Remember the post, “What Do You Do With A Blog? I listed 25 +/- sites and briefly shared how some bloggers are utilizing their blog for multiple purposes.

One blog I didn’t include was this one which I was saving for the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series. I wanted to showcase his blog and also show him support at a time of celebration – a one year anniversary. Not of his blog, but of the path he is on.

His first post was written on October 4th, 2008 . The title is: “The Beginning” and in the first paragraph he writes,

For so long I was dormant, my mind – dormant. Everything that I was about could be summed up in a word. Every thought that went through my mind, too, could be summed up in a word. Everyday the schedule was the same, get up (one thing on my mind), go to work (one thing on my mind), come home and begin the wasting of time and mind. No new thoughts, no old thoughts, just one thought. Alcohol.

Later in the post he says,

If you are reading this and struggling see, I feel it is my calling to help you. The purpose of my life I now know. I’m here to help you and those like us. I also hope that others can read this and get a feel for what it is like to have this disease [alcoholism]…..

As his journey into sobriety continues, he documents his struggles.  In a post titled, Am I Ever Going To Get Out Of These Woods?,he shares,

As I close in on the one year mark (9 days away from 1 year of sobriety as I write this), I’m noticing some old, but very familiar things happening to me. I’m really not liking them at all. Some I consider just aggravations, some I see as being my little demons bouncing around from shoulder to shoulder. (Maybe that’s why my neck/back is hurting )

With the raw honesty of his words, you know he’s helping others.

Also published on his blog is a page titled “Ask An Alcoholic”. It is created for

for those of you, any of you, who have questions pertaining to alcoholism, alcoholics life, living with an alcoholic (though, other than living with myself I may not have a good one for that). You don’t have to be an alcoholic to ask questions. I hope that this can be used to educate others on the disease. It’s not just drinking folks, it’s a way of life, as bad as that is.

Today, February 25, 2009, marks his one year anniversary of sobriety.

Please join me in re-welcoming Scott of The Ever-Changing Thought to the Blogging Without A Blog community.

Welcome again Scott. Congratulations on your accomplishment. I applaud you for all you’ve done.

Enjoy your reign.

.

P.S. Scott can also be found on Twitter @ SScarver

I was recently reminded why I started the New Blog Of The Week (NBOTW) series. On an old post of mine titled Help For New Bloggers With Low Traffic, I got a new comment.

The comment said,

Thank you for writing this! I am a new blogger, and I’m learning everything as I go. I really enjoy the medium; I like being able to write my thoughts and ideas down, publish them instantly, and share them with the world (or at least the 5 or so people that happen to come by)

Sometimes I get a little discouraged because I feel like I have so much good stuff to share, but people just don’t seem to be interested. Posts like this help me “keep the faith!” Thank you again!

As I read his comment, I thought, “Isn’t this how we all felt when we started blogging?” Wanting to share our thoughts but discouraged because our blog doesn’t “get found”?

When I clicked over to this blog, I found a treasure trove of marvelous writings and knew he had to be this week’s pick for New Blog Of The Week.

In his post titled: Wrong Trains, Airports, and Relationships , he writes,

Briefly, I theorized that life is like a long train ride, with lots of stops along the way. We get on the train, and we ride to our destination, where we get off the train. From time to time, we share the ride with other passengers, and they share their ride with us. As long as our paths are synchronous, we ride the train together, learn from each other, share our joys and sorrows, and move forward. When our paths divert, either we get off the train, or they do, and we begin to move apart. Our paths might cross again at some point in the future, and we can share the train ride again, or they might not. Our job is to enjoy their company while they are with us, but to let them go freely when their path takes them away.

I see that as the perfect analogy? We do that, don’t we? We learn to enjoy a person’s company for the length of time we’re blessed to know them.

Reading his post titled Take Time To Heal I was reminded of hurts that kept me down. He described what I’ve also felt, to a “t”. He said

I’m beginning to realize that taking the time to heal isn’t as bad as I have always believed it was. It doesn’t mean that I’m weak. It doesn’t mean that I quit, or gave up too easily. It’s just human nature. I am wounded, and I need to take some time for myself before I rise to face my next challenge. Sometimes it takes a few days, while other times it takes a few weeks or even months. But somehow, I always manage to get back up again.

My favorite post of his is titled My Dad, My Hero, where he writes about life lessons he learned from his father. A sampling from the lesson on how to herd cows says,

The cow will always be bigger than you, stronger than you, and faster than you. The only possible way to win is by being smarter than the cow. In any conflict, the biggest, strongest, and baddest usually wins. You can beat those odds by being smarter and more determined.

Doesn’t that sound just like life? When we encounter a problem we think is insurmountable, we need to be smarter. Be determined. With the right mindset, we can conquer anything, cows included.

O.K. my dear readers, I’ve made you wait long enough. Please join me in welcoming Jay Schrver, author of “Porsidan”

While on his site, take time to go through his archives. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Jay, welcome to the Blogging Without A Blog community.

Enjoy your reign.

.