UPDATED updates & a few thoughts about Google search

I finally found a few moments to create a custom header and tweak the layout for this blog. Special thanks to Blink of an Eye Photography for taking the photographs shown in the header.

I also added a new feature beneath each post in which readers can rate the blog post as "amusing", "inspiring" or "dull".  Ratings are anonymous, so please feel free to check the box you think is most appropriate.  Please help me be more mindful of what types of content readers (who don't leave comments) would like to see more of on this blog . Thanks!

You will also note underneath each post three suggested blog posts that "you may also like".  These suggestions are provided by some secret algorithm that I assume looks for posts with similar keywords.  I'm not sure how helpful it will be, but I thought it might be fun to test for awhile. 

 
I've been struggling to find the courage to write a series of articles regarding a controversial subject, pool modesty.  We do not belong to a community pool, so it wasn't until we took our recent cruise that I realized just how skimpy swimwear has become.  I remember the struggles I had as a young woman during the swim season.  I felt so self-conscious when I tried to wear the 2-piece swim suits that were so popular that I often kept myself covered in a towel or T-shirt.  And those swimsuits would be considered modest compared to current fashion trends. I wish I had known then what I know now regarding modesty issues, especially with regard to how it affects men.

I have recently discovered the wealth of information provided by Google Analytics pertaining to my Christian Living column.  Perhaps the most amusing tool provided by Google Analytics is a list of keywords typed into Google that send people to my articles.   For example, three page visits came from a Google search for "Is Barry Manilow gay?".  Two page visits came from people looking for information about Jimmy Buffet while two more visits came from people searching for "Oscar fashions best and worst".  Searches for "North Carolina's top rank junior golfers",  "Andy Rooney on prayer", "parking in Boston during Saturdays","Sergeant Bilko" and  "Casey Anthony and dad affair woman suicide attempt" also brought people to my articles.  Having access to such random information, while amusing, could be dangerous for someone as analytical as myself.  What could I have possibly said in my articles that could relate to any of these keywords?

Whatever keywords are used to lead people to my articles, my earnest prayer is that God will send the people to my articles who could most benefit from them.  My heart's desire for these articles (and the reason I invest so much time into writing them) is that someone will be touched by God's amazing grace and move one step closer to Him.

Isaiah 55:11
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.