“Writing and the business of words is astounding to me, as much as it is a love. To write something is to simply compose an idea—whether it is a greeting card of 8 words, a note of 80 words, an essay of 800 words, or a novel of 80,000 words—out of the elementary 26 characters of the alphabet.In the same way that those characters can be ordered into mish-mash, they also can be arranged into ideas that may change the world.

I find tremendous joy in working to arrange these simple letters into something meaningful. And the icing to the process is when the reader finds joy as well.”

-from November 18, 2008 — my first blog post, JenniferLynKing.com

Four years ago, on November 18, 2008, the cursor on my computer screen hovered over a “publish” button as I contemplated posting my very first blog. I remember wondering what in the world I would say, but I leapt into the blog-o-sphere anyway. And with that one click of the mouse, I entered a whole new world.

In the four years since I started blogging, almost everything has changed for me.

• In 2008, I lived in the quiet cocoon of the Midwestern United States. Now I’ve lived with my family for over three years in former Soviet Prague (in Eastern Europe).
• Four years ago, my youngest son was in half-day kindergarten. Now my oldest son is almost in high school (!). In 2008, I hadn’t joined Facebook or Twitter. Now–well, let’s just say I’ve connected with such wonderful friends and community on those sites.
• In the past four years I’ve traveled widely enough to know firsthand that Montenegro really isn’t the same place as said in James Bond’s Casino Royale movie.
• And perhaps the greatest personal change of all, four years ago I loathed coffee. Now? I love a cup of cappuccino in the morning, especially with a friend.

I’ve learned so much along the way, technically with the blog and more broadly speaking with life. My love for writing novels, for photography, for travel, and for painting has grown, and my blog has been there as record and witness. During the time of writing and sharing the 285 blog posts I’ve accumulated, perhaps blogging has helped me become more me.

Advice?

If I’ve learned anything about blogging, the one thing I know for sure is this: Share and blog about what you love.

What are the benefits of blogging?

Certainly not to become an overnight sensation … but in my opinion the best parts about blogging are connecting with others, sharing about life, and through the private experience of reflection and writing, we come closer to understanding life and knowing ourselves.

To Celebrate: A Giveaway!

As a bonus to my 4 years blogging, today (Nov 20) is my birthday. 🙂 To say a huge thank you to you all for your support over these years, and in the spirit of sharing what I love, I’m celebrating my 4 year blogiversary and my birthday with you with a big Giveaway. For every handful of you who leave a comment (any comment) or send me a reply email (from the email subscribers), I’ll draw one name to be a winner (1:5 odds are pretty good, right?). Comment to enter between Tuesday, November 20 and Monday, November 26 at midnight.

The prizes?  You get to pick. I’ll send each winner their choice of any photo on my website as a digital file* to use how you would like — to use on the computer, a website, blog, or even to make into a framed print to hang on your wall.

For you:

I’d love to hear if you have something you’d like to see more of in my future blogs– more posts on ___, on writing, reading, travels, daily life?

Have a great week and enjoy a happy Thanksgiving, US friends!

(*Note: each digital image will have a discrete signed watermark (Jennifer Lyn King) in the lower corner.)