Category Archives for "month in review"

April 2013 Top Posts and Commenters

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Here are the highlights from April 2013.  Thanks to everyone who read along and commented.  Your readership and participation in the daily discussions are what make The Stretched Community.  Thank you!  Overall, traffic was up slightly from March (3.22%).  I have continued to limit my posts to Monday through Friday.  Taking the weekends off has given my more time with my family along with more time to process ideas for the coming week.  The top 10 posts included two posts written in 2012 and a post written by guest blogger Thomas Mark Zuniga.  If you missed any of these posts, I hope you’ll go and check them out now by clicking below.  The post with the most engagement was Ice Breaker – One Thing, Right Now posted on April 26, 2013.

Top 10 Posts:

  1. 8 Ways To Build A Hedge Of Protection Around Our Teenagers (111) April 9, 2013
  2. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember (95) February 27, 2012
  3. In Response To Boston – God Weeps Too (83) April 16, 2013
  4. Ice Breaker – Questions For Me (76) April 5, 2013
  5. Growing Is Unending (Guest Post by TMZ) (74) April 23, 2013
  6. I’m Losing My Patience – 6 Ways To Rediscover Patience (69) April 2, 2013
  7. Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know (62) March 7, 2012
  8. Hit The Brakes – Pay Attention To The Here And Now (60) April 8, 2013
  9. Answers From Me Part 2 – Small Group Studies (52) April 17, 2013
  10. I Am A Runner – 6 Tips For Those Considering Their First Marathon (51) April 25, 2013

Top 10 Commenters:

As promised at the beginning of the month, I have randomly chosen someone from the top 10 commenters to receive a copy of Second Guessing God: Hanging on When You Can’t See His Plan by Brian Jones.  Your chances of winning increased the more you commented and the higher you were on the list.  This winner of this book is…(drum roll)…Carol Peterson.  Congrats to Carol!

For the month of May, I’ll be giving away a copy of The Connecting Church 2.0: Beyond Small Groups to Authentic Community by Randy Frazee.  For my review of the book, click here.  Again, the more you comment the higher your chances of winning.

Thanks to each and everyone for reading and for commenting.  I’m looking forward to May with The Stretched Community!

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments?  What was your favorite Stretched post this month?  How were you STRETCHED in April?

March 2013 Top Posts and Commenters

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Another month has come and gone.  Traffic was a little higher than last month’s traffic.  About halfway through the month, I stopped posting on Saturday and Sunday.  The decision to stop posting over the weekend is not necessarily permanent.  But I’ve appreciated the opportunity to focus more on my family during the weekend and to focus on content quality during the week.  So far, I’ve been happy with the experiment.

This month’s top post was a guest post by Eileen Knowles (thanks Eileen), and there were two posts from last year.  The first two posts and the eighth post on list drew the most commenter engagement this month.

  1. Stretching Beyond My Comfort Zone (by Eileen Knowles)  March 14, 2013 (104)
  2. Ice Breaker – Share Your Blog Link  March 15, 2013 (96)
  3. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember  February 27, 2012 (80)
  4. 1000 Miles – 1000 Blog Posts – Celebrating A Milestone  March 11, 2013 (68)
  5. Ice Breaker – First Job  March 8, 2013 (67)
  6. Meet Cody – Starting All Over Again  March 26, 2013 (66)
  7. Ice Breaker – Easter Candy  March 30, 2012 (62)
  8. Ice Breaker – Favorite Teacher  March 22, 2013 (60)
  9. RePurposed  March 25, 2013 (58)
  10. How To Use Milestones To Kick-Start A New Thing  March 12, 2013 (46)

Top Commenters:

At the beginning of the month, I announced that I would be giving away a copy of Wrecked by Jeff Goins to one of the top 10 commenters.  The more frequent commenters had a better chance of winning, and the winner chosen randomly is…#4 Commenter – David (not David Paul Stolpe).  David, you’ll need to send me your contact information, so I can send you the book.  This month, I’ll be giving away a copy of Second Guessing God by Brian Jones to one of the top ten commenters.  Again, the more you comment – the better your chances to win.

Thanks to each and everyone for reading and for commenting.  I’m looking forward to April with The Stretched Community!

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments?  What was your favorite Stretched post this month?  How were you STRETCHED in March?

February 2013 Top Posts and Commenters

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February 2013 saw traffic slow down a bit from the previous months high, but it was still a great month for The Stretched Blog.  During the month, we focused on Truth for one week, we continued with a discussion of love based leadership based on Love Works by Joel Manby, and we continued to STRETCH through other posts.  The top post for overall engagement (based on comments and shares on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest) was “Say What You Need To Say” – a post that paid tribute to my grandmother.

The top 10 posts by pageviews were as follows:

  1. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember (150) February 27, 2012
  2. Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 3 – Kind (83) January 30, 2013
  3. Be Still and Know – 5 Thoughts On Finding Stillness In A Busy World (82) January 31, 2013
  4. Closed Mouth, Open Heart – Guest Post by Amy Mable (60) February 14, 2013
  5. Love Works Wednesday Link Up Week 4 – Trusting (59) February 6, 2013
  6. Truth: You Can’t Handle The Truth (57) February 18, 2013
  7. The Stretched Oscars (56) February 25, 2013
  8. Say What You Need To Say (56) February 7, 2013
  9. Scars And Stretch Marks Revealed (53) February 26, 2013
  10. When The Treadmill Stops Suddenly – 5 Tips For Handling Life Stopping Experiences (48) February 11, 2013
  11. Ice Breaker – Listening (48) February 1, 2013

And the Top 10 Commenters:

  1. David Paul Stolpe (51)
  2. TCAvey (16)
  3. Larry Carter (14)
  4. Dan Black (13)
  5. Amy (11)
  6. Bill (cycleguy) (10)
  7. Dan Erickson (10)
  8. TNeal (10)
  9. Michael Shaw (7)
  10. David (5)

Thanks to everyone who reads The Stretched Blog and to those who leave comments.  You are all part of what makes The Stretched Community a community.  For the month of March, I will be giving away a copy of Wrecked by Jeff Goins to one the top 10 commenters for the month of March.  (The more you comment, the better your chances are to win.)

In the coming month, I am looking forward to continuing the Love Works Wednesday Link Up with Bill Grandi.  I’m also looking forward to celebrating a huge milestone for The Stretched Blog which will happen in the next week or so.  Finally, I’m excited for more stretching opportunities in the month ahead.

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments?  What was your favorite Stretched post this month?  How were you STRETCHED in February?

January 2013 Top Posts and Commenters

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It’s been another unbelievable month here on The Stretched Blog.  Traffic was at an all time high and increased 25.2% over last month’s previous record high month.  More than the numbers, it has been exciting to see the engagement that has been taking place in the comments.  There have been many new people who have contributed to the daily conversations.  Thank you to each of you for diving into The Stretched Community.

Here are the top 10 posts for the month:

  1. CRASH! Accidents Happen – And God Still Shows Up (157) January 2, 2013
  2. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember (156) February 27, 2012
  3. Top 10 Best Things About Being A Seeing Eye Puppy (139) January 28, 2013
  4. Another Leap of Faith (87) January 7, 2013
  5. Michelangelo Quote (86) November 18, 2012
  6. One Word 2013 – Epiphany (85) January 9, 2013
  7. Les Miserables – Unmerited Divine Assistance (80) January 17, 2013
  8. Ice Breaker – Reading (79) January 25, 2013
  9. Ice Breaker – Favorite Childhood Toy (75) January 4, 2013
  10. Building Something Bigger Again – The Big Ask (73) January 8, 2013

Here are the top commenters for this month:

Thank you to each of you who have made The Stretched Community what it is today.  I look forward to what lies ahead in February.

If you are a blogger, how was your month of January?  What was your top post?  Share the link here.  Why do you think it was your top post?

December 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

It was another record-setting month on The Stretched Blog with traffic increasing another 3.37%.  I was extremely happy with this considering the typical drop off of traffic during the holiday period between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  As always I like to highlight the top posts from the month.  As you can see from the list below, there were three guest posts in the top 10 and four posts written prior to the month of December.  It’s exciting to see traffic continuing to come in for older posts.

  1. Michelangelo Quote (November 18, 2012) – 221
  2. The Power of the Next Question (May 20, 2011) -100
  3. Musical Stretch (Guest Post by Dan Erickson) (December 5, 2012) – 69
  4. I’d Rather Have A Root Canal (10 Things Worse Than A Root Canal) (December 6, 2012) – 59
  5. Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know (March 7, 2012) – 54
  6. Walking The Tightropes Of Life – Balancing Store And Steward (December 3, 2012) – 52
  7. In The Wake Of The Newtown, CT Tragedy – Turning To The Psalms (December 17, 2012) – 52
  8. Ice Breaker – Top 5 Christmas Movies (November 30, 2012) – 52
  9. Ringing Up Patience at Register Six (Guest Post by D’Anne Hotchkiss) (December 4, 2012) – 50
  10. S-E-X on the Big Blue Bus (A Guest Post by Shawn Smucker) (December 10, 2012) – 48

Also, I like to recognize my top commenters from the month.  For this month, we have a new top commenter – my brother, David.  It’s been fun to have him involved in the conversation.

Thank you to each of you who have made The Stretched Community what it is today.  I look forward to what lies ahead in January and in the year ahead.

If you are a blogger, how was your month of December?  What was your top post?  Share the link here.  Why do you think it was your top post?

November 2012 – Top Posts and Commenters

November was a huge month for The Stretched Blog.  Thank you so much to each of you whether you left or comment, shared a link to one of my posts, or simply read one or more posts.  Your involvement in The Stretched Community is amazing.  The Stretched Blog experienced its biggest month so far with traffic increasing 32.6% since the previous high (last month).  A major boost in the traffic came on November 7th when the daily traffic was over five times the average daily traffic.  Here’s a list of the top posts and commenters.  Check out the posts, and check out the blogs of some of the top commenters.  Here you go:

Top Posts:

  1. How To Respond To The Election Results (November 7, 2012)
  2. Ice Breaker – Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving (November 16, 2012)
  3. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember (February 27, 2012)
  4. How To Waste Your Gifts (November 26, 2012)
  5. I Didn’t Win The Powerball Lottery (November 29, 2012)
  6. Guest Post: Wondering by Leanne Stolpe (August 2, 2012)
  7. How To Celebrate Thanksgiving – 5 Ideas To Transform Your Holiday (November 12, 2012)
  8. Charles M. Schulz Quote (November 3, 2012)
  9. Ice Breaker – Top 5 Christmas Songs (November 23, 2012)
  10. We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program (November 28, 2012)

Top Commenters:

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger, what was the top post on your blog this month?  What was one of the top posts that you read around the blog world this month?  What was your favorite post on The Stretched Blog this month?

October 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

October 2012 was the best month so far here at The Stretched Blog.  Overall, traffic was up and comments were steady.  Most of all, I was pleased with the writing this month which featured several posts inspired by Servefest 2012 and a guest post by Sundi Jo Graham.  I was also honored to guest post at I Love Skippack and Wisdom of a Fool this month – both opportunities to STRETCH my writing.

Here are the top 10 posts from October 2012:

  1. Finite Disappointment, Infinite Hope (October 25, 2012)
  2. Guest Post:  Wondering by Leanne Stolpe (August 2, 2012)
  3. Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember (February 27, 2012)
  4. Ice Breaker – Halloween Costumes (October 19, 2012)
  5. Ice Breaker – Halloween Candy (October 12, 2012)
  6. Store Up…Collecting Things That Matter (October 23, 2012)
  7. Guest Post:  Stretched By Grace by Sundi Jo Graham (October 29, 2012)
  8. Servefest Starts – Whatever You Do For The Least Of These… (October 22, 2012)
  9. Help for the Homeless (October 8, 2012)
  10. The Power of the Next Questions (May 20, 2011)

Special thanks to the Top 5 Commenters this month:

  1. Tom Tarver
  2. TC Avey
  3. Larry Carter
  4. Leah Adams
  5. Bill Grandi

I’m excited and thankful for the month ahead as I anticipate new things to share and write about here on The Stretched Blog and around the blogging community.  As always, thank you so much for continuing to stop by, to read, and to add to the conversation here on the blog.

How was your month?  If you’re a blogger, what was the top post on your blog this month?  What was one of the top posts that you read around the blog world this month?  What was your favorite post on The Stretched Blog this month?

August 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

It’s been a couple of months since I did a month in review post.  The past two months (July and August) have been a bit different here on The Stretched Blog.  If I look at the numbers compared to other months, it looks like I’m heading in the wrong direction.  If you take into consideration that I was on vacation for a week in July, I was away in Guatemala for over a week in July and August, and I’ve dropped most of my weekend blogging, the numbers make a lot more sense.  Actually, I’m quite optimistic about the future here on the Stretched Blog!  Here are the details for this past month:

Top Posts for August 2012:

  1. Guest Post: Wondering by Leanne Stolpe (8/2/2012)
  2. I Am A Missionary…And You Can Be One Too! (8/9/2012)
  3. More Than Words (8/28/2012)
  4. Ice Breaker – Jobs (8/24/2012)
  5. Ice Breaker – Songs On Your Playlist (3/23/2012)
  6. Re-Entry Reality – Back Home From Guatemala (8/6/2012)
  7. Always Be Prepared – Lessons From A Smoke Alarm (8/22/2012)
  8. Creative Expressions – Creatively Tapping Into Our Creator (8/8/2012)
  9. Book Review: Love Does by Bob Goff (8/27/2012)
  10. Ice Breaker – Memory Moment Songs (8/17/2012)

Top Commenters:

  1. Tom Tarver
  2. Larry Carter
  3. TC Avey
  4. Leah Adams
  5. Eileen Knowles

Looking forward to September and the rest of the fall, I’m looking forward to a deeper level of engagement with the Stretched Community and the blog worlds of several bloggers who I read regularly.  I’m anticipating new stretching experiences that I hope to share here!  And I’m hoping to get involved with more guest blogging opportunities here and on other blogs.  It should be a fun time.

Thanks as always for your readership, comments, and encouraging support along the way.  You are the ones that make Stretched such a great experience for me.  Please keep it up, and don’t forget to refer your friends and fellow bloggers.  Finally, have a great month!

How are things in your world?  If you’re a blogger, what was your top post?  What other blogs should I be reading?

June 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

June was another good month.  Overall traffic was about the same as last month.  This month featured a giveaway, a guest post, and a Guatemala update.  I also gave away three advertising spots on The Stretched Blog (I Love Skippack, Joseph Lalonde, and Bill Grandi).  In addition, I had the opportunity to guest post on Jeremy Statton’s blog (Rediscovering My Dream) and K.C. Procter’s blog (Don’t Blink!).

As always, I like to share this month’s top posts.  Interestingly, this month’s top 10 included four ice breakers.  I’ve been contemplating the possibility of putting together an eBook based on the blogs ice breaker questions, and this month’s top 10 may confirm my thoughts.  (What do you think?)  To note, the top post was a guest post written by Kevin Haggerty.  Thanks, Kevin!

Top 10 Posts for June 2012:

  1. Learning To Count To Five – Guest Post by Kevin Haggerty (June 12, 2012)
  2. Giveaway: Platform & Love Does (June 4, 2012)
  3. Ice Breaker – Ice Breaker Questions (February 17, 2012)
  4. 3 Thumbs Up! June 24th, 2012 (June 24, 2012)
  5. School’s Out For The Summer – Another Milestone (June 14, 2012)
  6. Ice Breaker – Picnic (June 8, 2012)
  7. Guatemala In One Month! (June 25, 2012)
  8. Ice Breaker – Songs On Your Playlist (March 23, 2012)
  9. Fences (June 26, 2012)
  10. Ice Breaker – Questions For A Stretched Blogger (May 17, 2012)

Top Commenters for June 2012:

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by and to everyone who left a comment.  Your readership, comments, and friendship mean the world to me. In the coming month, I will be looking for more ways to extend the Stretched Community and to broaden my platform.  I will be using my upcoming vacation and trip to Guatemala to feature top posts from the archives and guest posts.  I am also looking for new opportunities to guest post around the blog world.  If you’re interested in guest posting here or participating in a Stretched interview, drop me a note in the comments so we can connect.

Thanks again for a great month.  Don’t forget to share The Stretched Blog with your family and friends.

If you’re a blogger, what was the top post on your blog this month? If you’re not a blogger, what was your favorite post here this month?

May 2012 Top Posts and Commenters

May was another record-breaking month for the Stretched blog. Overall traffic increased 11.26% from last month’s previous record high.  In addition, the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page has added several new followers over the past month.  The community and platform are growing, and I’m excited to see how God may use the Stretched Community to impact the world.

As always, I like to share the top posts for the past month.  Most of this month’s most popular posts were posted in May; however, one post from March continues to be at the top of the charts for this month.  Here are the top posts from May 2012:

1. The Power To Change A Family Tree (5/2/2012)
2. Leap Of Faith (3/21/2012)
3. Book Review: By Faith, Not By Sight by Scott MacIntyre (5/29/2012)
4. Writing – A Strange Discipline (5/24/2012)
5. My Mom (5/8/2012)
6. Ice Breaker – Star Wars (5/3/2012)
7. Perkiomen Valley Blogger’s Society (5/20/2012)
8. Ice Breaker – Questions For A Stretched Blogger (5/17/2012)
9. 10 Things To Avoid On Camping Trips (5/27/2012)
10. Foundations Class Starts Today (5/6/2012)

And here are the top commenters for May 2012:

1. Larry Carter (28)
2. Tom Tarver (19)
3. Joe Lalonde (15)
4. Michael Shaw (14)

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by and to everyone who left a comment.  Your readership, comments, and friendship mean the world to me. In the coming month, I will be looking for more ways to extend the Stretched Community and to broaden my platform.  I am looking to launch a contest for this month.  I am also looking for new opportunities to guest post around the blog world.  Finally, I will be starting to build a guest post backlog and interview backlog to post while I’m in Guatemala later this summer.  If you’re interested in guest posting here or participating in a Stretched interview, drop me a note in the comments so we can connect.

Thanks again for a great month.  Don’t forget to share The Stretched Blog with your family and friends.

If you’re a blogger, what was the top post on your blog this month? If you’re not a blogger, what was your favorite post here this month?

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