One Year of Wonder
Today is a very special day for
me. Why?
Because one year ago, I created my blog here. Today is Heart-chords first anniversary!
The Lord first introduced to me the
idea of starting up my own blog when I learned that my aunt had her own blog
called Mining in the Morning (www.mininginthemorning.blogspot.com). That inspiration stuck with me for many
months before I finally decided to act upon it.
It was a step of faith. I had no
idea how to create a blog, I had no idea what I was going to write on my blog,
I had no idea what a blog was even… but I knew that God wanted me to
start it and He would instruct me along the way. So I did.
I expected only a handful of people
to read my posts, only friends and family with whom I shared the URL and a few
others maybe who logged on by word-of-mouth.
Now a year later though, Heart-chords has been viewed in at least
thirteen countries around the world by people I’ve never even met before in my
life, and I’ve received the incredible blessing of being able to share it in
person with my church family even. I say
all this not to boast, but to testify to what God can do with a simple act of
obedience and step of faith. He will
take what little we have to offer and use it beyond our wildest dreams.
Looking back on this past year of
blogging, I’d say it was a year of wonder.
I marvel at all God has done in my life and how far He has taken me in a
mere twelve months, much less in these past three months. I stand in awe of His faithfulness and
goodness and His unconditional love, that He can be magnificent God and still
care about the little details of my life and the intimate emotions of my
heart. That He can have so many people
in the world to look on and yet He still delights in planning and directing my
every day… and your every day if you’ll allow Him to.
It
has been such a blessing to be able to share with you here on Heart-chords all
that God has placed on my heart. It has
definitely been a fruitful year in my spiritual life, and one that I hope has
produced growth in your life as well, dear readers. Particularly those of you that have followed
Heart-chords from its beginning, you all have journeyed me in my highs and lows
this past year and I sincerely pray that the little glimpses from my spiritual
life have encouraged you in your own walk with God as you’ve watched His plans
slowly begin to unfold step-by-step in mine.
Most of you that read my posts here, I’ve never met before. Even those of you that I do know, many
of you I am not aware are among my readers.
But whether I know you or not, I admit I feel a sense of connection with
each of you. As I share my heart here on
my blog in every post, I have you, dear reader, in mind. You are on my heart and in my prayers as I
continue to blog week after week.
To
each of you, whether you’ve followed my journey from its very start or whether
this is your first time ever logging onto Heart-chords, I want to say thank
you. You all aren’t a very vocal group,
I have to say, but I want to thank you for your support, even if only by
contributing to the rise of my pageviews count.
Knowing that you all are logging on and reading and that God is planting
seeds is enough encouragement to keep me writing and posting. Thank you for each of you that has offered a
prayer for me; they have not gone unappreciated. Thanks to the encouragement I received the
other day, I see now that I have more people supporting me with their love and
prayers than I even realize. All in all,
I don’t think a blogger could ask for a better group of readers.
As I
said, I know you all aren’t a very vocal group, but if you feel led, I would
love for you to make this very special anniversary post the first you ever
comment on. If Heart-chords has
influenced your spiritual journey at all, if God’s used it as an instrument in
your life in a way, I would love for you to share that with me in a comment
box, along with sharing with us all the title of one of your favorite posts. In fact, I’ll comment below and share one of
my favorites to get you all started. And
if you still don’t feel vocal… that’s okay too.
You guys are still the best group of readers!
So
here’s to one incredible year of blogging and to another wonderful year on the
horizon! Thank you each of you and
especially to my God Who, with Him, nothing is impossible. All the glory and credit to the Lord!
“Sing
to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.” Psalm 105:2
~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,”
but heart-chords? I was struggling to
decide what to name my blog. I wanted it
to be a name that was both creative and meaningful. As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic
guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts-
our lives- are instruments. They are
constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own
decisions. They can play a melody for
praise or for entertainment. A musician
selects his songs according to his audience.
So do we. Whether our audience is
the world or the Lord, our song will be different. This blog is designed to first, increase my
awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share
the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of
praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.
Music is a powerful tool. Use it
for His glory. “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of
praise to our God. Many will see and
fear and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3
Well, as the author of Heart-chords, obviously, this blog has had a tremendous impact on my personal life. Through the posts I share here, God has taught me so many lessons, has taken me through so much spiritual growth, has opened my eyes to see His hand working around me, and has tuned my ears to hear His voice speaking to me even amidst the chaos of life. Naturally, since each one of my posts here holds its own significance to me, it's difficult to pick a favorite, but I'd have to say my recent favorites would be A New Season and Work in Progress, both from March 2013. :) ~Julia
ReplyDeleteDear Blogger, I have been following your post for a year and celebrate with you on your anniversary. I find your post to be enlightening, challenging, and full of joy and praise to God. Although each post is special with its unique lesson to glean from one of my favorites is 'A New Day' because it was a reminder to me to live for today with contentment and praise to my Heavenly Father for giving me a new day every day to live for Him, and to look forward to the tomorrows where I can live for the hope of the joys and memories I will make in them, all the while I am holding and cherishing the memories of yesterday close to my heart without longing to relive them.
ReplyDelete'Life Letters' is another favorite among many. 2Corinthians 3:2–3 is one of my most treasured passages. I especially enjoyed the story you posted beginning May 18th (On the Homefront) and continued on this post.
I look forward to another year of reading more from you.
In reading your posts, I hear your voice and that makes me feel close to you, my much-loved, precious niece. You have shared your heart and I have learned so much about you that I never knew, and your spiritual lessons have enlightened me. Happy Anniversary and keep on writing!
ReplyDeleteLove, Aunt Deborah
I too had a hard time selecting a favorite post. The Father's Day post brought a lump in my throat yet again as I read the account of your father and the impact he has had on your life. I was again reminded of the awesome privilege it is to be a dad.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite is the new season post from March 15th. I believe your post described in words what I was sensing in my heart but would never be able to articulate so eloquently what I was feeling. I truly believe that God used your words to prophetically declare a new season for our church, our family and for me.
Thank you for your faithfulness and for sharing your heart transparently. Your courage is to be admired!