WORDS OF APPRECIATION

I want to take a moment and say a word of appreciation to all my readers. Because of you the readership on this blog has gone over 1000 hits. This means that when people are searching out certain topics that have been covered on this blog site the name of Be Devoted Ministries will be one of the top choices to view.

March has been an exceptional month for me. I came to know Jesus Christ as Savior on April 4, 1981. I know that April is not March, but the date is immediately after March (give me some room here folks). I started this blog in March of 2007 with about twenty people looking at it. I thought it was cool when the hits went over 100. At that time I was much more active with blogging. As time grew the audience began to grow. You were here when my son was born in March of 2010. Many of you noted that my writing slowed down during the fall of 2010 and almost came to a stop in 2011. There were two reasons for the slowdown. One was because of a very busy schedule while trying to get ready for graduation and the other was the death of my father. The impact of his death and subsequently the deaths of other family members and friends throughout the year of 2011 only added to the depression I found myself in. The new inspiration for starting up again came as a result of the President’s 2012 State of the Union Address, where under a dictatorial tone, I heard him taking my son’s freedoms away. That coupled with the religious freedom issue in regards to the healthcare debate pushed me to start again. My goal is to attempt to blog once a week, if not every couple of weeks.

This blog has also been used in ways that I have never thought possible. For instance I never imagined that it would be read worldwide. People from all over the world have come and continue to come to this blog to find out information, receive encouragement, and hopefully find the giver of life Himself, Jesus Christ Lord of Glory, Savior of the world. I have received numerous hits from Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Great Britain, and parts of Africa. Most of the hits come from here in the United States and primarily here in Texas. But even then I have had people view this blog from Maine to California.

The most interesting of all of the blogs evidently are the devotionals which I started from the book of Ezra. There have been more consistent hits on them than on anything else. This last post dealing with confusing community service with evangelism is the second most popular, with the religious freedom issue being the third, and the liquor issue being the fourth most viewed. Ending the top ten lists is the article about churches which seem to be more about entertainment than the gospel.

What does all of this mean? It means that there are some changes to be made. One is that many of the old postings will be reviewed for timely information and grammar problems. There are some of the articles which will be removed because they are more rants than anything while others just need cleaning up. Some blogs will be moved to the website www.BeDevotedMinistries.com because of their subject matter as well as the complexities that maybe involved in research and so forth. While I may seek to give my opinion on this page I will refer to the website itself as my source. There you can find a PDF which will have information and studies that point to my opinion. Since the devotionals seem to be the most popular of the items on this site more of them will show up on this page with a link to the website for greater commentary which will be posted there. Another thing I may also do is post needs from missionaries from all over the world so that you will know what they are.

How can you help? First, as a reader allow me to reiterate my thanks to you. Without you there would be little reason for writing. I love doing this and would do it for a living if I could. I also want to set something up for my posterity, so that they will know where I stood on social issues and theology. So my request from you is to continue reading this blog site and go to the website mentioned above. It is always my hope that your life will become richer because of something you have read. It is also my prayer that you will become more aware of what God is doing in the world as well as what God is expecting from us at the same time. The second thing you can do is join the following. By following this blog you will help enhance the search capability for those who are seeking the information that I provide. The final thing that can be done is spread the word. Please let others know about this site, especially pastors, missionaries, or Sunday School teachers. My goal this year is to get at least two thousand hits on this site and the sister website. With your help we can transform the world by leading them to Jesus Christ and change the direction of this country by returning it to the values that once prevailed. Help me accomplish this for the glory of God.

Steven Swaim
President and Founder, Be Devoted Ministries