Category Archives for "blogging"

March 2012 Top Posts and Top Commenters

March has come and gone.

As usual, I like to look back to see what happened on The Stretched Blog this month.

It was a pretty good month.  Overall traffic, was just under last month’s traffic.  And the comments were the highest so far.  Here’s a review of the top 10 posts from this month:

1.  Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know (March 7, 2012) * Re-Post

2.  End Of An Era – An End To Suburban Chicken Farming (March 14, 2012)

3.  Help Me Write My First Book (March 8, 2012)

4.  Leap of Faith Continued (The Decision) (March 22, 2012 – highest traffic day this month)

5.  Leap of Faith (March 21, 2012)

6.  Migraine Madness (March 13, 2012)

7.  Book Review: How Do You Kill 11 Million People? (March 5, 2012)

8.  Ice Breaker – Songs On Your Playlist (March 23, 2012)

9.  Continue To Learn (March 20, 2012)

10. Back To The Basics – Guest Post From Joe Lalonde (March 6, 2012)

And the top 3 commenters for this month:

1.  Tom Neal (30)

2.  Joe Lalonde (24)

3.  Larry Carter (20)

One of the things that excited me most about the comments this month was the huge number of new commenters.  Your comments make The Stretched Community so great!  Please keep commenting.

Thank you!

So how was your month?  What was your most popular post?  What was your favorite post on your blog or here?

 

Blank Page Pondering

The page is blank as I start my day.
I’m not always sure what I’m going to say.
The beauty lies in the new beginning.
What lies ahead?  Some losing?  Some winning?
The empty page means a lot of unknown,
But one things for sure – I’m not alone.
Surrounding me are family and friends.
My list of acquaintances shows no end.
But what should I do and what should I mention?
I approach each relationship with good intention.
To make the most of each chance I get,
I don’t want to live with any regret.
Whether I lead by words or by what I’m doing,
I want everyone to know what and Who I’m pursuing.
At the end of the day when I look at the page that was blank,
What was empty is full, I have God to thank.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:2-6
How’s your page looking?  What’s filling your page today?

Why Do I Write?

Why do I write?

This is a great question.

I’ve always had a stronger pull towards math and science.  This drove me to become an engineer.

But I must have had some writing pulsing through my veins along the way.  I made it through four years of high school honors English although this was a struggle for me as I fought to keep up with my creative and competitive classmates.  I still remember the crushing blow of my first (and only) “D” in my second marking period of honors English with Mr. Minnear.  I finished the class with a “B” thanks to lots of effort and some help from my father who majored in English literature during his undergraduate studies.

Strangely enough, I’ve been drawn to writing over the last few years.  If I’m honest, I must confess that I want to be noticed through my writing – to one day write a book and to be known as a writer.  But writing is so much more than that for me.  Writing is an outlet – a place to process my joys, my struggles, my ups and downs, my faith, my thoughts, and even the mundane aspects of life.  Through my writing, I hope to stretch myself and to stretch others along the way.  My writing helps me keep track of life as it moves along at an ever quickening pace.

This is all part of it, but there is something more.

Why do I write?

I write to honor God.  I write to bring God glory.  I write to grow closer to God.

This is why I write.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17

Why do you write?

Resource Review: This Is Your Life Podcast

I’m a big fan of podcasts.

I listen to them in the car.  I listen to them on the treadmill.  I listen to them when I’m taking a walk.  And I listen to them while I’m running.

Here are a few of the podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis:  The Dave Ramsey Show Podcast, EntreLeadership Podcast, Daily Audio Bible Podcast, FamilyLife Today Podcast, and The RELEVANT Podcast.  I enjoy each of these podcasts as they keep me entertained and informed.  Podcasts are a great way to keep your brain growing.

Podcasting is definitely an up and coming form of communication.  There are new podcasts popping up every day.

Recently, a blogging friend of mine started his own podcast, and I think it’s worth sharing here.  Last month, Michael Hyatt launched his own podcast called This Is Your Life.  In his podcast, Michael offers practical advice for blogging, leading, and living.  So far, he has released three “issues” of This Is Your Life, and I have listened to each of them a few times.  With each listen I’ve absorbed new ideas for my own blog, my own leadership, and my own life.

So if you’re looking for a great podcast or if you need something to listen to for your next 30 minute car ride, I’d definitely recommend downloading This Is Your Life.

What podcast do you recommend?

Help Me Write My First Book

Yesterday on Michael Hyatt’s blog, Mary DeMuth guest posted about setting goals for the future and going for it now (Why You Should Be Living for the Future Now).  Through the comments that followed the post, I had the opportunity to interact with Mary and other readers about my own passion for writing.  I shared in the comments that I was considering the possibility of taking my writing to a different place by writing a book someday.

Through the on-line dialogue, my friend Tom asked me about the subject of my book.  I threw out a few ideas that I’ve considered, and I shared that I wasn’t all together sure.  The conversation continued with a suggestion that I use my blog as a stepping off point for my book.  To which Mary proposed that I ask my readers to give me feedback on which Jon Stolpe Stretched blog posts resonated with them the most.

Hmmm…. (That’s the sound of me thinking).  Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea.

So what do you think?

Can you help me?

What Stretched blog posts resonate with you the most?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  You could help write my first book!

Back To The Basics – Guest Post From Joe Lalonde

Today, I’m honored to present guest blogger, Joe Lalonde.  Joe blogs regularly about life and leadership.  According to his blog, Joe has “always had a desire to grow and to see others grow and become more effective in their life.”  Please check out his blog and become one of his regular readers.

(As always, I’m love guest blogging and guest bloggers.  If you have a STRETCHED story to share here, drop me a comment.  Or if you think I could help you on your blog, let me know in the comments.)

Back To The Basics

Sometimes the Christian faith seems so simple. You say a prayer asking Jesus to come into your heart, tell Him that you are sorry for your sins, and that you plan on following Him.

Creative Commons at Flickr by Chepe Lena

Simple, right?

Yes, it is simple but it is also complicated. And that is something that has been stretching me.

Questions have been floating around in my head.

When did this get so complicated? Is there more to Christianity than going to church and saying prayers?  Does God even love me?

This line of thinking has made me long for the basics.

What basics you may ask? Well, let me give them to you as questions:

  • Whatever happened to the Lord’s Prayer?
    Jesus took the time to describe how we should pray. Yet when is the last time you thought about it?My guess is that it has not been recently.I encourage you to dive into the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus gave us great wisdom and instruction when He prayed.He thought it was important enough to tell us how to pray. Why are we not teaching this to the congregations?
  • Are the 10 Commandments still applicable?

    It is interesting studying how the 10 commandments came to be.Moses ascended Mount Sinai and stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights. During this time, God gave Moses the 10 commandments on two stone tablets.Finally, Moses descended the mountain and was ready to bring the tablets to the people. Except the people had rebelled while Moses was with God. They made idols and false gods. This angered Moses.

    In his anger, Moses destroyed the tablets. The 10 commandments from God were gone, decimated.

    But the story does not end there. God, in His everlasting mercy, told Moses to recreate the two tablets that were destroyed.

    It appears the 10 commandments were important.

    After studying the 10 commandments, it seems they all come down to loving God and loving each other.

    Where has our love for them gone? How would our society look if we were to love the commandments and follow them once again?

    Take time to re-read the 10 commandments. What do you see them saying to you?

  • Do we even know Jesus?
    Everywhere you go, you can hear about Jesus and how He is love. He loves you and wants you to be happy. He wants you to enjoy your life. He wants peace. He does not want anything extra from you?Is that true?I see in John 14:15 Jesus says “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”In Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus says “Do not think I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.”

    It sounds like we have forgotten that Jesus also had demands for us and that things would be rocky. There would be division.

    I am not saying that Jesus is not about love. He is. He came to save us when we were yet against him. He cared enough about us to die a horrible, miserable death.

    What I am saying is that we forget the basics and give ourselves only the parts that make us happy.

This is where I am being stretched right now. I am being stretched to get back to the basics. To dig deep into the basics. To see our church leaders stand up and proclaim the full gospel, not just the feel good sayings of the Bible.

Are you ready and willing to be stretched back to the basics?

Question: Have you overlooked the basics of your faith? Are you being stretched to dig in and rediscover the truth of the Bible? How so? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

February 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

I blinked and February was gone.  Thankfully, I captured some of my thoughts and experiences here.  As always, I wanted to thank all of you for your daily readership and contribution to The Stretched Blog.  The new platform (jonstolpe.com) is growing!  I like to take the opportunity with the first post of the month to look back and to celebrate what’s been happening here.   So here are the top ten posts from February 2012:

1. Stretching To A New Focus – Guest Post by Leah Adams

2. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember

3.  Say What You Need To Say (Jan. 2012)

4.  Log Eye Lessons

5.  Ice Breaker – Groundhog Day

6.  Stolpe Superbowl Scavenger Hunt

7.  Ice Breaker – Verse Of The Day

8.  Stretched Perspective

9.  The Kid Stretched Me – Guest Post by Tom Tarver

10.  Quality – Time

Here are the top three commenters:

1.  Tom Tarver (35)

2.  Joe Lalonde (29)

3.  Larry Carter (21)

Overall traffic increased on the blog despite the fact that I cut down my average posts per week from six to five.  This is a good sign that new readers are joining the community and conversation.  We had several brand new commenters and one or two new subscribers.  If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the blog (on the right hand side of the main page), adding the blog to your RSS reader, and becoming of the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page.  These are all great ways to make sure you stay connected with what’s going on in and around the Stretched Community.

Finally, I’d like to highlight a few blogs that I’ve recently been enjoying.  Stop on over to these great blogs and see what’s happening:

–  Dicipulus

–  Some Wise Guy

–  The Isle of Man

How was your month?  What was your top post?  What was your favorite post here?  What other blogs can you share with The Stretched Community?

Stretching To A New Focus – Guest Post by Leah Adams

Unplugged

I took the weekend off.

I basically unplugged from the blog world.

There was not a regular Stretched Week in Review post this weekend.

I didn’t read any blogs.  And I didn’t even work on my own blog.

Hard to believe?  For me, yes is hard to believe.

There was too much living to do this weekend.  This is what occupied my time this weekend:  Jazz Festival on Friday night, running on Saturday morning (along with a few errands), Groundhog Day party on Saturday afternoon, basketball game late Saturday afternoon, The Mousetrap at The Walnut Street Theater on Saturday night, church, and a surprise 40th birthday party for one of my good friends.

There really wasn’t a lot of time for much else.

It was good to unplug for a couple of days.  As bloggers, we (or I) can get so consumed by what comes next on our (my) blog posts.  We’re always looking for ways to tie real life into our (my) blogs.  Sometimes, we need to put our (my) blogs aside, so we (I) can just live.

I had fun doing that this weekend.

What did you do this weekend?  Have you “unplugged” recently?

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