Wow!

Tomorrow is the two year anniversary of my very very first post here on The Joyful Truth!

My First Post– The Honor in Giving out of Poverty

I’m amazed!

It’s been such a journey, and though maybe this blog hasn’t grown the way I wanted it to, it has been such an incredible blessing in giving me a voice again.

In this post I’m going to talk just a bit about that journey, and include links to different posts of significance. I hope you enjoy!

I started this blog because I needed a voice again. Motherhood, something so wonderful, had also been incredibly stressful as I navigated a difficult first year with my little girl. – Seven Things I Wish Someone Had Said To Me When My Baby Was In The NICU – I was in a bit of a identity crisis. – Who Am I? – it wasn’t that I didn’t like being “Mom,” I just needed to find “Me” again as well.

At first it was just a blog on a free service website. The site was not owned by me, but it was an attempt. I blogged pretty inconsistently for awhile. And then one day I met a turning point in my writing.

I had been following an incredible story going on in my community, a young man fighting cancer who had gotten a Wish from Make a Wish, and donated the cash amount to my Church’s food program.

This young man was inspiring in his faith. Then came the day he went to heaven, and I sat down and wrote my thoughts.

He Finished the Race – dedicated in memory of Andrew Rundle

My blog exploded.

Oh, it didn’t go as viral as many viral posts I’d seen, but still, I went from just a few readers, to hundreds for that couple weeks. If memory serves, it reached a couple thousand.

It was also shared on a great big blog: A Holy Experience, Ann Voskamps blog, author of the New York Times best seller, One Thousand Gifts.

And even more than that though, the post reached Andrews family. The post touched Andrews family. My words reached into an impossibly difficult time and touched hearts.

I was overwhelmed.

Could my words really touch lives?

I was humbled and grateful for his family’s gratitude for my words. I was humbled that I could be used to share his incredible story. I wasn’t so self-obsessed to think that the current success of my blog had anything really to do with me, understanding that it was the power of the subject that brought the words so far, but still, I suddenly came to face with the realization:

My words could bless.

My words could be used.

That was the turning point, I started writing more often, and the glimmer of an idea of moving my site to a self hosted endeavor someday became a much more defined goal.

Once I had reached the one year mark Andrews post had received 2653 views. I had written 84 posts, and the blog had been viewed in 50 different countries. The blog itself had a total of 4127 views.

My One Year Post – The Joyful Truth is One!

We were small, but it was time to move forward. I really wanted to move to self-hosting, but was hesitant because finances were so tight. But then in July my dear Grandmother gave me a birthday gift of the finances to get started! I was excited to announce the coming changes – Growing The Joyful Truth – it took several weeks, but when the new site was ready for launch I felt so proud! The Joyful Truth Grand Opening! It was quite the accomplishment for me!

So that was last September and things have been plodding along. I’ve had off months thanks to tooth infections – Lessons From a Rotten Tooth – depression over finances that were more than frustrating – Hope for Tomorrow – Thankfulness in Need – and just plain frustration as the site didn’t grow how I wanted it to and I wondered if my words had any impact at all.

But over all those months I always found that writing wasn’t just about being heard, it was about making an offering to my Lord, here, in my corner of the internet.

A place to share my thoughts, my poetry, my praise. I found my poetic voice again, not only sharing poetry I’d written as a young woman and teen, but starting to write more again! – In Trial You Are There – In The Beginning – Count the Gifts – my offering of words.

I also found a place to share another thing close to my heart! Books! I’ve signed up for a few book review programs and now am excited to receive books in the mail to review! I’ve also started sharing more and more from my personal book collection. Words that have fed my soul.

One of those books, One Thousand Gifts, I would never have found if it weren’t for this blog. Remember? Ann Voskamp had shared my post. I’d only heard of her slightly before, but after she’d shared my post I grabbed her book on sale one day. That book blessed me so much I had to share it! And so we had our first, and only to date, book giveaway.

Grateful for Shareing! One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp Review and Giveaway (ends 12am November 22nd, 2014)

This journey has been such a good one for me. I’ve now racked up 194 posts, including this one. (Maybe I’ll host another giveaway for my 200th post, sound fun?) Is my blog garnering up the hundreds and thousands of readers I dreamed of? Not as of yet. Has it become a money maker to help supplement our income? Not in the slightest. Do I have some hopes still that at some point that might happen? Sure!

But in the end it isn’t about the numbers, it is about serving. Serving with words, blessing with words, and sharing truth. Sharing The Joyful Truth. That is what it has always been about.

So Happy Birthday to The Joyful Truth!

I hope to be here for a long time, sharing my words, and my faith, with you.

Joy Aletheia Stevens