At the beginning of 2013 I made two resolutions: to become healthy and to write this blog as a way to keep myself motivated & educated.  As I have been reflecting on this past year the last two days, I feel so blessed that I’ve been able to meet and exceed my goals.

A year ago, I was starting to learn more about nutrition and natural healing and seeing some results, but I wanted more.  I wanted freedom from my chronic pain and illness.  I knew that it would take a lot of work… sorting through all the confusing, contradictory and controversial information on health out there to decide what I should follow and what would work for me, as well as consistently following the new diets and routines that I needed to integrate into my life.  I have plenty of room to improve on my health habits this year, but I certainly did better than ever in 2013.  While it’s easy to let vanity take over and feel bummed about the weight I never lost, I must focus on the true healing I’ve experienced.  I can’t remember a time where I got sick as little as I did this past year. And I went from being in near constant back pain to only every once in awhile now… y’all, it is life changing.  I enjoy life so much more now that I don’t have the cloud of pain hanging over me. I am so thankful to feel great almost every day when I wake up.  I pray that you’ve experienced healing too, this year.  If you have, I’d love to hear about it, and even share it here!

As for this blog, I could have never imagined all the success it’s had this year (even with my lack of consistency!).  I felt compelled to start it because of all that I was learning… I wanted my friends and family to be able to share in the healing that I was experiencing.  Honestly, I never imagined that this blog would reach as many people as it has.  I simply wanted an avenue to share with people I knew, and if only 20 people ever read it, I would have been thrilled.  But I’ve gotten visitors from all over the world!  In 2013, I had nearly 6,000 unique visitors to this site and I simply cannot believe it!  I’ve received great feedback from readers that my blog has helped them find reliable sources for health recommendations, that it’s opened their eyes to information they hadn’t heard before, or that it’s been nice to have a summary of topics that they wouldn’t have the time or energy to research otherwise.  I love this stuff, so I am happy to help 🙂 To close out the year, I thought I would share my most popular posts of 2013 in case you missed anything!

Most Read Post – Kombucha Home-Brew during Fabulous Fermentation Week

Most Pinned Pinterest Image – Whipped Coconut Milk

Most Popular Recipe – Parmesan Pesto Chicken & Herb Stuffed Brussel Sprouts

Most Controversial – Why I’m Not a Vegan

Most Reader-Shared – Soy it Ain’t So and Why We Get Fat

I have been reading lots of interesting books lately and I’m excited to share lots more in 2014, so stay tuned for more posts soon.  Be sure to hit the “Follow” button at the top right corner of my site to get an email whenever I publish a new blog if you don’t want to miss anything!  And leave a comment to let me know what you would like to see more of on this blog… documentary reviews? book summaries? health controversies? recipes?  I’d love your feedback!

Wishing you a healthy & hopeful 2014!