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January 2012 Top Posts and Commenters
It was a fun month for The Stretched Blog. This month, we switched to a self hosted platform. It has been fun to learn and experiment with the new things available at jonstolpe.com. If you add up the traffic from the old site and the new Stretched Blog, it was far and away the best month so far. Here is a list of the top posts on the new blog for the month of January. It is exciting to see how many guest bloggers appeared in the top ten list this month!
| Managing Conflict – A Leadership Stretch … Guest Post by Frank Chiapperino |
| January 14, 2012 Week In Review |
| Book Review: The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson |
| Our Behavior Is Our Witness – Guest Post by Kevin Stone |
| Why Did I Change To My Own Domain? |
| Ice Breaker – Leaving On A Jet Plane |
| Ice Breaker – Back to the Future |
| Rediscovering Grace Through A Two By Four Moment – Guest Post By Chad Jones |
| Stretching Beyond the Hurt – Guest Post by Diane Karchner |
| Say What You Need To Say (This was one of my favorites from the month!)
As promised, I am giving away a copy of The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson to this month’s top commenter. It was a tight race between the top two, and there was a tie for 3rd place! Here’s the top 3 (or 4): 1. Larry Carter (22 comments) 2. Brandon Gililland (21 comments) 3. Bill Grandi (11 comments) 3. Arny Sanchez (11 comments) Your comments are a huge part of what makes The Stretched Community so great! This month, I will be giving away Chazown by Craig Groeschel to the top commenter. As a reminder, don’t forget to subscribe to The Stretched Community by entering your e-mail on the right side of the main page. This will make sure you don’t miss a single post, and it will give you an opportunity to receive any “exclusive” information that might be sent to the blog subscribers only. Also, I’d encourage you to follow Jon Stolpe Stretched on Facebook. This is an excellent way to see some of the things I’m reading elsewhere in the blog world. As always, thank you so much for making The Stretched Blog part of your regular reading! Are you a blogger? What was the highlight of your month? Feel free to share a link to your top post! |
January 7, 2012 Week In Review…
It’s time for The Stretched Blog Week in Review – the first for 2012! The traffic to the Stretched Blog is at an all-time high this week. In fact, blog traffic on Wednesday was the highest ever on the blog (and Thursday’s traffic was right behind). Thank you!
Here’s the rundown on the posts for the week:
Monday: December 2011 Top Posts
Tuesday: Meet Irwin
Wednesday: One Word For 2012: Transformed
Thursday: The Stretched Blog Visits The Analogous Truth
Friday (this actually posted Saturday do to a visit to me by the stomach flu): Ice Breaker – My First Car
Your continued contribution to the blog through comments is greatly appreciated. Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community! Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page. Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff. I have started to share more blog highlights from other blogs that I read regularly. I think you’ll find some great stuff here. Thanks!
Here are a few of my favorites from around the blog world this week:
- FedEx Guy Throws Computer Monitor Over Fence by Chris LoCurto at Chris LoCurto’s Blog
- The Brilliant Person You Ignore Every Day by Jon Acuff at JonAcuff.com
- Goals: Get A Bigger Frying Pan! by Chris Patton at Christian Faith at Work
It should be a fun week upcoming. Brandon Gilliland will be guest posting on Wednesday. We’ll have another fun Ice Breaker on Friday. And there’s sure to be more Stretching the rest of the week. Please stop back so you can see what’s going on here!
How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!
2011 in review (according to WordPress)
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,200 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
New Year’s Eve 2011 Week In Review…
It’s been a different week here at the Stretched blog. The holidays have provided a great opportunity to catch up with family, to relax, and to regroup for 2012. The traffic to the Stretched Blog was a little lower than the past few weeks, but that was expected. On the positive, December 2011 has been the best month (by far) since the blog started! Thank you!
Here’s the rundown on the posts for the week:
Tuesday: Top Posts of 2011 Number 2 – Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
Wednesday: Top Posts of 2011 Number 1 – Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
Thursday: Book Review: Rumors of God by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson
Friday (this actually posted Saturday do to a visit to me by the stomach flu): Ice Breaker – Resolutions
I am so thankful for your continued contribution to the blog through comments. Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community! Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page. Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff. I have started to share more blog highlights from other blogs that I read regularly. I think you’ll find some great stuff here. Thanks!
I’m really excited about this upcoming week as we roll into 2012! I’ll be guest posting on a blog or two, and I’ll have more stuff right here. Please stop back so you can see what’s going on here!
How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 1 – Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
We are down to the top Stretched post from 2011. Sharing these top posts provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string. Thank you for letting me take this break and for letting me take this opportunity to share these posts. Your support for the Stretched Blog this year has been incredible!
And so, drum roll please,…the most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a fun look at my college experience shared right before Homecoming. The post is titled Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
Leanne and I are getting ready to head out to Grove City College for homecoming and Leanne’s 15th reunion. I’m excited to go back to the place we first met. My four years at GCC were extremely memorable. Since I’m thinking about it, here’s my Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College:
1. Go to chapel (16 times a semester). As much as that may sound dull, we were blessed with some great speakers at GCC. I particularly remember John Guest, Tony Campolo, and R.C. Sproul.
2. Look to your left and look to your right. As Nancy Paxton would tell all freshman, your future mate may be in sight. As it turns out, I met Leanne at the end of my junior year. The rest is history, so they say.
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To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College post.
Share one positive memory about your college or high school experience!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 2 – Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
We are down to the top two Stretched posts from 2011. Sharing these top posts provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 2nd most popular Stretched post from 2011 was post written to help small group leaders. The post is titled Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
Yesterday, I had the honor and privilege of sharing my thoughts to a group of small group leaders at our church. I shared 5 of my ideas in an earlier post, but I thought you might enjoy hearing my complete list. So here are my notes:
I’m excited about this opportunity to share. If you don’t know me or if you haven’t figured it out, I’m extremely passionate about small groups. I truly believe they can provide a path for connection to others and to God. I also believe that small groups play an important role in accountability and discipleship. In no way is this list the Bible of small group leaders. It’s just my thoughts based on my involvement with small groups in various capacities for nearly 20 years. I’ve participated in groups. I’ve led groups. I’ve led group leaders. And I even had the privilege of leading a team of coaches. (I was also brought up in a home where small groups were important and modeled by my parents.) As I share my ideas, I’d encourage you to take a few notes. So here goes:
1. Small group leaders are important. They play a big part in helping people find community, find God, and find growth. If you are a small group leader, you need to know that what you do matters.
2. Small group leaders set the tone. Whether or not you consider yourself a Biblical scholar, your group members look to you as an example. For this reason, it’s important that small group leaders continue to model growth. They should be in the Word. They should develop disciplines that model growth. Small group leaders aren’t perfect, but they must find others who will hold them accountable to setting the tone.
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To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know post.
Are you in a small group? Tell us about it!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 3 – Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging (A Guest Post by Jason Fountain)
As I mentioned last week, my plan is to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011 over the next couple of weeks. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 3rd most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a guest post by my friend Jason Fountain. The post is titled Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging
John Maxwell relates a story shared by sociologist Anthony Campolo. Campolo tells about a group of 50 people over the age of 90 years old who were asked one question: If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?
The question was open-ended and the people’s answers were varied. However, three ideas consistently emerged.
1. If I had it to do over again, I would reflect more.
2. If I had it to do over again, I would risk more.
3. If I had it to do over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.
I want to share with you an idea that can help you begin to accomplish all three of these goals TODAY.
…
To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging post.
What would you change about 2011?
What is one thing that you’re looking forward to in 2012?
Christmas Eve 2011 Week In Review…
What a great week here at the Stretched Blog. The blog traffic is up for the week, and we’re already running a higher page view total than last month. If we can keep it up this week (which could be tough over the holidays), the Stretched Blog may see its highest page views per month total ever!
Monday’s post was titled My Treasure & My Heart was an opportunity to share some of my wrestling over time and priorities. I really appreciate the empathy and encouragement expressed in the comments for this post. Tuesday brought a visit from Jonathan Pearson. Jonathan did an excellent job sharing the stretching of a young leader. Wednesday, I started to share the top 5 posts for the year. The number 5 post for the year was a great guest post by my wonderful wife. She shared about Detours that she has experienced over the past year or two. On Thursday, I shared the 4th most popular Stretched post of 2011 – Locks of Love – about my daughter’s generous donation. And finally and Friday, I shared another fun Ice Breaker about our favorite toys.
I am so thankful for your continued contribution to the blog through comments. Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community! Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page. Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff. I have started to share more blog highlights from other blogs that I read regularly. I think you’ll find some great stuff here. Thanks!
A few of my favorite posts from the rest of the blogging community this week:
- Questions To Ask For Reviewing 2011 by Brad Lomenick on BradLomenick.com
- I Dare You To Do This With Me by Jon Acuff on JonAcuff.com
- The Only Way To Become A Real Writer by Jeff Goins on GoinsWriter.com
I’m really excited about this upcoming week as I’ll be sharing the top 3 posts for 2011, and I’ll be preparing for the new year! Please stop back so you can see what’s going on here!
How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 4 – Locks of Love
As I shared yesterday, my plan is to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011 over the next couple of weeks. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 4th most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a post about my daughter and her sacrificial gift. The post is titled Locks of Love. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
The generous heart of my daughter never ceases to amaze me. As you can see by the pictures, Hannah decided several months ago to grow her hair out, so she could donate to Locks of Love. Locks of Love provides wigs for children who are facing hair loss for various reasons. Hair is a big deal for girls, women, and kids. So when Hannah decided to have her hair cut so someone else could enjoy a head of hair, it was quite a sacrifice – at least in my mind.
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To read the rest of this post and to see more pictures of Hannah’s transformation, head on over to the original Locks of Love post.
When and where was the last time you got your haircut?
What was one of your favorite posts this year?
Top Posts of 2011 Number 5 – Detours – A Guest Post by Leanne Stolpe
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 5th most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a guest post written by my wife, Leanne. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
This week I took a day off and went to the beach. This is something I used to do a couple of times a year but recently haven’t done for quite some time. So, it was a big deal to me. I filled up my tank with gas. I packed a picnic lunch, and figured out my directions. I put my tunes in the cd player and started on my trip. I didn’t even get on the turnpike when there was a detour – right at the start of my trip!
It reminded me of how this past year seemed like a detour in many ways.
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To read the rest of this great post, head on over to the original Detours post. I promise it’s worth the visit.
When was the last time you took a detour?
What was one of your top posts this year?