Thank You! And My 10 Most Popular Posts in 2014

I want to take a moment and say Thank You! 2014 was my second full year of blogging, and I have enjoyed your dialogue, comments, and feedback.

Many of you have subscribed to get my blogs delivered to you each week via email. For that I really say a big thank you! I am not sure why exactly you joined. Maybe because you are a foster or adoptive parent; or you appreciate the challenge to live a “life sent”; or maybe you’re not sure. Whatever the reason, I appreciate your trust.

My blog traffic increased nearly 70% in 2014 averaging about 1500 unique visitors a month. That’s great traffic for a fairly new blog. My goal for 2015 is to increase that to about 10,000 unique visitors each month. Will you help me with that by sharing content that you enjoy? That’s one of the most tangible ways for you to support and love on me!

Here are my top 10 blog posts from 2014

1. One’s Life Reflects the Heart—Andre Alger’s Story   (12/19/2014)
2. 10 Things You Are Not Supposed to Say to a Foster Parent   (11/22/13)
3. A Tribute to Wendy Neat   (8/26/2014)
4. Let My Life Be the Proof of His Love—The Brillante Adoption Story   (10/10/2014)
5. Benefits of Being 50 Years Older than My Son   (2/25/14)
6. 12 Things to Do to Make Sure They Never Meet Jesus   (9/5/2014)
7. 5 Surprising Reasons Why You Should Consider Fostering or Adoption   (11/14/2014)
8. Should I Feel This Way after Adoption?   (3/11/2014)
9. Year Two Adoption Update   (9/23/2014)
10. Holy Discontent   (6/27/2014)

What I Take Away from this list…

• You like to read inspirational stories about others whether it is about a life well lived, about foster care or adoption, or about a missionary family. This encourages me to find more stories to share with you in 2015.
• Seven out of the 10 were about foster care/adoption. These posts ranged from stories to things to know about foster care and adoption.
• Since I have blogged for only two years, I don’t have a lot of facts to draw from, but the second most read post in 2014 came from a blog I wrote in 2013. If it is good content, people will continue to read it. I put 11/22/13 as the date, but that actually was a repost date. I originally wrote the blog in early 2013.
• Four out of the 10 are lists. Lists make it easy to read a blog post quickly and glean helpful information.

Living a Life Sent…

Most of my blog posts will continue to center around this theme. Since it looks like you enjoy real life stories — stories of hope, stories that encourage or challenge — will you share your story with me. If you have a story of adoption, or one about your experience with missions,  or one that gives hope — I would love to help you tell your story. Contact me here, so we can talk about an interview or you submitting your story for me to publish in a blog soon.

These stories encourage and challenge me to live this life sent. I hope they challenge you as well.

What to expect in 2015

As I plan out 2015, I have a few things in the works, including some ebooks on various subjects that will be available for 99 cents. So stay tuned for those!

I am also still working on my new book, Toxic Shame. I got some feedback about working on a new sub-title. I will share that with you soon.

If you want to get rough drafts of chapters as I complete them, sign up here —> [button url=”http://eepurl.com/vma_H” style=”3d” background=”#b20a0c” color=”#ffffff” size=”5″ center=”yes”]Receive My Blog Right in Your Inbox![/button]

Again, Thank you!  I look forward to being here with you in 2015. If you are a blogger, share in the comments one of your most popular posts from 2014.