I am having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that 2014 is over. This has been a year of developing new habits and routines, and has been a great year. It has simply gone by too fast. 2015 is here and promises to be an adventurous year as well.

2014 was a good year. It definitely wasn’t as crazy as 2013 was, but it had some moments. Here are a few of the more memorable events from the past year:

• I settled into a good routine in my role as lead minister at our church.
• We have settled comfortably into our home, and it now feels like home.
• I continued my studies for my Master’s Degree, although somewhat sporadically.
• Both my wife and one of my sons suffered from serious ankle injuries, but both are healing well.
• My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and has almost completed her treatments to beat it.
• We got a new dog, a boxer, named Delilah.
• We are nearing the end of the pregnancy of our seventh child, a girl, who is due to be here in February.

That list is much more subdued than it has been in year past, and I’m perfectly alright with that. It’s kind of nice not to have so much excitement and busyness in our lives. Though busy enough in its own right, 2014 has been much more calm, and we have been able to relax and settle into our life here in Cabool comfortably.

Each year, and multiples times throughout the year, I evaluate my life, my dreams, my goals, to make sure I am on track and headed the direction that I believe God wants me to go. I use a Life Plan that I developed for myself a few years ago, and strive to live the best life I can in several priority areas.

Each year, I also evaluate my writing and blogging, to see how I am growing in those areas as well. I believe that it is important to know where I have been, so I can have a clearer picture of where I am headed.

Here is a brief synopsis of 2014:

• I managed to write 212 posts throughout the year. This is pretty comparable with last year.
• However, I experienced a steady growth of visitors all year long, with a slight dip during the summer.
• In November, and then in December, I experienced all time highs in traffic to my site.
• My top five posts are widely spread out over the past few years, some newer, some older, indicating that I continue to write content with staying power.
• My readers cam from 173 countries, almost fifteen more than in 2013.
• Once again, discussion on posts stayed about the same. Increasing comments is a goal to strive for in the coming year.
• You can see the full WordPress report here.

Here are the top ten posts from 2014, including the date posted, and the number of views that it received throughout the year:

1. 6 Characteristics Of A Good Communicator (August 20, 2013 – 7,467 views)
2. The Difference Between Purpose, Vision, and Mission (May 27, 2011 – 5,455 views)
3. How To Take Notes While Reading The Bible (August 30, 2013 – 3,231 views)
4. Why You Need To Develop A Philosophy Of Ministry (May 4, 2011 – 1,690 views)
5. Trying A New Bible Reading System (January 18, 2012 – 957 views)
6. My Current Philosophy Of Ministry (May 6, 2011 – 760 views)
7. Why A Daughter Needs A Dad (November 8, 2010 – 687 views)
8. Our Tradition: Christmas Eve Candle Light Service (December 20, 2011 – 664 views)
9. 4 Strategies For Making A Daily Routine Stick (July 16, 2013 – 632 views)
10. 3 Characteristics Of A Bad Communicator (August 13, 2013 – 563 views)

Although nothing from 2014 made this list, content from the last year does start showing up at number 15. That’s okay, because it seems like most of my writing takes a while to build enough momentum to make it to the top of the reading list. On the other hand, some of the things I’ve written in years past continue to be read. People are continuing to read my material.

One of my goals in 2014 was to write more meaningful content. With no posts from the year making this list, I see that I still have much work to do to succeed in this. I will keep on trying throughout 2015.

It would be very difficult for me to choose which of my content was most meaningful to me. Most of the stuff I write is because I need it in my life as well as having the desire to share it with you. There have been so many things I’ve learned this year, and many of them have found their way into a post or two. But if I had to select something that was most meaningful to me, it would have to be my series examining and memorizing the books of 2 Timothy and Titus. I’ve gained so much more insight into these short letters than I ever dreamed. I hope to compile these posts into a book in the near future.

And in 2015? I’m wrapping up Titus and moving on over to 1 Peter. This letter has so much practical wisdom, it will be a challenge to me as I learn more and more from it.

I’m excited to see what the coming year holds for JeffRandleman.com. 2014 has been a great year. And I’m certain that 2015 will be even better!

Thanks for traveling this road with me throughout the year. I look forward to connecting with you even more in the coming months.

Question: What has been your favorite part of JeffRandleman.com this year? You can leave a comment by clicking here.