200 in 4 years!

     My greetings to all of you in the name of the one and only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. I apologize that today is more of a boasting day for myself than I normally like to do. However, this is my 200th post on this blog and it is also my 4 year anniversary. 4 years ago today, I wrote my very ever first blog post. It was the first week or two of my seminary career. Looking back, I cannot believe how far I have come or how greatly I have changed since then. However, St. Paul says if you are going to boast, boast in the Lord. So today I will boast in the Lord, because I know I would not, in fact I could not be where I am today, without the strength of the Lord. 4 years ago I was so scared to speak about anything concerning the Bible because I felt like I knew absolutely nothing. And even now I am still humble enough to admit there is more about the Bible that I don’t know than I actually do know. However, through 4 years of education, field work and vicarage experience, and personal growth in my faith, I have confidence in my teaching and preaching. Again, I only have this confidence because of the Lord and His Spirit in me that gives me the boldness and confidence to teach and preach His Word and Gospel message.
     I also want to boast a little that doing the math 200 posts in 4 years averages out to 50 posts a year which is almost equivalent to a weekly blog. Now I know I have had large gaps in my writing time line, but I was proud of myself that I was still able to average that closely to a weekly post.
     However, the main point of today’s post is to thank you and to thank the Lord. I want to thank all of you who actually read my posts. If you hadn’t encouraged me along the way and reassured me that people actually are reading this blog, I would have quit for sure. However, you inspired me, encouraged me, and kept me going for 4 years now. Sometimes I wonder why you would keep reading what I write, but I am reminded that you are hearing the Word of the Lord and that is worth it no matter how poor my writing skills may be.
     I also want to thank the Lord that I am able to boast in Him. I want to thank Him for being with me all four years through the seminary, vicarage, and field work. And I most certainly want to thank Him for giving me such an amazing first call here at Peace in Christ. I remember leaving Adair for the first time as I left for college. I was moving to a place where I knew absolutely no one and it was scary. However, within a day of being there I made friends and from there it has never stopped. It doesn’t matter where life has led me, any place I go to, any situation I walk into, I have been able to make friends, feel right at home, and love my life exactly as it is, and that is all because the Lord has been with me and blessed me wherever I am. I cannot thank Him enough for the friends and relationships I have made over the past eight years of college, seminary, and vicarage. And now I continue to thank Him for the relationships I am building here at Peace in Christ and the Duluth area. Again, He has blessed me so much more richly than I deserve and I know He will continue to bless my ministry for the years to come.
     So I thank, praise, and worship the wonderful God we have, I thank you my followers for supporting and encouraging me and sharing in the experiences I have had over the past four years, and I pray we may continue to share in the grace, mercy, and love of Christ for many more years to come.  In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.