Happy Birthday!

To be more correct, I suppose it should be "Happy Anniversary"

Out of My Hat wasn't really born on the 25th of July, 2006, but that is the date that it was first published. Looking back, that very first post is still one of my favorites...and I still think that I need to write that book.

I don't really expect that to happen until I decide that I'm willing to commit a set amount of time to write on a daily basis. I haven't even been able to keep a faithful time for posting regularly on this blog. How could I ever manage a book?

Out of My Hat hasn't changed much in four years. I've added a few widgets to see who is reading and a recent addition to count down to retirement. Topics are about as varied as I originally expected but I feel like I should do more under the label of "Favorite Bible Stories" or "message".

I'd like for you to endure fewer rants on politics or religion but they seem to be a pretty big part of discussions in society so I'll probably continue with the occasional thought here. I'd like to write about more fun stuff--fun for me to write about as well as fun for you to read. In the beginning, this started out as something that I was doing for me. I never would have guessed that I would have regular readers from around the globe or that I would make friends from so many countries. I feel a little bit obligated to provide some meaningful writing instead of writing about "the life of John" most of the time.

I'll try to look at this day as a new beginning. I want to recapture the fleeting enthusiasm for writing that was here four years ago. I really do want to write more often. I think that Facebook, Twitter and other social media sources have contributed to a decline in blogging. Several once regular bloggers have quit writing blogs for the ease of the short "status update" or "tweet" about their current moment by moment situation. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with the decline in the frequency of my posts.

Originally, I thought that I'd be posting once, maybe twice, per week. At times it was much more often than that. Other times it was only a couple of posts that were weeks apart. I'll try to be more consistent and get back to the once or twice per week where I started.

In any case, if you've been with me from the beginning (or reading for some time), Thanks for your loyalty. If you're relatively new to Out of My Hat, stick around. We'll have some fun, discuss a variety of topics and enjoy the daily input from blogs and bloggers from around the globe.

John