Another HUGE Accomplishment!

God is so good. And thanks to all my readers and the love you show, I have yet another success to share with you all!
Let me give you a background in the internet world: websites aren't simply 'added' to the internet without ease. When I first started my blog, you likely had to bookmark the page or type the website into the internet to find my blog.

But NOW, you can find my blog by typing a few different things into google, yahoo, bing, and other search sites! Why is this such a huge deal? Well, to get your site onto search engines like this, you need to prove to the engines (Google, Yahoo, etc) that your site is popular and useful. Let's use google as an example. Google wouldn't just let my blog be on their engine if it wasn't popular. I had to apply for 'search access', which is when you apply to search engines in hope that they will feature your site on their engines. Before they do this, the tech geniuses at google evaluate your site. They find out how many people visit the site, why people are reading your blog, how popular it is around the world (not just Canada or the USA), and how many visits it gets a day. They also evaluate the site and see if it is appropriate to have as a searchable site.

I applied my blog to the search engines about four months and have been waiting for approval. And today, finally, it is HERE! You can tupe many different things into google or yahoo (or other search engines) and find my blog! Okay, okay. I will admit it. I tried a few search terms. I was excited! This is such a huge accomplishment! It means that my blog is recognized by search engines! It means that the blog gets enough viewers and readers to be searchable! Popular terms for my blog are apparently 'anorexia recovery blog' or 'marina abdel Malak blog'. You can also find my blog by typing in topics that I write about, such as 'anorexia weight gain', etc.  I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! I AM ON GOOGLE AND YAHOO AND BING!

Okay, so maybe it doesn't sound like a big deal to some people. But to me, this is a huge success. You never would be able to find my blog before by searching for it, without typing in the address. Now, my blog is searchable - it is available for all the world to see and read!!!

Thank you to all my readers and commenters - without you, my blog wouldn't be this popular or successful. Thank you to my family and friends who have supported me throughout this entire process. Thank you God for keeping me alive and healthy.

To be honest, I am not happy because my blog is popular. I am happy because this new success means that my blog is reaching people all across the world. I am happy because it means that people around the world are reading my blog and liking what they read. They are learning about ED, mental health, healthy living, nutrition, self-care, religion, and more. Readers are reading my blog and they feel that they can relate to what I write, or that they are learning something new. This new success means that I am helping people around the world. My writing and my work is making a difference in the world. I never intended for this blog to be famous. When I started it, I wanted to help people learn about ED and mental health. But God had bigger plans for this blog - and look what it has become today! I am pleased, not because of the fame of the blog, but because of the impact it is having on others' lives. I am happy, because God has used my suffering and pain to reach out to others.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."
- 2 Corinthians 12:9
Thank you, Lord, for using my struggles to educate others, to make them aware of eating disorders, to make people feel that they are listened to, and to give others an opportunity to support one another on this blog, Truly, my weaknesses and my challenges with ED are being used for the good. And for that reason, I am thankful for all my struggles.

EDIT: Today, I found out MORE great news! My one and only older sister, Nansy (who is my best friend by the way, and the greatest sister in the world!) posted as a guest on Fr. Anthony's blog. She is so talented and beautiful - inside and out. She wrote a post about being a light in the world - and this means something very different than what you may expect! Please go and check our her post, and leave comments if applicable! Your support for my sister is much appreciated! http://franthony.com/2014/01/are-you-willing-to-be-rudolph/ . I love you Nan, and I am so proud of you - and thankful to God that He blessed me with such a wonderful sister like you. Keep smiling and being the beautiful and adorable woman you are. You are truly a woman after God's heart!

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