Finally back blogging...Happy 4th of July!

I know that it has been a long time since I blogged - six weeks!  It was a very busy 6 weeks, however the fact that I was busy, is not the reason for the blog silence.  I made a very clear decision to step back from this blog and re-evaluate.  That included thinking/praying about the reasons for this blog.  Looking back at some past blogs.   Looking into the future a bit.  Among other things!  It was a good time to rest and let events happen.  In addition to all my "normal" busyness - being with my grand kids and life in general - here is a recap of what kept me away during these weeks.

1.  A brief visit with my sister Julie.
2.  Anna's preschool graduation.
3.  Dance recitals for Lia, Ellie and Anna.
4.  Lia's Birthday.
5.  Zeke's Birthday party.
6.  A full week with Ellie, Zeke and Anna while Gwen, Tim and Lia were on a Mission Trip.
(During that week Ken was in Florida visiting with his sisters)
7. Short trip to a nearby lake for a walk/photo session
8.  A wedding of my friend Diane.

And finally, the 4th of July!  Ken and I had a wonderful holiday.  We got up early and went with Doug and Susie and Grace to an early parade in a nearby town.  We were very thankful that they moved the start time to 9:00am since it was VERY HOT!  Grace was delighted to pick up all of the candy that was tossed to her, but the best things was the Ice Pops that several groups gave out!  And the water bottles!  After the parade, we spent a bit of time at Doug and Susie's and got to watch Grace in her new pool.

She was so excited to go down the slide into the water.  It was fun to watch her slide, over and over.  I'm sure she took a good nap after all that excitement before it was even noon.

Ken and I decided to go to the local fireworks display.  Something that we haven't done for years.  Last year we had decided to try a nearby parking garage roof, but the event was rained out.  This year was clear so we saw the entire show from 7 floors up.  Actually the hour before our town's display began,  we watched all around the horizon as various communities had slightly earlier start times.  No matter what direction you looked, there were tons of fireworks. 

Getting out of the garage and home was much easier than being in all the traffic right by the park.  So we called this a major win.  I am sure we will be going back there again next year.

One of the reasons for the brief break from blogging, is my sadness at the decline in the number of people who are seeing my blog.  This has been because Google stopped sharing any posts from the Blogger platform.  I lost a good number of my international readers who followed me through Google.  I suspect that many of my new readers also came from that search engine.  I watched as my readership fell from the hundreds and sometimes thousands into the teens.  However, as I have reflected back on the reasons that I began this blog, I am convinced that I need to continue to write and share my life in this way.  Sometimes it is the smallest things that reach people and effect changes.  Although this blog may not be read by that many people, I am convinced that the people who need to read my words, will find them.  I spent several years before I began this blog in 2013, feeling frustrated and stifled.  I felt as if I had been given things to share and yet I didn't have anywhere to share!  When I started this blog, it was as if the floodgates opened and so much poured out.  I was reminded of my life verse from John 7:38.... "rivers of living water will flow from within them".   I am amazed when I go back and look at some of my posts.  Clearly these were God-given words and not mine.  Today I am feeling ashamed that the number of readers caused me to back off this blog.  It was giving way to much power to Google.... when God is in charge of who sees theses words!   Yes, lesson learned. When God calls you to something, don't stop just because it gets hard or uncomfortable.  Just keep on going.  I saw this yesterday from the diary of John Wesley....

Sunday A.M.  May 5 - Preached in St. Anne's. Was asked not to come back anymore.

Sunday P.M. May 5 - Preached in St. John's.  Deacons said "Get out and stay out"

Sunday A.M. May 12 - Preached in St. Jude's. Can't go back there either.

Sunday A.M. May 19 - Preached on street. Kicked off of street

Sunday A.M. June 2 - Preached out at the edge of town.  Kicked off of highway.

Sunday P.M. June 2- Preached in a pasture. Ten Thousand people came out to hear me.  

If God calls you to share, I guess you just have to keep on sharing and let Him bring the people!

Jesus, thank you for using this past few weeks to remind me that this blog is about you.  It is all about my relationship with you.  Help me keep my eyes focused on your kingdom and off of the cares of this world.  Remind us all that you are much bigger than anything that is happening in the world around us.  Thank you for the plans and purposes you have for all of us.  Amen