Thank you for visiting Take Off Your Shoes, which I began on August 25, 2010 (a gift to myself in honor of a friend’s birthday). Since then, it has been viewed (by people other than me!) over 19,000 times. It moved me to publish a book. It helps me grapple with the hard stuff of life and gives me a place to acknowledge its goodness. And this is my 100th post!
It was inspired by the story of Moses in Exodus 3: take off your shoes, meaning, recognize God’s presence in your midst–you are standing on holy ground. Its acronym, TOYS, calls me to the lighter side of life and reminds me to balance humor with the reverence with which I offer my observations.
“I don’t know what I think until I read what I say,” has been attributed to more than one great writer.
I get that! I write because I have learned that I must. And still, I continue to be both grateful and surprised that people want to read what I’ve written. To paraphrase our sisters and brothers in Africa, I am (a writer) because you are (a reader.)
And so I thank you, for encouraging me and continuing to come by to listen.
Happy New Year, readers. It is a privilege to take off my shoes with you.
Fondly,
Marinawell
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,200 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.
Take Off Your Shoes 