1,000

1,870 days ago I sat down to write my first blog. That was April 30, 2008. I did not even know what I was doing. I wrote the blogs and a friend posted them for me. I could not believe I had the outlet to write and for people to have access to them. When I moved to a new church a year later a different man continued to post my blogs. Eventually he taught me to do it myself and I have been running ever since.

I have gone through some dry spells. During these times I have stared at a blank computer screen for lengthy periods. I have experienced just about every emotion under the sun. I have gone through both personal and corporate revivals and wrote about those experiences every step of the way. I have wept many tears through trials, personal loss, and suffering with others. I have moved several times and wrote about those experiences. As God has spoken to me I have shared that with others if I thought it would serve to help them.

In 2008 I wrote a total of 79 blogs. Each year I have written more and more except for 2011. There were 145 posts in 2009, 198 posts in 2010, and in 2013 I added 218 posts. In 2011 I only wrote 98 posts. This is partially because I moved to start a new church in this time and did not always have access to the internet during that transition. I also battled severe grief from leaving the people of FBC Seminole. I wept for months at even the thought of those precious people.

Over these past 1,870 days I have enjoyed the highest of highs as well as the lowest of lows. I have chronicled the many answers to prayer giving testimony to what God has done. I have tried to spiritually nourish those readers who follow the blog and those who stumble on it surfing the web. Most of the time I have written from my own experiences. As God has ministered to my heart I shared those same things with my readers.

Today is a landmark day. It is honestly a day I never even thought about back in 2008. Back in those days I really only had one goal. I wanted to write to help people. Only God truly knows if that has happened. I don't know if these blogs help people but I do know a few people read them. From time to time I do get a little positive feedback so I keep writing. After a couple of years I dreamed of over 100,000 people visiting the site and reading those blogs. Though that dream has not come true yet we are well on our way with over 69,000 hits to the site so far and counting.

What makes today a land mark day is a goal I did not even set until just a couple of months ago. One day I noticed how many blogs I had written in total. Today marks the 1,000 blog. As I look back over the past six years there are a flood of memories.

Just a few of the highlights are mission trips to Canada and Honduras, everyday life and ministry in Paradise, TX, the painful departure from FBC Paradise, the new transition to FBC Seminole, two awesome years of ministry in West Texas, 23 straight days of revival meetings in Seminole, the difficult goodbye to Seminole, and the trials of starting a church.

So many people have come and gone in our lives. The memories are strong. We have seen many stand with us through thick and thin. We have also seen many people turn on us along the way. Some people have become so endeared to us they feel like spiritual family. What stands out the most is how God has stood with us every step of the way. There were days when I felt anointed to write and empowered to pray for impossible things. There have been other days when I wondered how I would ever get through the trials without giving up.

In that time I have watched Taylor grow up, learn to drive, get his own vehicle, and now graduate from high school. I was blessed to see Tanner make varsity as a sophomore and start on the defensive line all year long next to his older brother. What a treasured memory. Now Tucker is entering high school and more importantly entered the kingdom of God for real on Easter. We celebrate his baptism this coming Wednesday night. Next year Turner will be entering middle school and officially join the youth group. My youngest son is now in the youth group. The time has flown but I make those boys a priority in my life and write about them often. They are subject matter for a great many of these posts.

Most of these posts are autobiographical. A person could start and read through them from 2008 all the way up today and they would learn a lot about me but more importantly more about the God I serve.

It is hard to believe this is blog number 1,000. I know it is not a big deal to most people but it serves as a small sense of accomplishment for me. God called me to write and these blogs are proof that I have done that. How God uses them I will never know and honestly that is not the point. I do not write for the feedback I will get. I write to honor God and help people in every day life.

Sometimes the blogs are brutally honest about my own struggles. I am sure these are tough to read but so are some of the Psalms of David. They are real. They are raw. They are born out of struggle. In many ways writing is therapy for me. While I write I wrestle with my problems and discover new Bible truth about God along the way.

So today I celebrate God. I praise Him for the calling and gifting He put on my life to write as a young child. I praise Him for the ability to write that is as natural to me as breathing. I praise God for His unending inspiration. I praise Him for this outlet. I also praise Him that by His enabling there will be many more blogs to come. Thank God for the milestone 1,000.