Sunday, August 22, 2010

Blogging Award

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge a lovely award I received from Heather at Cultivated Lives.

I always appreciate when someone takes the time to bless me in this way, and I love how these awards work by blessing and passing the blessing on to others. It is a neat way to introduce readers to other amazing blogs.

The "rules" for accepting this award are as follows:

Rule Number 1: Thank the one's who gave you the gift.

Thank you very much, Heather. You bless!


Rule Number 2: Share seven random things about yourself.

1. I have eight children. 7 boys and 1 girl.

2. I love lemons.

3. I am learning to play the mandolin.

4. I hate opening gifts in front of people. Don't get me wrong. I love gifts. But I am always afraid I will not give a good enough reaction. I am shy. I am always afraid I am going to hurt some one's feelings.

5. I adore mail. Snail mail, that is. My children know if they want to live into adulthood, they would never, ever open my mail. I get a thrill when a beautiful letter or thoughtful parcel arrives.

6. I like the smell of old books. My husband teases me, saying I must have an affinity for pre-historic mold, but I love it just the same.

7. I have a serious weakness for game shows. I don't know what it is, but I could sit up till three or four in the morning watching Jeopardy, Family Feud, Lingo, etc. ad infintitum. Must. Stay. Away. From. Game Shows. Yikes!


Rule Number 3: Pass the award to 15 bloggers.

This is always the hardest for me, because I am (again)always afraid I am going to leave someone out, or hurt some one's feelings. There are so many lovely, lovely blogs out there. *Sigh*

I will try to choose the 15 blogs I read most frequently:

1. Holy Experience- Ann's blog is breathtaking. I read it every day, with few exceptions. She inspires, weaves words into beautiful encouragement. I love this sister, though I have never met her in person. Maybe someday...

2. In The Hush Of The Moon- Emily is simply lovely. Artistic loveliness, exquisite word-weaving, pictures and paint tell pictures as she shares her heart wide open. Another sister I am proud to have in my faith-family.

3. Curious Acorn- Jodi is just fun. I love reading about her job, her interests, the way she views the world. Her pictures and words are always thought-provoking, and I frequently leave her page with a smile on my face. Plus, I have recently found we have so much in common. I feel a kindred spirit in her. :)

4. Going On To The High Places- Finally, a friend I know in person! I have known sweet Jade for over a decade, and our friendship is one of the greatest treasures in my life. She is kind, thoughtful, brilliantly smart and spiritually deep and I love every thing about what she writes. It is always from her heart, from her life experiences, and it always strikes a chord in my heart. Love, love, love this sweet sister.

5. Ordinary Inspirations- At Traci's place, you will find a little bit of everything. She shares her heart, her thoughts, what God is doing in her life. There are giveaways and recommendations and all kinds of neat things a Christian woman would be interested in. She is also a sweet soul and very encouraging.

6. Generation Ceder- Kelly's blog is chock full of wisdom. She is a mama to nine blessings, so naturally I relate to her and regularly receive encouragement in my faith, homeschooling and the unique challenges of raising a larger-than-normal family(for our society, anyway.) She shares quotes, her life experiences, recipes, family business advice, and a host of other helpful things. It is all done in a sweet, funny way, that is direct yet gentle.

7. Being Refined As Silver- Theresa is super encouraging, and it shows in her down-to-earth blog that constantly challenges readers to press a little harder, a little closer, to the refining fire of God. What emerges is always grace and beauty.

8. A Walk Along The Way- Beth's blog is beautiful just like she is. This is a friend of mine I met at PWOC while our husbands were stationed at an army base in California. I remember being drawn to her meekness. She is creative and kind and wonderful. Christ shines all through her. Her writing is really lovely.

9. Scraps of Starlight- Suzy is a rare soul. She mothers her girls with grace and gentleness. She is an example of godly femininity at its finest. Her creativity inspires me.

10. Finding Prose In The Laundry- Alexis is a gifted poet. She weaves ordinary everyday into sacred spiritual. Just a short read and one is left thinking long. Just beautiful.

11. Jezamama- Jessica takes gorgeous pictures, just breathtaking. She is real. She tells what her heart is feeling in a way that always leads back to Him. A real seeker, I identify with her in many ways.

12. Pollywog Creek- Patricia is a beautiful saint. Always deep, always pointing to Christ. Gorgeous pictures, an encourager, one who serves. Really a blog worth checking out. It has challenged me in numerous ways.

Soooo, if you have a few free minutes, these are all lovely blogs to check out.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you so much Amy. You said such sweet things it brought a tear to my eye. I am happy to accept this award from you. I will pass it on soon :)
    Much love to you!

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  2. Thank you so much, Amy. I am humbled by your very sweet and encouraging and timely words. I'm reluctant to acknowledge awards on my blog home page, but I will do so on FB. I love your random 7. Except for the 8 children (God bless you!), we are alike in many ways. I look forward to visiting your other favorite blogs during the coming week. You are a blessing! XOX

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  3. Oh, Amy, how much I love you! You are so edifying with your words and the gracious way in which you live your life.

    Missing you tonight. Praying that the Lord will provide an opportunity for a visit before too long.

    Have a beautiful week! xo

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  4. Dear Amy, thank you so much. Your words are an encouragement, and they mean a lot. I know what you mean about it being hard to pick people. I would want to give an award to everyone I read, so I feel shy about posting them. But I am so grateful to be thought of.
    xo

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  5. Thank you Amy! What a wonderful gift to give. Thanks for blessing and being a blessing!

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  6. Amy,
    Thank you for this.! Your comment made my morning!

    Okay, so it seems we have lots in common...
    I love lemons, the smell of old books(I collect them too:), I love snail mail and I like to think I could handle 8 kids!

    I knew you had 8 kids but reading that, again, wow.

    I'm off to look up the Mandolin.

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  7. Alexis- your comment made me smile. I am just a beginner at the mandolin- so I decided I should start with scales and Christmas carols- maybe I'll be able to play one by the time it gets here. :)

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