Happy 2nd Birthday, Blog!

"You, with the past at your back and the future unsure

asked for the chance to try love once more.

Well aware of the consequences should your dreams fall through

You threw down your last defenses wanting to try something new..." 

- Lessons Learned   (Dan Fogelberg)

On August 26, 2009 I gave birth to a blog.  At the time I had spent the better part of two years off the grid, completely out of touch with the many friends I had made over my previous 49 years of life.  We had only just begun to reconnect through Marilyn's Facebook page.  I began writing as a way of expressing my appreciation for the great times we had shared over those years, but with the expectation that few would ever read those stories.  Soon after, I discovered that people were reading (and even enjoying) the old stories - even people who knew my story of sin and failure that ended my days in youth ministry.  The song lyric at the top kept coming to mind as I wrote each day.  I was hoping to reconnect with old friends and "try love once more."  And I was well aware of what the consequences could be if those old friends no longer had a place in their hearts for me...

Now it's two years later, and I can safely say that this blog has been a blessing from God in my life.  The discipline and commitment of writing every day for what is now 731 consecutive days has given me new life, new energy and new friends- and I am so thankful for all of that.  Along the way I have learned a few things, and I thought to celebrate this "blogiversary" I would share a few of those lessons with you.  Here we go...

1. I had always heard it said that optimists see life's glass as half full, while pessimists see it as half empty.  Over the past few years I have learned that followers of Jesus understand that the glass comes with free refills!  No matter who you are or what you have done, because of grace there is always more!
2. People like to read their own names here.  My Saturday Shout Outs are quite often my most visited posts, and I think it's because of all the names.  Every now and then people get excited about seeing a picture of themselves as well.  To see LOTS of pictures from all my years in student ministry click here to watch The Great Adventure slideshow.
3. Every post (like this one) seems better when I quote either Rich Mullins or Dan Fogelberg.  In fact,  I quoted Dan in my very first post, as well as one year ago on this blog's first birthday!
4. A few people like to leave comments- most do not.  My favorite example was a post I made earlier this year that received 341 hits in a 24 hour period and got no comments.  You get used to it, but I have to tell you- nothing brings a smile to a blog writers face faster than a comment.  Just so you know....
5. My lovely wife Marilyn did a Facebook survey a couple of nights ago asking which of her "friends" had ever read this blog.  Not only were we surprised by some of the names who responded, we were excited by the diversity.  There were people from my Quaker Lake days, New Garden Friends Meeting, Springfield Friends Meeting, FUMC-Kissimmee, Wesley Memorial UMC and even Trinity UMC of Waycross.  To my knowledge, no one from the Union Church of Hinsdale has ever read my blog.  :)
6. It has been said that Facebook is often a place where you are friends with people you know and never really liked, while Twitter is a place where you really like people you have never met. I can't speak about Facebook, but I do know that the love and support I have been given from my Twitter followers have kept me energized during the past year, and I thank all of them for that.  New inspiration is always good.  And I really hope we can fix that "never met" problem some day soon...
7. When I wrote my personal confession and about the circumstances that ended my ministry and changed my life forever a few months back, I had no idea what the response would be.  What I discovered is that I have the best friends anyone could ever have, and that they still loved me despite myself.  When most of the world was shooting at me, you guys joined me in the foxhole, and I will never forget that.  If you are still reading this blog today while knowing everything about me, then you are a living, breathing example of grace, and I am blessed to have you in my life.  Thank you.

So Happy Birthday, blog!  I don't know exactly where we will go from here, but I do know that this has been an important part of my life and an exciting new beginning.  I can't wait to see where Jesus takes me next...

Because of Jesus,