On April 1st, this blog turned two years old. (And that is no April Fool’s Day joke!) WAHOO! 😀 It’s hard for me to believe. 😄 It’s equally hard for me to believe that yesterday, I had my 700th follower. 🙂 I don’t know what to say, except, thank you guys for your support – it means the world to me. ❤
This post will be a small collection of my favorite posts from the past two years – a walk down memory lane – and something new at the end that I’m excited about. 😉
“What is Our Purpose” was my first blog post. It was published on April 9th, 2016. I remember being so nervous and then convincing myself that only my friends would be reading it anyway, so I had no reason to be nervous about strangers. And then ten people total liked it and I was like, “WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE.” It was a shock, but a good shock. But no one commented (which was probably a good thing at the time because I was still so shy then 😅), so I soon went on to post a book review and other posts.
For that post, I had a purple wildflower as my header image. I was also just starting to experiment with close-up photography at the time. I didn’t post the images in the post itself then, and with my dial-up connection, I had to compress the images a lot to get them to upload, so sometimes they would appear grainy. With that said, here is the original uncompressed photo:
And a bonus photo – the same flower at a slightly different angle:
Soon after that post, I started getting comments and followers. And I started getting minor panic attacks from posting – though I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time – so I stopped. It wasn’t until June that I started posting again.
When I returned, I went back to posting short articles and book reviews, alternating between the two. That is, until July of 2016, when a friend asked me if I ever planned to share any of the poems that I had been writing. Many of them were personal, and I was unsure if that was something I wanted to do, or if anyone would be interested in them. After a bit of prayer, the Daily Prompt aligned with one of my poems, so I decided that was a sign to post one and see what happened.
Show Me Your Light! received so many encouraging comments. My heart felt like it might burst with happiness. I posted two more shortly after; Stained Glass, and He Saves. Then I went back to my articles and book reviews but felt a nudge to post more of my poems. Soon, poems seemed to be overtaking everything else.
And then I was surprised to find that it felt like I found my niche. It wasn’t only articles and book reviews – poetry is where my heart belonged. So then I started posting more… a lot more.
Also during this time, I was experimenting even more with photography (and photo editing software), and realize that this was also where my heart was. Here are a few examples from September 2016, when I started posting more photography:
I believe that Fall Magic was the first time I used my own photos within the same post as a poem, which was the start of posting two of my favorite things together. 🙂
Jericho Heart is one of my favorite poems that I’ve written and I have fond memories of writing it. After posting it, I started writing a short story, which reflected the poem a bit, so I named it Jericho Falls. It’s a western – and my first attempt in this genre. And with that… here is a sneak-peek at a chapter I call “Humility Hurts.” I hope that you enjoy. 🙂
(Context – Don had been shot in the arm, and Lissa had run barefoot for a mile or two to find him help and had sliced the soles of her feet something awful. Now she is supposed to be recovering, but in her pride, she doesn’t want to and thinks she can still do everything for herself.)
She stood and immediately wished she had not done so. The pain was almost too much for her to bear. With a cry, she fell into Don, who was standing beside her and caught her with his good arm.
“You’re fallin’ for me already, I see,” he quipped.
“Do you always make terrible jokes and use those awful one liners?” she snapped.
“I do,” he admitted, “and you are one of the few who didn’t laugh.”
“I guess I’m one of the few with sense,” she told him as he dropped her into the chair.
The doctor came back in with a second pail of water and took out a rag, which to the doc’s surprise, Don took ownership of.
“You’re recovering,” the doc said, pointing to Don’s arm.
“I don’t mind. Just get the salve.”
“You a doctor?”
“No, but…” his voice trailed off for a moment before continuing, “I knew of someone with a similar condition.”
“What are you–” Lissa’s question ended with an exclamation of pain as Don began to gently wash her right foot. “Don’t do that, it’s—ooohhh.” She bit her tongue to keep from crying out.
“Painful?”
“And humiliating.”
“Jesus washed His disciple’s feet, so surely I can wash yours.”
She did not expect that answer and it hushed her. She had no comeback. All she could do was watch quietly as he scrubbed the dirt from the soles of her damaged feet. As he dipped the dirty rag into the bucket, the water turned cloudy and brown.
Tears ran down her face, not from the pain, but from her icy heart as the cold that had taken residence there began to melt from the warmth of love. The waterworks was mistaken for pain and Don stopped.
“You’re fine,” she told him. “It’s okay, the pain isn’t that bad.”
And with that, Lissa had her first lesson in humility, and Jericho’s hardened cold walls began to crumble.
And speaking of stories and writing – you may notice that I haven’t been posting as frequently lately. April is Camp NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I’ve been preparing my project! I will probably be doing more novel writing than blogging in April, but I won’t disappear completely. 😉 I can’t wait to see what this next year of blogging has in store! 🙂
Wow! You’ve come from a long way I see! And God has truly moved in many mighty ways in this blog and may you continue to put him at the CENTRE of it all in Jesus Name! God bless you and congrats! I love your blog and you lol 😁💕😅…btw in your older pics I think on the butterfly it looked like Jesus on the cross was on his wings!! 🙏 take a closer look with your spiritual eyes and see for yourself!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Yeah! 😀
❤ He has!
Amen! ❤
God bless you and thank you! 🙂
Awww. ❤ I love you and your blog too! 😊
I agree with you! 😀 It sure does! I saw the cross but until your comment, I didn't realize that it looks like Jesus is on it. Wow!!! 🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
💕🌷💛
You’re most welcome my dearest and thank you! 😇
Awww lol you’re so sweet lol 😅
Yesss!!!! Bless God for the spiritual eyes! He’s awesome and shows forth his magnificence so many ways! Glory! ✨🙌
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 ❤
Amen, amen!! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations on all you readers, and I can see why. Your blog is always a blessing to read. God is using you in a wonderful way :):)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ❤
Awww. 🙂
He is amazing! I never expected Him to use me or my blog like this – He is so good! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are most welcome and yes He is :):)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 102 – Dutch goes the Photo!
It’s been a wonderful writing journey for you. You have taken one step at a time. When you felt more comfortable, you launched out for another genre. I like your novel a lot. I’m happy that you’re doing Camp NaNoWriMo, Congratulations. My body is still in shock, so I’ll rest some more. Make a post here and there to give us the update. ❤
LikeLiked by 2 people
It sure has! 🙂
Yes! I plan to try out science fiction someday too. I don’t want to write in only one genre. 🙂
Thank you! ❤
Thanks! Me too – it has been a lot of fun! For Camp NaNoWriMo, I'm finishing a children's novel.
I'm sorry that your body is still in shock – yes, keep resting! I hope you feel 100% soon! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope I can participate in the next Camp. Do you know when it will be. I’m only a 5 months old member. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope so too! 🙂 The next Camp is in July. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Grace. 🙂 Oh, I should be too busy in July. Is there a theme for the month or daily challenge> ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think Camp NaNo has daily challenges for the month, but I’m sure it’s not too late to join in this month – Camp is very relaxed compared to the November NaNo. You can make your own word goal (mine is currently at 10,005 words) and you can change the goal as many times as you want until the end of the month. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Grace. There’s an administrator who is in the next city to where I live. I think they get together to help each other to do editing of their novels. Since I changed my mind from fiction to nonfiction, I didn’t contact them. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooohh, I see. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got a cold this week plus still recovering from ER and hospitalization, so I’ll wait until July to participate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh no! I’ll be praying for you and I hope that you’re feeling better by now! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re getting better with ginger root tea. My husband grinds the ginger root to make tea a couple times a day. It helps. We try not to take medication. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to hear that it helps you! ❤
Oh, what a coincidence – I bought ginger a couple of weeks ago to try making homemade tea. I like the candy, so I was sure I'd like the tea too, and I've heard such good things about the health benefits of it. Do you have a recipe that you go by, or is your recipe specific to battling colds?
LikeLiked by 1 person
We just use hand held grader to grade the ginger the same way you grade carrots, then boil it with water, and let it simmering for a couple minutes. If you want, you could add honey or brown sugar. I use honey because it has another benefit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds so simple. 🙂 And I love honey, so I’ll definitely add that! Thanks! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome, Grace. Let me know if you like it to do it that way. 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I will! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved the excerpt from your book – can’t wait to read the rest of the story! Well done. 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ❤ That means a lot to me! I'm in the editing phase with it now. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have a great story and your writing flows well! 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! **blush** ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Grace, it’s been a wonderful growth for you! I love reading your posts and your blog is a blessing. I can’t wait to read the rest of that story, girl! God bless. 💙
LikeLiked by 2 people
It has! 😀
Aww, thanks, I’m so glad! ❤
Thank you! 😀 That means a lot to me! I'm in the editing phase with it now. God bless! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome stuff! Work hard at that editing and God bless & guide you. 💙
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, I shall! ❤ 😀 He is an amazing guide! God bless you too! 🙂
LikeLike
Congratulations on your 2-year blogiversary!! 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful post. So nice to see your wonderful photos. Congrats on being a 2 year blogger. xxoo
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, and thank you! ❤
LikeLike
Congratulations on two years and 700 followers! That’s fantastic! And good for you for participating in the novel writing project! You are so talented! I loved the dialogue you wrote for your short story. It felt so real; so natural! I’m so glad I met you in the blogosphere! 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ❤
Awww, thanks! 😊 That means a lot! Thanks for the encouragement! 🙂
I'm glad that we met in the blogosphere too! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Congrats on 2 years Grace, that’s awesome! 👏
Loved reading how your blog has progressed. 👍
All the best with the writing camp you’re going on.
Lots of love,
Hayley 😊❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! ❤
🙂 ❤
And thank you for the encouragement! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a beautiful journey!!! I’m so glad God has blessed me with your friendship and to see you giving Him praise 🙂 Keep going !
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! 😀
Aww. 🙂 And I’m so glad that He blessed me with your friendship! ❤ He deserves all the praise! 😀 Thanks for the encouragement! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
PTL! Congrats on your numbers Lot of good posts there. Amazing photography!
LikeLike
😀
Thank you! ❤ God is good! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
He certainly is! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person