My first blog entry -- my entry into blogging -- was June 20, 2006. Originally it was called "Birds of the Air" and was intended to focus on birds. That, of course, didn't have a long lifespan. I changed it fairly early on to "Winging It" to expand the venue, so to speak.
My aim at the time was one a day. As of June 12, 2020, there have been 5105 days and I have 5198 posts. I've missed a few days and doubled up on a few days and did better than one a day. Others are far more prolific, but I think I met my goal.
I've done some labeling; not a lot, but some. There are 101 entries on Marriage, 124 entries on Politics, and -- I can hardly believe it -- 193 "News Weakly" entries. (I had no idea I had been doing those that long.) There are multiple labels in the general "Reformed Theology" category which people are surely aware is one of my own favorites. There are labels for "Same-sex marriage" and "Homosexual" that are related but don't combine sufficiently to cover the amount of stuff I've written on them. Oh, look at this little tidbit. I have a "Marriage" category which has 101 entries and another category -- "Marriage 101" -- that has another 11. (That was a kind of series on basic teachings in Scripture about marriage.) But I'm confident that readers would agree that the labels don't rightly reflect my leanings. I've been all about words. What are words? What do they mean? What does it matter if we use them incorrectly? And Scripture. The authority, the truth, the meaning, the application of Scripture, all this and more has been central. So my second largest label -- "Politics" -- is misleading because I've written so much more on Scripture and language.
I've had more traffic than I expected. The site reports that I've had nearly 900,000 pageviews. Who would have thought? My most visited page has been the Hard Sayings - "Sell all your possessions" entry. Almost 35,000 for that one alone. Not far behind is The History of the Choir with almost 30,000 hits. Seriously, who would have thought, right? I made friends here I never would have, both online and in person. I have some faithful readers and some diligent haters and that must mean I'm doing okay. (You know that will get the hater's britches in a bunch. All I mean by "haters" is that there is a knee jerk "Stan said it so it must be wrong" response and despite the fact that no argument or reasoning or evidence or even dialog as to why I'm wrong or why they're right is forthcoming (essentially Bulverism), they feel it is important that they continue to fight against the evil forces of "Stan" on this earth. Their motivation is not "Stan is dear to me so I need to correct this error on his behalf." Hate.) And I've had a wide variety of interactions ranging from "Can I use this for my church?" to "What kind of idiot are you?" Lots of wonderful stuff beyond the simple blessings of writing and sharing.
But I suspect you're getting a sense of "Where is he going with all this?" Some with an "uh-oh" and others with "about time." Due to forces beyond my control, it looks like my blogging days are coming to an end. Blogger has decided to change their format, the format I've been using for ... what ... 14 years. They intend to multiply my work, not ease it. I'm afraid I won't be able to continue this when they do. They're switching to "the new Blogger" which removes the default method by which I've made my entries 5198 times. "You're welcome!" No thanks. Between the negative forces (which is really a minor issue) and the times (viruses and medical and stuff) other responsibilities and aging and, oh, yeah, I probably haven't had an original idea for years, I think this final straw is God's way of saying, "Lay your burden down." Readership is way down despite the large numbers of people currently online with nothing better to do than to search the web for me. (That was intended to be hilarious.) So I don't think I could decrease or randomize my entries and expect anyone to continue reading. I will likely continue for a short time longer until I no longer have the option of using this entry method and then go quietly into the night.
I thank you all for your time over the years. I have greatly appreciated a lot of the comments and conversations. Writing this stuff every day has helped shape my everyday thinking from random to focused. "How will this bless someone else?" Of course, not everyone recognizes that and it's not all their fault. Communication is difficult and in electronic form it's only more difficult. But I've benefited and I think others have benefited and I hope you have, too. I leave satisfied, not strained. No hard feelings. Some prayers for some of you, to be sure. The Lord bless you and keep you.
10 comments:
We kept it pretty civil over years, despite our different views. "You are boring" is the most uncivil thing you said to me. Can't remember for sure, but I found you early enough that I probably read back through all your earliest posts.
I never involved myself in the many sexual orientation arguments here since they were contextualized as conservative Christian -vs- liberal Christian, and I have no horse in this race.
I was born late in the Eisenhower era, and I imagined you to be about the same age.
God has truly gifted you with writing. I pray you continue on with your gift in some sort of fashion for His glory.
Keep the boys posted if you go somewhere else or do something else,they will perhaps let me know. Your insights are a true blessing for your readers. Makes us think!
Say it ain't so!
Even though I've never met you, I've always referred to you as, "My buddy Stan" as in, "Let me read to you what my buddy Stan wrote today".
I love birds, too. We're a couple of bird-brains, I guess. I've been using an app on my phone to call birds in closer to me in my backyard. And it works! I have a Song Sparrow that comes flying in and spends time quite close to me, belting out its various songs - kind of like having a heavenly soloist regale me with music from the Creator.
I will deeply miss the daily wake-up calls of Winging It. So long, my buddy Stan.
I've had plenty of pleasant conversations with people who disagree with me, proof that it can be done. I appreciated every one. (And, yes, if the "Eisenhower Era" refers to 1952 to 1960, that would put us around the same age.)
Leigh, if I do write elsewhere, I'll be sure to let David know.
We've interacted sparsely, but always friendly, Bruce. I've met a lot of good people over the years. Now ... if you can tell me about that app to call birds ...
A couple of people have moved to Wordpress and say it's always been a better platform than Blogger, allowing for more options with regard to dealing with...you know...
I actually have a presence and I transferred everything I had done to that point to the Wordpress version, but then did nothing with it, continuing to use Blogger because it was just more familiar. If you felt moved to continue, that might be an option for you to explore. I've been wondering about how Blogger will change my ability to post my far less than one per day posts. From what I could tell, they're not really providing anything to the users to make the change anything better than a pain in the backside. Thanks for nothing, Blogger...you've been useless for what I would like to see you do to improve...so nice you're consistently unconcerned with the needs and desires of you users.
I've always been impressed with you continually having a new post most every day. And your Saturday entries will especially be missed. But there's no need to keep up that pace if you haven't the thoughts to express.
But I'm gonna hope it's just a phase and you'll do something even if not every day.
OR, take up trolling other blogs. I know a guy who seems to really love it!!
You know, some people are impressed by my "one a day" rate. Obviously there are those who do more, but most do far less. I'm impressed at the stamina others have to cruise the Internet seeking that with which they disagree in order to tear it down. You might think I'm talking about "them" -- those who shall not be named -- but there are the same kinds on all sides. I personally never had any stomach for a "hunt and shoot" mission on the net. It's a different dynamic. I see (from my perspective) value in presenting what I believe to be the truth, especially the truth backed by God's Word, and defending it, but I'm just not up to trolling trolls myself. I guess that's the calling of others.
Oh, and I looked into Wordpress. All agree it's a more robust platform. But porting over what I've done and pointing others to it and expecting to build another following elsewhere ... I don't know, seems a bit more than I should hope for. I really think this is God's version of "That's enough; rest now" to me.
I'll have a few more here -- maybe a week or two -- before they cut off my regular access and then I'll see where to go next.
I've been accused of trolling, but the problem with such a loose application of the term is that, like here, an invitation to comment is an invitation to comment. I don't go looking to be combative, but if I continue to visit the sites of those who are of opposing views, just as others with opposing views may visit mine, that's just debate and discourse. I try to post with the mantra that I seek to persuade or be persuaded. To put it another way, to inform or become informed. It could be a fine line that divides trolling from serious discourse. It's kind of a "know it when I see it" kinda thing. But I haven't sought out a new blog to visit in quite a long time. I am, however, saddened by how few are left where folks wish to engage. Most on my blogrolls are pretty much inactive now. Sad indeed.
Yes, to my shame, I was using "troll" with a loose definition.
One of your concerns was your repetitiveness, but we need that. We need to be frequently reminded of what we know. My grandpa has been hearing the parable of the Good Samaritan all his life, but it didn't sink in until his 90s. We need to be told the same thing in different ways to reinforce what we already should know.
Thanks for that good point, David. I have tried to say things in different ways from different angles making different points. In this case, however, repetitiveness is just a side note. Being unable to use the platform efficiently is my real problem.
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