I started blogging in 2004 (I think) with a blog that I quit in 2007. From 2007 to around 2009, I ran another blog and spent time in collaboration on a third. In Novemberish of 2009 I launched martyduren.com, now under the new name, Kingdom in the Midst, based on Luke 17:21.
My first blog achieved a wide readership (and some level of infamy). Though a novice with analytics in those days, I’m pretty certain it garnered over a million pageviews (hits) in its lifetime. As it was before the days of Facebook sharing and tweeting links it could have reached more lofty stats, but such is life.
My current effort suffered a long drought lasting over a year, often going more than a month without a single post. Life, you might say, got in the way. Nonetheless, it has still managed just north of 117k pageviews. That is pleasing to me considering almost all of those hits came in only fourteen cumulative months.
Today I reached a milestone when Kingdom in the Midst broke into the Top 100 Religion blogs in the U.S. as measured by Technorati. I think my overall “authority” at Technorati would rise if their measuring instrument would ever figure out that I talk about books. Oh, well. These rankings are not static. If readership drops I will fall out of the top rankings and the quest begins again. But, today…
Thanks to you, awesome reader, this week was the best ever at Kingdom in the Midst. Monday’s post entitled, Postcards from Dystopia: Misunderstanding ‘The Hunger Games’ saw the most Facebook shares of anything I’ve written to date. I was also happy to introduce Bekah Stoneking who wrote The Gospel According to the Hunger Games or Katniss Everdeen is Not a Female Jesus which was also shared more than a normal post. Bekah has since started a very frilly blog, Theologically Blonde. Time will tell whether Reese Witherspoon makes an appearance.
Not wanting to be remiss, here’s a shout to my friend Jay Sanders, who is blogging at Pastoral Ramblings which is anything but. He’s funny, insightful, and thoroughly biblical. This post today Fearing Fatherhood is a fine example of all three.
I appreciate everyone who has ever read a single word I’ve written on any blog on which it appeared. Also appreciated are you who share your thoughts through the comments. Remember: when you comment in the Facebook comment box it brings even more people into the conversation. And, like the Hokey-Pokey, that’s what it’s all about.
Last, thanks to God if He’s ever been able to work through any of it to help someone else or to honor Himself.
