Congratulations! We (our eldest daughter and I) have loved your blog over the years! Thank you for your faithfulness in showing up and sharing the thoughts God gives you!
Laura, thank you for being one of those familiar faces who has followed along for so many years. It means the world to me! Thank you for your encouragement and kindness!