Sermon: The Journey of Advent
Text:  Isaiah 9:2, Jeremiah 33:14-16
Date: November 30, 2014
Speaker: Dr. Pat Hannon
Location: McAdenville Wesleyan Church

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”  – Isaiah 9:2

The journey of advent doesn’t begin with the coming of the light, but with the people walking in darkness. To fully appreciate the light of the coming Christ we must first acknowledge the reality of the darkness of our world.

It’s a bit strange to write about my top posts of 2013, since this website sat silent for most of the year. In fact, I only wrote a handful of new posts in 2013. Perhaps they should all be my top posts of the year. Still, I’m  curious how the site performed this year, even with leaving it mostly abandoned.

2013 showed sizable traffic increase on the site. There was an 80% increase in visits and an 86% increase in unique visitors. Why did my traffic increase so dramatically in 2013, even with few new posts?

First, I was seriously looking for a new job in early 2013. I interviewed with many churches and ministry leaders. I assume that a significant number of them spent time on my website. I know I would if I was the one investigating pastoral candidates.

Second, I performed a major upgrade of the site in April, moving from a free-but-no-longer-adequate website to a self-hosted WordPress site. Here’s the verdict: WordPress is awesome! Not only does the site look magnitudes better, but I have more tools at my disposal as I write and post. I’m also convinced that the move to WordPress is a big part of the increase in web traffic. If you are not using WordPress for your site, it is time to check it out.

I also see that some posts from pasts years picked up new readers. This shows me reader interests and what I need to write about often.

Finally, here are the top performing posts on EmbraceTheGodLife.com in 2013.

10. Sermon Media
The page of my featured sermons comes in at #10 for 2013. I assume this is due to pastoral search committees checking out my preaching while I was searching for a new ministry assignment in early 2013.

9. The Inaugural Free Book Friday
I started a new series of posts where I highlight a great free book each Friday. I only ran 2 posts in this series before my blog went silent, but the first post comes in at #9 for 2013. I’m excited to resume Free Book Friday in 2014.

8. The ELMM Diet
At #8, this is the oldest post in my top 10. This post from 2008 is a lighthearted attempt to create a new diet plan: the ELMM.
Enough people are looking for sensible health tips that they keep this post in my annual top 10.

7. 1 Bible Verse Leaders MUST Memorize
The #7 most viewed post of 2013. Have you memorized this verse yet? Do it now. Seriously.

6. About
I spent the first part of 2013 seriously searching for a new ministry assignment, and interviewed with many churches. Enough new readers and potential employers were looking for info about me to make my About page the number #6 most viewed page of 2013.

5. How Steven Pressfield, Jeff Goins, and a Bad Website Helped Me Turn Pro
The inaugural post of the relaunched embracethegodlife.com. This post was picked up and promoted by Jeff Goins. This provided my biggest one day of web traffic ever, and has remained steadily read since.

4. Family Prayer for the 12 Days of Christmas
I’m glad to see so many people seeking a plan for family prayer in the Advent/Christmas season. I hope this post from 2010 was helpful to many families.

3. Leading Lectio Divina
This post goes back to 2009 and has remained a top post ever since. I attribute this to the number of evangelical Christians drawn to the traditional spiritual disciplines, but need a few pointers on how to practice the disciplines.

2. Scripture Readings for the 12 Days of Christmas
Another post from 2010 spiked in traffic in December. I hope it was because people were seriously seeking to engage scripture during the Advent/Christmas season.

1. The Secret to Doing Things You Hate, Without Hating It
I’m glad this is the #1 post of 2013. This post, a tribute to my wife, provides a path to successfully doing things you hate.