Happy One Year Anniversary to My Blog!

It's actually been a little over a year as my first blog attempt was mid April of 2010, but I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the milestone of one year of blogging.  It all started out as a way to keep up with friends, instead of sending a jillion emails, as well as to keep people updated when I traveled on a veterinary mission trip to Haiti last year.  Since then, it has turned into a specific way God has used my story (which is really HIS story) and my gift of writing to open doors for a ministry of sorts.  Who would have thought that?  Certainly not me when I started it!

For curious minds, did you know that...

• In a year's time, this blog has been viewed 4000+ times!  The first time I found the "stats button" was about 4 months into the writing of the blog.  I didn't even know you could track hits, and I had ZERO idea that anyone, outside of my family, were reading what I wrote.  When I clicked and found I had over a 1000 hits, I was in shock! 
• People read this blog from twelve different countries.  Of course Americans are the top readers, but #2 and #3 are Russia and Canada...of those outside of the USA, I would love to know how you found me!
• Even though I'm the one posting, often times I end up being blessed by what people write me privately.  It has been a sense of encouragement and direction over a year's time and it has been such a blessing to me!
• I've actually become friends with some of my followers that I did not even know until someone directed them to my blog.
• I often wake up in the middle of the night with inspiration about what God lays on my heart to write about on this forum.  Anything in my life that happens, good or bad, now leads to the thought "that would make a good blog".  Honestly, it is very cathartic for me to write as I process things I'm going through so when I write so it's very healing for me.
• I generally never go back and read any posts I've written in the past. 

God never ceases to amaze me on how He can use non-conventional ways to touch other's lives.  For those of you that have shared your stories and opened your hearts to me over the past year, thank you.  You will never know what they have meant to me!  And for those that faithfully read and forward on to others, THANK YOU! 

As they say, the best is yet to come!

Blessings!

JOY