Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
~Psalm 119:105
Have the first 8 days of the 31 Days of Encouragement benefited you? They have me. Spending time focusing on some of my favorite verses; enjoying some of my favorite images; and analyzing what these scriptures mean to me has been a joy.
- I have practiced hospitality. Six kids have spent the night with mine this weekend.
- My biggest resolution from last year remained undone and left me defeated. I’ve resolved to face my fear of failure and do my best to achieve it.
- I heard a sermon on first fruits giving Friday night that was so powerful that it might warrant an additional post in this series.
- I have been more prayerful.
You might find this strange, but sometimes I pray about my camera. Usually, I pray to make wise decisions while using it and not do anything to harm or break it (sometimes I find myself in precarious situations trying to get “the shot”). Tonight I prayed that my blog and my camera would glorify God, that He would bless my vision and my eye as I seek the beauty in the mundane.
The amazing thing about the first 8 days of this series is how much you’ve encouraged me. I’d wondered how many readers dropped by for the family and faith, and how many for the Photoshop (in my perfect world, you love them all, like me).
Well, on Day 4 FeedBurner sent me an unsubscribe notice for an email subscriber. Uh, oh. Here it comes, I thought. Guess what? That was the only one (make that two) I received. There actually appear to be several new subscribers here, and that humbles me. Thank you. I appreciate you all.
Also, in my BlissDom post I failed to thank DaySpring, who is helping sponsoring me to attend. One of the things I’m most excited about at BlissDom is the chance to meet some of the DaySpring folks that I know only via email but not in person. It must be a fabulous place to work because they are such positive, happy, encouraging people.
Did the first 8 days encourage you?
Please visit the other ladies participating in 31 Days of Ministry Online at A Woman Inspired:
- Amy Bayliss – 31 Days of Heart Matters
- Karin – 31 Days of Intentional Parenting
- Jen – 31 Days of Social Media
- Lisa Boyd – 31 Days of WordPress
- Karen Lewis – 31 Days of Praise
- A Martha Heart – 31 Days of Prayer
Links to all posts in this series, by topic, can be found here.
Dawn
Finding your blog has been a true blessing and challenge to me. I am intensely enjoying this 31 days…. Thank you for being true to the calling. I am encouraged by you. I am inspired by your photography and your journey. I am so blessed that you are sharing it.
Catharine
http://caites-whispertothewind.blogspot.com
I just discovered your blog either through incourage or other “31 days” blogs and am appreciating it so much 🙂 Thank you for the beautiful photography, verses and short posts that I can read and ponder between 3 shifts of waking girls, lunch making and shuttling off to the bus! And just for the record….I didn’t even know you had photoshop on your site! I am trying to make an effort to learn how to use it and pick up my camera more often, so I will be exploring your site even more once the buses comes. God Bless!
I have really been enjoying your series, Dawn! I love to hear how God works in other people’s hearts and lives. You have been an encouragement to me.
I never thought to ask God to bless my vision and eye in photography. To ask for His help in seeing His Creation with the right eyes. I will start doing that too!!!
After Relevant, I realized that I needed to turn off the unsubscribe notifications. Whenever I would get that notice, it would really discourage me and make me question what I am writing about or how I might be saying things on my blog. It just ended up being a distraction to me. I am SO glad I turned off that notification. Besides, I do realize that there are those that unsubscribe from one email address and add another. Or there are times when you just have to clean out your inbox and pare down. Nothing like the new year to make you get in the swing of that.
Marsha, you got smart much sooner than I did. When I had one person email me today to say that they were unsubscribing to switch email addresses and another asking me to switch so I wouldn’t get that unsub email, I realized I just need to go turn off that default unsubscribe email notification. Off to do that now… 🙂
Catharine, I’m glad I found your comment buried in my spam filter. Thank you for your words of encouragement!