The GoogleAd and Amazon Adverts on this blog

Hi, everyone!

Traffic to this site is up about 500% from what it was this time last year. When I look at the numbers of folks who read the blog each day, I'm humbled and pray, "Please use it for Your glory, Lord." Not everything I post is about faith in Jesus Christ, of course. But I do hope the central message of new and everlasting life with God through faith in Jesus comes through as you visit.

But what's the deal with those Google and Amazon Affiliate advertisements that appear on the site?

I'm signed up with both companies. The two programs are not the same and I thought that I'd explain them both to you.

Google Ads appear here in the sidebar on the left and at the end of each post. I have almost no control over what ads Google decides to place on the site. (The one  exception is if I learn of an ad that appears in your feed, meaning you would have to let me know about it so that I could inform Google. You can also block individual ads that you may see on this site.) I only receive payments for the Google advertisements if you, as you're reading the blog, click on the ad. For every click, Google pays me between one- and two-cents. Since September 9, 2004, I've received a total of $689.70 in payments for the Google ads. (You can see that I'm well on my way to becoming a billionaire.)

The Amazon Affiliate program allows me to select from a variety of ad formats as well as ads for specific items that I recommend for purchase from Amazon. When a reader from my site clicks on an Amazon ad, it takes them to Amazon. If they remain on Amazon from that click and make purchases, I receive credits for future Amazon purchases myself. So far, Amazon has given me credits amounting to...drum roll, please: $0.00.

Just a little FYI.

Another Book Goes Onto the Amazon Wish List

It's this one. George Washington is one of my heroes and the story of his coming out of his "retirement" from public life in order to preside over the Philadelphia convention that hammered out the U.S. Constitution is a story worth telling. I'll have to wait awhile before reading it though.

(Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for mentioning that he had just ordered the book. That's not an endorsement of Reynolds' quirky politics, by the way. I read a bit of everything when I have the chance. Reynolds has been kind in linking to some of my blog posts in the past.)

A Story of Repentance, Forgiveness, and Transformation

I mentioned The Painted Veil, starring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton, here.

Based on a Somerset Maugham story, this film tells a character-driven story about two imperfect human beings who discover great love through adversity, service, repentance, and growth. Of course, you can watch it for free on Netflix. But below is a link to purchase the DVD through my Amazon Associates account. (I get credit points from Amazon, which in turn allows me to purchase things from them less expensively.)

Warning: There is one brief scene portraying a sexual encounter. As I recall, there is no frontal nudity there, however.