1. Select your essential post

Sift through what you published in 2009 to select the post you’d call ‘essential’.

You can define that in different ways, for example:

• A post that matters: that mattered to you then, that mattered to your readers, that still matters to you now
• A post that captures what your blog’s all about
• A post that reflects what 2009 has been about, for you or for others
• A post that models essential writing

Joanna further instructs us to explain why we chose that post and encourages us to include a few “knock ‘em dead lines” from the post.

I narrowed down the choices in What I Learned from … 2009 for Middle Zone Musings’ groupwrite project. For Joanna’s challenge, I’ve chosen a post that mattered to me when I wrote it and still matters to me now.

Adversity? What Adversity? reminds me—and I hope you—that I—and you—have been blessed beyond belief with salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All we have to do is accept the gift and proclaim Him Lord of Lord and King of Kings.

Nothing I have ever experienced or ever will experience can compare to our Lord and Savior being beaten, mocked, tortured, and murdered in the most vicious way.

And why? For my sins and your sins and the sins of the whole world. If I were the only person who needed redemption, Jesus would have died for me alone. My sin makes me Judas betraying Him, the chief priests and scribes condemning Him, Pilate washing his hands of Him, the crowd calling “Crucify Him!,” and the Roman soldiers killing Him. 

Yet Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34, KJV)

Thanks be to God for the gift of salvation!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This post is an entry in Confident Writing’s Mission Impossible group writing project. Joanna Young challenged us to post something on our blogs that we’ve never done before. I’ve wanted to create a book trailer for Dream or Destiny since the book was published last fall, but I’ve been hesitant to try. I don’t know anything about multimedia except that whatever talent I have is in words, not images and sounds.

Joanna’s challenge motivated me to create this basic video montage. Now I’m motivated to move beyond this to a better and more professional book trailer that I can post on video-sharing and book trailer Web sites.

In the first month, I had a couple of comments from offline friends who stopped by to encourage me. Then it was a couple of months before another friend stopped by. I participated in a blog carnival and got a trackback but no more comments for weeks. The next comment was also from a friend … but then—almost six months after my first post—I had a comment from someone I didn’t know! That was a thrill.

I started visiting other blogs and leaving comments, and some of those bloggers reciprocated. I joined MyBlogLog and participated in a couple of blog carnivals and memes and met a few more people. Many of the people I met in the early days of blogging are still my blogging friends. Some are no longer blogging, but I will always appreciate their blogging friendship for however long it lasted.

Recently, I recognized some of my blogging friends with the Premio Dardos Award for their blogging excellence. I’d also like to thank those same bloggers for their friendship: Alina, Brad, Cath, Deb, Helen, Jeanne, Joanna, John, Karen, Lori, Matt, Mig, Misti, Renee, Robert, and Tammy.

Bloggers who hold a special place in my heart are all those who hosted me on my blog book tours, including these who aren’t listed elsewhere: Bluestocking, Lenin, Ron, Mayra, Genesis, Father Jerry and Shirazi. 

Other bloggers whose friendship I value include:

• Laura Spencer, Writing Thoughts
• Lisa Vella, Getting It Write for You (a busy mom who doesn’t blog much anymore who was one of the bloggers I met early on)
• Merry Monteleone, Mom and More
• Michele Tune, Writing the Cyber Highway
• Phil Davis, Authors on the Net
• Sharon Hurley Hall, Get Paid to Write Online
• Theda K., Crayon Writer
• Yvonne Russell, Grow Your Writing Business (Yvonne had some health issues and hasn’t been around much lately, but she hosted The Writers Cafe where I met many wonderful bloggers.)

After my slow start in getting comments, I’m blessed today to have comments from 150 to 200 people each month. Some of them visit once and leave a comment for the Do-Follow link, but others become regulars. Each month, I thank the commenters from the previous month as I truly value them.

Some of the top commenters each month, in addition to many who have been listed elsewhere, are:

• Andrew, Good Honest Dollar
• Morgan Mandel
• Wilson, Will You Mind

What a blessing of blogging friendships! And I know I’ve forgotten someone—if your name belongs here, know it’s in my heart. I’m just overwhelmed with thinking of so many delightful blogging relationships.

And to think that less than three years ago, I thought I would be teaching my visitors about writing and editing. Instead, I’ve made friends and learned more than I could ever teach.

This post is an entry in Alina Popsecu’s 4 Year Bloggiversary Group Writing Project at Words of a Broken Mirror. You still have a few days to enter. Alina is offering some outstanding prizes (not that I’m biased or anything—one of the prizes is an autographed copy of Dream or Destiny), including a two-hour PR consultation with Alina. But even if you don’t win, just spending time thinking of great blogging friends is a prize in itself.

photo credit: karen horton

The theme of the February What I Learned From … group writing project at Middle Zone Musings is love.

My first experience with love was the love shown to me and my siblings by our parents. They never had much money, but they always showed their love in countless ways. My father was a gentle man who seldom raised his voice or lost his temper. Yet I remember one occasion when he yelled at my mother in anger because she bought him a couple of pairs of blue jeans for Christmas. It didn’t matter that he didn’t own a decent pair of jeans, which were what he wore all the time except for church. Daddy was upset because Mama spent money on him when he wanted every penny they could spend on Christmas to go for gifts for the kids. My parents were strict disciplinarians and expected good grades and good behavior from all six of their children. But the kids always came first in their hearts and in their actions.

Then I fell in love with Jack. We’ve been married more than 41 years, and he’s always treated me like a queen. He has cared for me through a stroke, a dog attack, seizures, a fall, and several other situations. He does the laundry and the grocery shopping—and often brings home flowers along with the groceries. We’ve shared good times and bad, but we’ve always shared lots of  love and lots of laughter.

As much as I appreciate the love of my family and the love of my husband, I know it wouldn’t exist unless there was first the love of God.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. … God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. ~ 1 John 4;10, 16

In February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day, Cupid, and romantic love. May we always remember and be thankful for the origin of love.

First I narrowed down my favorite posts to one per month for Middle Zone Musings’ Blogapaloo0za. That was hard enough to do—one month I had to choose one from among three top favorites. Then I went through the favorite posts from each month to choose simply the best for 2008.

Remembering My Parents is simply the best because it still brings tears to my eyes—tears of sorrow that they are no longer with me and tears of  joy for the memories and the love we shared.