In the Fall of 2016 I ran a series through our church prayer chain called Forty Days of Prayer. The series, which ran for forty days, was given to me by Melissa Wilcox. I timed it to end on Thanksgiving Day and each day, along with the prepared prayer devotional, I added my own thoughts on that day’s theme. As the Forty Days of Prayer neared an end I found myself in a group of several of our ladies and the conversation came around to the Prayer emphasis ending. They wondered if it might be possible for me to keep e-mailing my thoughts on things. Hey, I’m a preacher! I can always think of something to say. It’s kinda like it’s my job.

          I didn’t like the e-mail format for some reason. Mary Earle, of Mary’s Moments fame, has her own blog. (for those of you who are not a part of the church, that link is https://mary-marysmoments.blogspot.com/) I asked her for help and she explained how I, too, could become a blogger just like her. Christmas was soon upon us and I was quite busy, so I didn’t get started until January.

          And so, on January 11, 2017 was my first blog. Exactly two years ago today.

          It really wasn’t going to be much. I figured it would start with a couple of dozen readers and then dwindle. I was going to have triple by-pass in April of that year, so I figured that if it lasted that long I would chronicle my recovery and then be done with it. Really, more something for me to do.

          I started out three days a week. Hard to keep that up and actually be a pastor, so I dropped to twice a week. That really was a chore, too, so now it is mostly once a week with an occasional second one coming out. But, why am I still at it?

          Blogspot, the organization that provides the free blog space, keeps track of how often you are read, what countries you are read in and various other things that interest geek type people. I knew that going in, but I really expected 30 people in Wabash County, Indiana. Dropping it when interest waned would be no real loss.

          As of today, January 11, 2019, my blog has been read 14,027 times. That is a cumulative number, but the next one really surprises me. This blog is read in 62 countries. This I really do not understand. Obviously, there are English speakers in every country, but what could be so interesting here that people in 61 other countries other than the USA would care to read the blog? There have been almost a thousand reads in Russia alone. Russia? I am almost afraid I am going to be named as a person of interest in the current Russian probe against the President. But the blog is read in places like Afghanistan and Bangladesh and South Korea and Taiwan and mainland China, as well. This has caused me great wonder. Americans are everywhere. They work in embassies, they are soldiers stationed far from home or they might work for multinational companies. Also, in some countries there are people tasked with reading anything that comes out of other countries as they seek for hidden messages and the like. I am sure that for those people, they find my blog a treasure trove of clandestine information. All of this would account for some of those readers in overseas countries, but surely not all?

          At any rate, I intend to keep writing, at least for a while. The internet circles the globe, accept for North Korea. Maybe I am just an assignment to some bored out of their mind political officer in the basement of some ugly block building in some country somewhere. But they are there. They may be staring at a flickering screen with blurry eyes trying to grasp what some nut in Indiana s trying to say, but they are there reading the blog. And, if as they are combing for hidden messages, they happen to read that Jesus Christ died on the Cross as a sacrifice for their sins and if they accept Him as their Savior, they will have an eternity in heaven, well, what is wrong with that? If, as they are reading, they find out that this country isn’t as decadent as the news media seems to think it is, what is wrong with that? And, if some US soldier who has been in the field for weeks, returns to his base camp and accesses the internet just to touch base with home, and he stumbles upon a blog that reinforces the things he was taught growing up, what is wrong with that?

The fact is, every one of us has a unique opportunity to share some aspect of Jesus. All too often we pass on it. We don’t want people to laugh at us or think we are weird or blow us off. But you take the chances as you get them.

So, for a while yet, we will continue to put out the blog.

Blessings.