Your Stats Have a New Home

Are you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online.

With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too.  Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers.

You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will remain for a while, but the My Stats tab on the WordPress.com front page will soon become the home for the most comprehensive view of your stats.  Stats will also continue to be available by clicking on the sparkline in the admin bar at the top.

While adding the My Stats tab to the front page, we also gave it an updated look by making the panels regularly spaced, using rounded gravatars for your commenters, and giving it an overall lighter feel:

We’ll be adding even more features to your stats and the WordPress.com front page soon.  We’re working on adding country stats of your visitors, which many of you have requested.

If you’d like to attract more visitors to your site, check out these great resources on boosting your blog readership:

• Learn WordPress.com: Get Famous
• WordPress.com Support: Getting More Traffic

(Note to Jetpack users: Your stats will still be available in your wp-admin dashboard. However, you may still enjoy viewing your stats on WordPress.com.)

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/your-stats-have-a-new-home/

Reblogging is Back!

As we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account.

We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts.

For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs:

And your toolbar will look like this while you’re browsing the home page of en.blog.wordpress.com:

How does reblogging work?

Reblogging is a quick way to share posts published by other WordPress.com users on your own blog. People have been reblogging others’ posts since blogging started, but our new reblogging system enables authors to retain greater control over their content.

When a post is reblogged, it shows up with a link back to the blog it came from, the first image in the post, an excerpt of the post’s introduction (if it contains text), and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. It also shows any comments left by the person who reblogged the post:

Reblogs published on blogs you follow will also appear in your reader:

What happens when my posts get reblogged?

An excerpt of your post will be published on the reblogger’s site (with a link back to your original post), and you’ll receive a reblog notification in the post comments (you might need to approve it first):

You’ll also receive an email notification of the reblog.

Do I get credit when someone else reblogs one of my posts?

Absolutely! All reblogs contain a link back to your original post, so the more people reblog your posts, the more likely it is that you’ll attract new visitors (and perhaps new followers, too!).

What happens if I reblog a reblog?

If, for example, Stephane reblogs a WordPress.com announcement on his site and Lori reblogs Stephane’s reblog, Lori only re-publishes any comments Stephane made about the announcement. If Lori wants to share the original announcement, she should reblog the post from en.blog.wordpress.com, not from Stephane’s reblog. But if Stephane leaves a really clever comment, Lori might want to share it by reblogging his reblog on her site.

Can I edit a post I’ve reblogged?

You can go back and edit the comments you left when you reblogged a post, but you cannot edit any parts of the original post excerpt (including the post title). If you like, you can add categories or tags to the post. Reblogs show up under Posts → All Posts in your dashboard, and they can be edited the same way you edit your own posts.

http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/reblogging-is-back/

The Time for Finding Windwho o o o s

One wild winter day while the North winds blustered, a boywind sat in the weak sun suffering a child

http://bluecottonmemory.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/the-time-for-finding-windwho-o-o-o-s/

Where the Wild Winds Blow: A Gentle, Southerly Mama takes her Little Wind to Work Day

Where the Wild Wind Blows: Part 2 The little boywind, rustling into a windsome sleep, asked, “Sweet,

http://bluecottonmemory.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/where-the-wild-winds-blow-a-gentle-southerly-mama-takes-her-little-wind-to-work-day/

Raising Daniel kids

I remember sitting in one of my Christian education classes in college and the professor asking a very controversial question–whether we as teachers were supposed to expose our kids to the “things of the world” or to shield them from it.

I’m thankful we were to WRITE a response to this question rather than have a verbal debate about it. I needed time to think on this one and do some research.

I ended up in the book of Daniel. Daniel was hand-picked to be in the king’s very highly esteemed education program. He was being trained and groomed for greatness. Yet he was a Christian. A strong one. And part of his training and education went against God’s law.

Despite being a Christian, Daniel was exemplary. And he was highly successful in his very public government position. He knew all about everything. He lived and worked for and with people who worshiped idols–I don’t think you can get any more secular than that! Yet he chose not to live the same way others were living and even asked to be excused from activities that went against his religion. And because he was respected, his requests were granted.

This translates to me as both a teacher and especially now as a mom in that I desire for kids to be well-informed, educated, aware of  the world around them, yet so rooted in their faith in God that they choose to honor him no matter what everyone else is saying or doing.

Don’t hear me wrong. I’m not saying “this is THE one and only way to raise kids”, I’m simply sharing my version of what I believe is how I am supposed to train up the kids I’ve been entrusted with in the way they are supposed to go. (Proverbs 22:6)

So while I’m not wild about some of the things my kids hear at school, on the bus, playground, soccer field or around the neighborhood I’m thankful that they don’t choose to repeat the words they hear. They are living differently. In the world, but not of the world.

And they’re being noticed. I stood in my kitchen and sobbed as I opened a letter from my son’s principal inviting us to a ceremony where he would be receiving an award for having exemplary character, citizenship, and for academic achievement. This came literally the day AFTER I had written my son a letter in regards to a deep disappointment he had caused us.

Over and over we are affirmed that how we are raising our kids is on point. I just pray that as we continue this parenting journey, we can remain faithful to the fact that the Bible always has the answer to any parenting scenario we stumble across, open to the fact that we still have much to learn, and intentional about the importance of surrounding ourselves with like-minded people who will share the wisdom they’ve gained in their own child-rearing experiences. And last but not least, the importance and power of prayer for these someday-grownups!

http://jennascott77.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/raising-daniel-kids/

Mom Doesn’t Always Know Best

I just learned this in the past week.  But it’s a huge lesson because I plan on carrying it with me as I move forward in parenting.  I wish I had learned it earlier.  It might have saved a lot of arguments.

I think one of the reasons we tend to mistrust our children’s decisions is because we see things through the eyes of an adult.  Yes, experience can definitely weigh in but our world is so different than their world.  What we expect as an adult isn’t always what will happen in their world.

It’s like expecting my children to act a certain way.  Ever say, “Why don’t you grow up?”  Or “Act your age!”  Well first of all, they aren’t supposed to be grown up and more than likely, they ARE acting their age.  But we are expecting them to be mature in ways they can’t be until they have gone through various experiences in life.

I also think we mistrust our children’s decisions because we are focused on our past mistakes.  We don’t want them to make the same ones.  But guess what?  Our children need to make mistakes.  As much as we don’t want to hear that, it’s true.  It is the only way they can learn from their experiences.

It is a humbling thing, to learn that you don’t always know best.  But it’s important to acknowledge this.  That is exactly what I did with one of my children this past week.  I’m so glad that I did.  I think it really helped us to connect even closer.

The bottom line is we don’t always get it right.  And that’s okay because we can’t be perfect.

http://heartofamothersprayers.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/mom-doesnt-always-know-best/

Daily Bites for Parents–Sample #3

By Lisa Cherry

Have you been enjoying sampling Daily Bites for Parents? These bites are designed to strengthen your parenting skills in one minute or less per day.  Here’s today’s sample:

Daily Bites for Parents: It’s Essential

The aver­age age of inter­net expo­sure to pornog­ra­phy is now eight years old.  Inter­net account­abil­ity and fil­ter­ing is no longer optional, but rather essen­tial for all fam­ily members.

How do you eat an ele­phant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our par­ent­ing skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.

Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here, and please forward this bite to parenting friend.

http://frontlinemoms.com/2011/12/11/daily-bites-for-parents-sample-3/

August 31: The start of an adventure

“Before you came along, we Bagginses were very well thought of.”
“Indeed?”
“Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected.”
“If you’re referring to the incident with the Dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door.”

– Frodo Baggins and Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings

Ten years ago today, I was a college junior on a plane heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe with a class of Cedarville students and our two Biblical Archaeology professors.  I was excited, nervous, and tired all at once.  I wasn’t the sort of person who went on trips like this, I thought.  I found it intimidating just trying to cross the street in tiny Cedarville, Ohio.  Whenever I could, I drove home to my parents’ house for the weekend.  So how did I end up setting off on a two-week tour of another continent?

It started with a course I took my sophomore year about the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.  We studied the organization and major themes of these books as we also learned about their historical and cultural background– the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.  What made the class special was our professor, Dr. B., who taught with great enthusiasm for the subject matter.  He summarized the prevailing opinions of scholars, along with his own theories on questions like which Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt during Moses’ time.

It was a demanding course– struggling with the final essay had me in tears at one point– but there were two things about it that I really liked.  One was our weekend field trip to visit the museum at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  Both museums had 4000-year-old artifacts from the civilizations we had been learning about.  One of the students would ask Dr. B. a question about one of the artifacts, and as he answered it, a small crowd would form.  Before long, we had a large group of people following us, but Dr. B. wasn’t fazed at all.

Being from the New Jersey area himself, Dr. B. seemed at home in a city environment where a little boldness is necessary in order to be noticed.  He made sure we saw all of the major New York landmarks, taking us on a ferry ride and eating at a little restaurant that specialized in New York-style cheesecake.  I decided to be “bold” myself and order a slice, even though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it, since I didn’t like cheese.  It turned out to be one of the best desserts I’d ever had.

I also found that even though I didn’t know what to do with free time, most of my classmates did, and it was a lot of fun following them, listening to what they talked about, and laughing with them.

The second thing I really enjoyed about the Pentateuch class was working on a Powerpoint presentation for a group project.  I hated written assignments, but this was different.  I found myself pouring a lot of work into making a set of timelines showing the reigns of various rulers and the rise and fall of civilizations.  I could plan out every aspect of the graphic:  One pixel horizontally represented one year.  I used different color combinations for the different civilizations– sandy yellow for Egypt, clay red for Mesopotamia, blue for Israel that matched the color of their present-day flag.  It was more work than I needed to do for the assignment, but it didn’t feel like work.

So, anyway, I finished the Pentateuch course and went on with school as normal.  Then one day I saw an e-mail announcement about a spring course in Biblical Archaeology taught by Dr. B. along with a New Testament professor, Dr. H.  This course would focus on the historical and archaeological record for the entire Bible, and it would include a repeat of the New York trip from the Pentateuch class.  But the big deal was that it led into a trip to Europe at the end of the summer to visit museums in London, Paris, Berlin, and Rome!

My initial reaction was “That sounds neat, but I don’t think it’s for me.”  Two weeks was a long time to spend so far away from home.  What if I hated it?  The trip wasn’t cheap, and it would be a waste if I didn’t enjoy it.  I never did things like this, but for some reason, I printed out the e-mail and showed it to my mother.  She told me that it sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime, and if I had any interest at all in going, I should consider it.

The deadline for signing up for the trip came and went, and I was fine with that.  Other people went on this sort of trip, not me.  And that seemed like the end of the story until Dr. B. called me to his office.

“Nathan,” he said, “why didn’t you sign up for the Biblical Archaeology trip?”  I told him I just wasn’t sure I wanted to go.  He told me that he didn’t want affordability to be the reason I couldn’t go, because he had a job for me that would allow me to come along as a teacher’s assistant.  He told me that he was really impressed with the PowerPoint presentation I had done for the Pentateuch class, and he wanted me to help him put together the PowerPoint files for the new Biblical Archaeology course.  He also wanted someone to come along on the trip to take digital photos of the artifacts in the museums so that they could be incorporated into the course material.  I could do that instead of the paper the students would have to write on the trip, he said.

With an invitation like that, how could I say no?  Some people talk about God “opening a door” for them to make a decision– well, this seemed to qualify if anything did.  I decided to be bold again and give it a try.

So that’s how I ended up meeting the rest of my classmates (about forty in all) in a Cedarville parking lot in the very early morning on August 31, 2001.  We sleepily rode the bus to the Columbus airport, caught a connecting flight to Newark, New Jersey, and finally took off for Heathrow Airport in London.

At the time, all I could think about was how good it would feel to get home after it was all done.  And it was!  But I’m also glad I had the experience.

If this sounds interesting, be sure to check back here tomorrow; I’m planning to add a new post every day about my memories from each day of the trip!

http://landofmysojourn.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/august-31-the-start-of-an-adventure/

Daily Bites for Parents–Sample #2

By Lisa Cherry

We’re sampling from Daily Bites for Parents.  Here’s today’s sample:

Daily Bites for Parents: What Are We Expecting?

Have you ever con­sid­ered remov­ing the tele­vi­sion from your home…or cut­ting off your cable…or severely and sys­tem­at­i­cally lim­it­ing your family’s view­ing?  Even we adults can­not han­dle the worldly pull of pro­gram­ming and com­mer­cials. It reduces our spir­i­tual power. What are we expect­ing for our kids?

How do you eat an ele­phant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our par­ent­ing skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.

Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here, and forward this post to a parenting friend.

http://frontlinemoms.com/2011/12/10/daily-bites-for-parents-sample-2/

Now Sampling: Daily Bites for Parents

By Lisa Cherry

I haven’t met a mom yet who’s told me she knows everything there is to know about parenting.  We all have room for improvement.  That’s why I am convinced that our new Daily Bites for Parents will be a blessing to you.

I wrote about this recently, and now I’m reposting a few of the recent “bites” for you to sample.

Who would not want to take one minute or less per day to strengthen and increase her parenting skills? I am reading mine every morning….. Because I constantly need my parenting focus sharpened!

Subscribe today and start receiving a new bite tomorrow morning.   Please forward this bite to a friend.

Here’s your first sample:

Daily Bites for Parents:  High Five

Kids never out­grow their need for appro­pri­ate phys­i­cal affec­tion.  Even a strap­ping 17-year-old needs a good high five or a pat on the back from Mom and Dad.

How do you eat an ele­phant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our par­ent­ing skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.

Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here.

http://frontlinemoms.com/2011/12/09/now-sampling-daily-bites-for-parents/

« Previous Page — Next Page »