Five Years of Blogging

IL 185 at the Brownstown Road
in Fayette County, IL. My mother's side
of the family has lived in this "Four Mile Prairie"
area since the 1820s.

I realized just now that my first post on this blog was five years ago, April 9, 2009. "Journeys Home" was the title of a 1995, self-published book of mine that contained previously-published essays about my hometown and family, and the title seemed apropos for this project, too. To use Frank Zappa's phrase, connection to home places and home people is my "conceptual continuity," uniting and grounding the most diverse elements of my life and career. Two of my several published books are about my hometown, one was explicitly inspired by hometown days, and in my most of my other books (church-related books for Abingdon Press in Nashville), I included at least one reference to my hometown area.

For this blog I had the modest goal, followed ever since, of uniting a variety of topics like discipleship, Bible reflections, the sense of place, everyday moments, and topics that interested me. Meanwhile, I thought I'd do more issue-oriented reflections at my Wordpress blog, similar to the curricular writing I was doing at the time. But that blog, too, soon combined a variety of topics.

By taking a generalist approach to blogging, I probably missed the chance for a wider readership. Many blogs are, of course, dedicated to commentary on particular themes and to providing information and instruction for many followers. This blog is all over the place. But I'm pleased that it receives about 3000 page views a month among several countries. This post is the 740th so far. My most popular post continues to be my piece about the ecologist Anne LaBastille, here. But thoughts about music, spiritual growth, going barefoot, and other topics have gotten many views, too. My 2014 project of listening to Bach's sacred cantatas on the designated day has received interest among readers. Those posts, like others on religious and biblical topics, reflect my desire to include ongoing spiritual reflection and structure amid life's many responsibilities (although, unusually, this Lent has flown by without many Lent-related thoughts here).

In April 2009 we were ending our nine years in Akron, OH and preparing to move to St. Louis, MO. Some of those early posts considered aspects of downsizing one's belongings and changing locations. As a "trailing spouse," my life has often required a certain amount of career reinvention (and trust in God's guidance) as we settle into a new place. Without getting into specifics, these past few years have had some very difficult aspects, including two major family deaths. Beginning and continuing a blog during this time of my life has been a good thing, and I'm happy that folks have responded positively. I pray that I'll be able to continue this ongoing "journey" in the years ahead!