Everyday Epistle has Moved

Please visit the new address http://everydayepistle.com.

Movin' On Up

Dear Blogger,

What good times we’ve had.

Writing stories. Downloading photos. Recklessly hotlinking movie poster images and music videos. Ah, life in the fast lane.

How could I not love you?

You introduced me to blogging. I am enthralled. Enraptured. Engaged in life again.

But we have a problem. You won’t let my friends get a word in edgewise.

Only certain people can comment. Only certain people can subscribe.

Oh, I know you say they’re just doing it wrong. But I wonder. Maybe you’re doing this on purpose so they have to join your clique.

Last night I heard you mutter it doesn’t matter if anyone reads my blog because I’m doing it for the love of writing.

Theoretically that’s true, but let’s get something straight. I’m not writing so only you and I can read it. We already know what it says.

If someone, anyone, wants to read it, comment on it, subscribe to it, share it on Facebook, email it to their Aunt Cleo, their cousin Irving, their daughter Macie at college, their son Jake who works in New York, their fourth grade teacher Ms. Vanpelt, their neighbor Winston Rutherford Waterman or any one else on earth, I say have at it.

As much fun as we’ve had together, I'm leaving you for another platform.

I’m moving to WordPress today. There readers can comment, subscribe, and get updates via email. They can even click like if they want.

You can't change my mind. Everything is in place.

I have my own domain at everydayepistle.com, along with new headshots from photographer friend Kristin Scully. And I'm taking my quirky title, my snippets of pop culture and my itty-bitty blog with me.

Come up and see me sometime.

Virtually yours,

Aimee

PS: All the original posts from Blogger are featured at everydayepistle.com too.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 NIV



To watch the 1975 opening of the sitcom The Jeffersons with its jubilant song Movin’ On Up, click here. You be transported to TVLand.

Mercy and Hellfire on Facebook

Friended a few people I haven’t seen in years. Suspect there is some unfinished business between us.

Seeing their faces pop up on screen, I miss them. Their smiles, laughter, presence. How close we once were. How much a part of each other’s lives. Now years and silence are all we share. Sigh.

When I fretted over a recent class reunion, a friend told me we’ve all grown up. She said you have to hope people have gotten past the drama of high school. Let’s not even talk about college.

Hope. Did you catch that? Do we really get past those transgressions?

I remember there was one person in particular I hurt terribly. I would like to dig a hole, crawl inside and die for how badly I behaved. If anyone ever had a reason never to speak to me again, this person did.

What a surprise when at said reunion this person approached me with a welcoming handshake and a warm hug. He’s grown up. He’s gracious. And I am mercifully forgiven.

We’ve all been wronged at some point. I was the target of fickleness and cruelty too. I still am at times, even with the adults populating my life today.

I’m reminded to put down my saber, let go and forgive. Christian cliché? Forgive and forget. Let go and let God.

I’m not interested in that kind of forgiveness.

I’m talking about the hard won, humanly impossible forgiveness. The kind that runs deeper than the wound.

The kind I may have to revisit on my knees a few times over a few years. The kind that brings freedom once it's complete.

There may be relationships that cannot and will not be reconciled, despite forgiveness on my part or theirs. People on Facebook or in real life or in the past I must leave be. Nix reaching out, lest I pull back a nub.

Still those moments of remembering leave me wanting. Those faces on my screen draw me in.

In some cases, I bravely reach out and accept my just desserts. The judgment fire of burned bridges as a consequence of my sin or someone else’s.

And in other cases? As the messages of acceptance trickle in one by one, I am flooded by the gift of mercy. And it is very good.

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 44:22

Dangerous Liaisons: A Girl Enters the Blogosphere

A friend alerted me that my blog's security settings won't let her post a comment. Oh, the heartbreak of it all.

I write words, not code. This leaves me in the awkward position of being dazed and confused by social media, while madly in love with it too.

Library called. They would like their books back now.

Blogger, my platform, says they have enabled automatic spam detection. Translation: ain’t nothing getting through.

So I thought I would simply adjust my Blogger settings down to make it easier for you to come to the dance. Yeah, right.

I logged in to Blogger Dashboard. That’s IT lingo for site-that-makes-you-think-you-have-some-control-over-your-stuff. I clicked on Comments to change the settings.

Imagine my surprise to discover there is no loosen-up-so-people-can-comment-and-subscribe-without-turning-backflips option. It appears my settings are as loose as they get.

This is only my third post and already I’m considering moving the entire operation to WordPress. Two of my blogging babe heros successfully reside there. See their beautiful sites: Here's the Diehl, Traveling with the Jones.

I am enamoured with Blogger's simplicity. But truth be told, WordPress was my first choice to launch Everyday Epistle. Even have the name reserved.

So why didn't I? The WordPress Dashboard looks like spaghetti.

If you can relate to this soap opera, never fear. There is safety in numbers. We'll overcome it together.

If on the other hand, you are a social media master, please chime in. Throw out the lifeline lest the rest of us drown in RSS feeds and plug-ins.

Stay tuned. If Everyday Epistle moves to another platform, I hope you will come along. But for now, I’ll keep writing the words that fuel the fire.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-3 NIV

Apologies if you have tried unsuccessfully to comment or subscribe. Thanks for staying on. At the risk of breaking blog taboo, my email address is still working last I checked. It’s not interactively ideal, but I'll get your message. mailto:everydayepistle@att.net.