1st anniversary!

     Having this blog has been a real growing experience for me.  One year ago today I hit 'publish' for the first time and my first post, 'Circumstantial Happiness vs. Abounding Joy', appeared on the blog screen.  I let several friends know and Haley posted an announcement on her blog.

     I have always loved to write, but it took me a while to find my niche.  Though creative writing is fun, I would always get stuck on a story line that wasn't working.  When you get to the point in the story when you're writing the dramatic injury moment and all you can think of is the character falling in a duck pond, here's some advice: move on to another writing style (trust me on this one).

     So what next?  My favorite kind of writing to do is the research-and-report style.  I practically have a hobby of learning and memorizing facts.  Writing reports for school is my strong suit, so my next thought was journalism.  I considered asking the newspaper for a weekly or biweekly column of my own, but eventually abandoned that idea too.  I honestly didn't think they would let a 14 year old with conservative Christian views have her own column!

     Finally, the notion of a blog popped, but not exactly out of nowhere, because I had been considering it as a possibility for quite some time.  Haley had started her blog when she was 15, so when I asked Dad for a blog he told me to wait until I was 15 as well.  Even though that was just a few months away, I wrote up a mock post in my notebook to read to Dad, hoping it would convince him to let me start one earlier. :)  That mock post became my eventual 'My Purpose' page, which if you haven't already I would encourage you to read here. At this point of waiting I was all but bursting with the desire to share my observations of this mysterious world we live in that I could not stop writing!  But lo and behold, when I read 'My Purpose' to Dad one day in the car, he looked straight at me (and at the road, hopefully) and said "Yep, I think you should start a blog as soon as possible."  He was so casual that at first I didn't believe it, but he didn't have to tell me twice to get me excited!

     What followed was a few weeks of setting up accounts and formatting the blog, which I have Haley to thank for because I had no idea how to do those things. :)  Believe it or not, I have changed not one component of my blog layout since day one (well okay, I did have to change my age to 15 on my 'About Me' page).

     Ever since that first day, I was hooked on blogging.  I am finally able to express in public writing form everything the Lord is teaching me through the Scriptures, prayer, and everyday life as one of His children.  The neat thing is that my posts have been a mix of some of the writing styles that I've been interested in, and it's fun to experiment with them!  My purpose is still the same: to encourage my readers in their walk with Christ.  I pray that has been true for you!

     Well, happy anniversary, Cultivating Faithfulness!  Praise the Lord, for He has been eternally faithful to me in this journey!