Tag Archives: Wordpress

by | October 26, 2020 · 12:57 pm

I Hate Blocks

Dear friends, I want to copy a post so that I can republish it. I want the original to stay where it is, but a new one to be published. Does that make sense?

That is what I have been doing with the posts at ProverbialThought.com.

But now, because of this new and “wonderful” block editor, I cannot figure out how to do what I need. And when I try to go back to the traditional editor (the one that worked well for me for 10 years), all I do is click on the option, but nothing happens.

I hate block. I don’t care how many more features this system offers! I never asked for it. I was happy with what I was using. It worked. It allowed me to become the blogger I am… I was.

One of the reasons I have not been blogging of late – even though I have a lot I could be writing about, especially my daughter’s wedding last week – is this new editor! Did I mention that I hate it?

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by | August 27, 2019 · 8:51 pm

Happy 10th to the Recovering Legalist

It’s My Anniversary!

Actually, it’s not MY anniversary, but it IS a special day for this blog, TheRecoveringLegalist.com!

That’s right, it’s been 10 whole years since I started my blogging adventure with WordPress (I was with Blogger for a few months), and I just want to say a big THANK YOU! to all of you!

This blog has played a huge part in my life, from giving me an outlet to express my feelings and thoughts, to introducing me to many wonderful and interesting (some only interesting) people. Some I have met in person, most I have not, but many have become life-long friends.

Influencers

When people on TV receive awards, they go on and on about the people to whom they are thankful, and they praise those who helped them be successful. I want to do something similar.

First and foremost, without question, I want to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, my Father in Heaven, and the Holy Spirit for not only giving me the talent to think and to write but also the reason for the hope that is within me. This blog, along with the ones it inspired (ProverbialThought.com and i4daily.wordpress.com) would be pointless if it wasn’t for the grace that lifted me up and set me on solid ground.

Next, I want to thank my wife and my girls for allowing me to write. Even though there were times when they got irritated when I spent too much time doing it (and they had every right), they still supported me and told me they were proud that I was making a difference in the world through this medium. Without their support, I would have given up a long time ago, and not just with this blog.

Last but not least, there are the numerous bloggers I’ve met over the years who have influenced me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and reaffirmed that the Christian blogging community is the next closest thing to family – nobody here gets an inheritance (that I know of). Then again, maybe it is a family.

I don’t know whatever happened to Heather Joy, but her early encouragement made a huge impact. Other folks like David Welford, Jessie Jeanine, Heather Mertens, Daniel Klem, Jessie Clemence, James Neff, Wally Fry, and Chris Jordan made lasting impacts. There are others, too. I wish I could remember them all.

The Posts

As most of you know, it’s always fun to look back at the stats to see what posts had the most views. Aside from the “pages” and stuff, below are the Top Ten from the last 10 years.

  1. Was John R. Rice a Heretic? 
  2. Just the Sound of BB’s
  3. What to Wear to Church
  4. The Brief Departure of a Friend
  5. Dinosaur Bones Found On the Moon
  6. Does Divorce Disqualify?
  7. Liberty or License?
  8. Work, Work, Work
  9. “Please, Lord, Help Me Get One More”
  10. Why Be a Legalist?

Proudest Moments

As I was compiling the above list, the question came to mind: What were your proudest moments over the last 10 years?

Honestly, I guess the proudest, or rather most honored I ever felt was when total strangers would walk up to me and ask, “Don’t you have a blog?” One time this happened when I was shopping at a Lifeway (can’t do that anymore) and a man told me he read my blog all the time – in another country! Sadly, I can’t remember where he said he ministered, but he was a missionary who’d come home to see family and recognized me!

Another time I was recognized was at a Subway. The guy behind me asked, “Are you that guy? The Recovering Legalist guy? The one with the blog?” I said, “Uh, well, yeah, I am.” He was so excited! He then told me how amazing it was to run into me at a Subway in his own town, and then he asked, “So are you just traveling, or something? What brings you here?” I answered, “Well, I just live down the road.”

Of course, how could I forget the day I was told I my blog was going to be featured on “Freshly Pressed“? THAT was neat!

What’s Next?

What will the next 10 years look like? I have the sneaking suspicion that I will slow down a little because of my new schedule and workload. However, what I hope is that the posts I do write will be more substantive and worth reading.

Many times I have written just to be writing, and I guess there is a time for that. But what I would like to develop is the reputation of posting such quality, Spirit-led work that whenever I do publish something you guys will not be tempted to pass over it. I want it to be worth your time.

Besides that, I want to set aside more time to read the stuff you guys write! I know I’ve missed a lot of blessings by writing more than I read.

One more thing. I’m going to set aside a specific time each week to pray for other Christian bloggers like many of you. Some of you may feel like what you are doing is making little difference, but you are wrong! If it’s of the Lord, even just one “click” could have an immeasurable impact on the lives of others.

God bless, and thank you for your following and friendship. It means more than you can know.

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by | January 2, 2019 · 1:12 pm

Planning for 30,000!

I published my first posts on WordPress back in September of 2009 – all 4 of them. It was not until July of 2010 that I began to post more often.

But what bothers me is that I have yet to reach the 30,000-view mark. As a matter of fact, this year’s stats saw a dramatic drop, even though the number of posts I published were essentially the same (42 less than last year, and 9 more than in 2017).

So, being that this September will be my 10th anniversary with WordPress, it’s about time I break the 30K glass ceiling.

The following are my plans to accomplish the 30,000 mark:

  1. Pray before each post.
  2. Publish posts that are beneficial, not superficial nonsense meant only to score a few views.
  3. Focus on more in-depth series, like the 10-part one I’m about to do based on a sermon outline.
  4. Re-blog (share) posts from other bloggers on a regular basis.
  5. Read and comment more on other sites.
  6. Explore the “tags” and find new people to meet.
  7. Publish more than one post a day, even if the posts are shared posts or quick, encouraging thoughts, memes, or verses.
  8. Make myself available for doing guest posts.
  9. Keep a sense of humor and sanctified sarcasm 😉

If you have any other suggestions, I’d love for you to share them.

Blessings to you all!

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by | August 28, 2013 · 6:00 am

4 Years with WordPress

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Wordpress anniversary thank youBelieve it or not, as of yesterday I have been blogging as The Recovering Legalist for 4 years! So that means I am no in my fifth year of blogging, I guess. Actually, I did start blogging with Blogger before I came to WordPress, but that didn’t go so well. It was a blog for my church, so writing posts about personal issues and Monday Monkeys wasn’t appropriate. And anyway, I didn’t like Blogger.

Friends and Enemies

Over the last four years I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people. Most of my followers are people I have never met in person, but know only through the internet. Some of those followers I consider close friends, even if we have never even met (I don’t recommend looking for dating relationships that way, though). On the other hand, I have also made a few enemies, or should I say, established non-friendly relationships. A few of my posts have attracted the ire of some hateful, angry, arrogant souls who diametrically oppose everything I believe. Too bad for them, I say.

Wonderful Opportunities

The last four years have given me the opportunity to impact the lives of people around the globe. How amazing is that! I think the last time I counted it was over 140 countries in which this blog has been viewed. Who knows what impact it has made? All I do know for sure is that there have been a few people who have come forward and told me that what I have written in the past has helped change their lives – literally. Some have actually been set free from legalistic churches and the bonds of legalism. Many have found encouragement through posts I have written during my own times of pain.

Only God knows the full ramifications of this blog and others like it.

Thank You!

I know that there are some of you who follow this blog just to get noticed. Some of you have read this blog by accident, only to realize you didn’t like what you saw. But to those of you who regularly read my feeble attempts at writing, I thank you. All of you Christian bloggers out there, keep up the good work. As long as this form of medium is available, let’s use it for the glory of God. We may never know on this earth who we are reaching, but one day we will know as we are known.

God Bless!

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by | October 16, 2012 · 5:59 pm

“Freshly Pressed” High, then Reality

Woo Hoo!

I was so thrilled when I was told this blog was going to be featured on “Freshly Pressed.” I was literally ecstatic (well, let me make sure of the definition – a trance-like state of joy or delight – OK, that’s good), really I was.

Just the thought that this wee widdle bwog was chosen out of so many thousands was mind blowing. It was better than when I got the Perfect Attendence Award in 3rd grade! Or was it 4th grade? Or was it the spelling bee?

Anyway, on October 1st my recorded views gradually climbed and climbed, peaking out at 942 by midnight. Wow! Never in one day has so many people come to read anything I had ever written. Wow!

Woo!

Then October 2nd came. Wow! Several hundred views in one day. Not too bad, little camper!

And then all the other days came…and went…with gradually declining numbers. It was like watching Enron‘s stock prices fall. It was like I was watching my stats try to break the sound barrier after leaping from a record height.

But it was all right. I knew that going in. I knew there were no promises that I would become an award-winning blogger overnight, all because of some silly award-like gift from the blogging mega-minds at WordPress. I mean, after all, I did get a few followers and a whole lot of “likes” (to which I have not yet finished replying – sorry).

Oh Hooey!

No, the real problem was that once the initial high was over, I had to face reality. Only 1000 views in a day? Are you kidding? I was excited about nearly 1000 views in a day?

Do you realize that there are blogs out there that receive tens of thousands of views a day? Let me spell that out – Tee Eee Enn Thous Ain’t Nothin’. Whatever.

If getting thousands of views a day means I  have to become another Perez Hilton, forget it.

Oh Hey!

Thanks, though, for all of you who regularly stop by to read my nonsense. You are appreciated. All 15 of you.

Now back to writing about stuff that matters. My wife just told me, “You keep writing stuff like that, and if it were me, I would quit coming back to see what you wrote – all that ‘just to write‘ stuff doesn’t interest me. Just saying.”

Next Topic: How NOT to Encourage Your Spouse

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by | October 14, 2012 · 7:06 pm

A Dream Come True, Sadly

A Dream

It has long been a dream of mine to just lay (lie?) in bed all day. All day, all night, just chillin’ there in my Spongebob pants.

Part of the dream is getting phone calls with people asking, “Anthony, where are you?” In response I would say, “Oh, just laying in bed.”

“But it’s 3 in the afternoon!” they would exclaim, thinking I could be shocked back to reality. “Really?” I would say, “I thought it was much later.”

A Nightmare

Well, my dream became reality, only it was a reality far too real to be fun. Saturday morning, about 9 a.m., I began to feel ill. By 10:00 I was in full-blown stomach virus meltdown. I made it to my bedroom and didn’t leave until just before this post.

On Thursday and Friday our oldest daughter, Alicia, came to visit. She stayed in our bed, sick with whatever my wife and I both caught. Friday night my wife became ill, then I followed.

But hey, there I was, over 24 hours in bed (except for the multiple trips to the toilet and the occasional cooling off time on the bathroom floor).

Be Careful…

You know the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for?” Well, be careful what you wish for.

Laying (lying) in bed all day and night is no fun, especially when you can’t do anything. I couldn’t read, watch TV, listen to music, get comfortable, or even enjoy crackers and water.

Important Things

But I can say that spending all that time in bed sick as a dog (although I have never seen a dog so sick) reminded me of what is most important – not being sick.

When one is puking his guts up, along with incurring the revenge of Montezuma, Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, texting, and any other form of modern communication is worthless. Relationships are even worthless if they are as sick as you are. The most important thing is to not be sick, unless you have other family who is willing to treat you like a spoiled baby and meet your every perceived need.

Thankfully, after coming home from a youth outing Saturday night, our other daughters were able to see the humor in two adults in misery. Considering how this stuff is so contagious, I wonder how important they will think it was to make fun of mommy and daddy in a day or two?

They’re just lucky they brought us jello and water when we asked. That was important, too.

Oh, One More Thing…

Years ago, when I was in Romania, I became similarly ill. Well, actually I was much worse, because that illness lasted for nearly a week – I almost died.

Do you know what I was given to make me feel better? Green tea, white rice, and goat cheese. Sorry, but it didn’t help.

What I wanted was Sprite (or something like it) over real, honest-to-goodness ice. You know, H2o that is frozen into little tiny cubes. My host family said, “Nu, Nu, Nu!” I said, “Da, Da, Da!”

Long story short, a U.S. Navy medic who was traveling with us agreed to find a carbonated drink (which ended up being mineral water with fruit syrup) and some bottle caps. We boiled some water, filled the caps, and snuck them into a tiny freezer. That night I had ice in my drink.

American ingenuity – what a wonderful thing!

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by | October 1, 2012 · 6:39 pm

Making the “Freshly Pressed” Page

Hitsville

I used to play music with groups that were always watching the charts to see where they placed. It was sometimes funny to hear them say things like, “What in the world do people like that song for?” Yet, whether people liked it or not, the numbers didn’t lie. People were listening to it.

That’s sorta the way I feel today. Who am I that so many people would come to check out my blog? All because of one post that “made the charts,” my views have gone through the proverbial roof. I can imagine other bloggers asking, “Why is he getting so much traffic?”

Gratitude

My thanks goes out to whoever made the decision to include one of my posts on the “Freshly Pressed” page at WordPress. My appreciation goes out to not only all of you who have visited, but those special folk who left nice comments. Thank you!

I may not be in Hitsville for long; I may be a one-hit wonder. But while I am in the spotlight, may I say that God is good, His grace is sufficient, and His mercy endures forever.

Blessings to you all, and thanks again.

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by | May 17, 2012 · 10:35 pm

Interim Post

Stand In

You know what an “interim” is, don’t you? He is the “stand in guy” that fills the gap between somebody who’s been fired, and somebody a group of people actually want. It’s a very under-appreciated position.

Well, this is an interim post. It is a post meant to keep my readership amused and engaged while I frantically think of something more important; something worth reading; something you want.

Next Post

The next post I am going to submit is going to be a little diddy about a school named Liberty University and a Mormon named Romney. I wanted to write something the day Mitt Romney spoke at Liberty’s commencement, but I held off. I’m glad I did.

The Meantime

I the meantime, I have a question. What do you think of the look of The Recovering Legalist? Do you think it needs any changes? Should it stay the same? I am beginning to wonder.

If you are a blogger on WordPress, maybe you could suggest a new theme. Or, maybe you could suggest how to tweak this one. Either way, let me know your thoughts. I want my blog to be inviting and easy to read.

One more thing…

Do you have any suggestions for Monday Monkey? We are coming up on our 25th episode pretty soon. I still have some ideas up my sleeve, but suggestions would be welcome.

I tell you what, if I use your suggestion for an upcoming episode, I’ll send you an autographed picture (made on my laser printer, but signed with a genuine Sharpie)!

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