The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,400 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.
pnissila 
Phyllis,
Thanks so much for all your hard work on this blog. I always know that I will read some gem when I visit your site, something that uplifts and encourages me.
Awesome.
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Thank you. I believe my primary ministry is to encourage people. Perhaps this is because I was raised in such a legalistic religious system where there was so much focus on how bad we are. Then, as I came to know how much God indeed loves us and what Jesus Christ did for us, it was the start of mega relief that continues to this day, despite whatever adversity happens by.
I am so glad you are uplifted here.
Where some say God gives us suffering and sorrow to test us, I like to think, rather, God is the one who lifts us out of such things when we turn to Him. His “discipline,” if you will, comes through the “washing of the water” of His Word which, like the proverbial two-edged sword, “divides soul and spirit” and teaches and instructs and warns us. I’d rather seek Him first and avoid a sea of trouble than whip up a theology that elevates some bit of suffering (caused by the proverbial “world, flesh, and/or devil”) to a false sense of piety or Catholic “saintliness” where we could get instant relief/correction/instruction/encouragement from God’s Word.
I think of the famous words of St. Theresa of Avila (the Catholic “saint” with whom many in the New Age and Emergent Church movements are fascinated just now) that she spoke when the carriage she was riding in tipped over and all occupants landed in the mud: “If this is how you treat your friends,” she told God, “no wonder you have so few of them.” Whereas the real cause of the accident was probably just a rock in the road and the driver couldn’t maneuver around it. Theresa could have turned to God for comfort instead of responding with sarcasm. On the other hand, her role as a mystic in the church did net her quite a bit of attention…Just saying…;)
Cheers,
Phyllis
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I once read a comparison to the Christian experiencing troubles with a child learning to walk. The child falls down; the parent did not push the child down, but merely allowed the child to experience the fall so the child could learn to walk. The good parent checks the surroundings and keeps and eye on the situation so that the child is not hurt beyond repair. If the parent never let go of the child’s hands, the child would never learn to walk.
The good parent is there with a hand up, a comforting hug, and reassurance that walking is indeed possible and desireable.
That always stuck with me.
God bless you.
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Great analogy! P.
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Prisilla,
Congratulations…you have gotten many views in 2012!
Let’s hope for many more in 2013!
Love the Word Press fireworks!
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Thanks, Cathy,
Happy New Year!
Phyllis
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WordPress “helper monkeys”: you rock! Thank you! I will continue to refer prospective bloggers to your services, as I was referred to WordPress when I began my research for a good blog host last spring.
And Happy New Year back to you!
Phyllis
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