An Unexpected Honor

When I woke up this morning, I certainly wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary...particularly not a blogging honor, but one of good internet friends (we still have yet to meet face to face despite living pretty close and knowing each other for several years now) bestowed upon me the "Thinking Blogger" award.

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the most qualified recipient of this award, yet I am still honored that Beth chose me. It's nice (and somewhat suprising) that my semi-weekly ramblings occasionally seem coherent to anyone else out there, much less provoke any serious thoughts.

And now it is my turn to bestow this award to some bloggers who make me think.

First up is Malott's Blog. This blog is one of the first that I routinely read, thus spurring me on to begin my own blog. His posts range from the extremely deep and thought-provoking to the zany and bizarre, but always entertaining. I appreciate his views on life and politics and I appreciate his encouragement here at my own blog.

Second is Skyepuppy. I found Skyepuppy's blog when I first began visiting the links from Malott's blog. I was immediately impressed with her ability to paint with words and to capture such a vivid image and share it with the rest of us. Her love for life is obvious and she is an amazing Christian lady who has encouraged me on quite a few occasions, both in my Christian walk and my new adventures at motherhood. I expect great things from her blogging as she is getting ready to set out on a year-long RV adventure across America with her mom. So if you haven't yet visited her blog...now is a great time to start!

Third up is Bekah's Bits. Rebekah is a dear friend of mine for 10+ years now. We were college roomates and our friendship has lasted even though we don't live quite as close anymore. Blogging helps us keep in touch, but it also allows me (and the rest of you) to know Bekah on a deeper level. Her writing is funny, heartfelt, thought-provoking and real. She has a way with words that can make me laugh and touch my heart at the same time. Her friendship and encouragement mean so much to me and this is the least I can do to thank her for both.

Fourth in line is Janice. Janice is another "find" from Malott's blogs link column. Janice is passionate about politics, among other things, and her updates help keep me informed on what's going on in this increasingly busy world. She has also been a wonderful encouragement to this newer mommy, which is much appreciated.

And finally, I honor Adrienne of Noah Steven's blog. I stumbled across this blog from another blog that I frequent and have been so touched by this young mother who has been through so much lately. I started visiting Adrienne's blog a few weeks before she lost her baby boy. The blog chronicles Noah's and the family's struggles as he spent months in the hospital battling a mystery illness that eventually took his life. It's and incredibly sad story, yet Adrienne has somehow managed to share her story, her faith and her pain in such a way that I have been encouraged and challenged as well. Check it out if you have some time, but be forewarned that you may end up reading nearly a year's worth of posts over several days, as I did, to get the background of this amazing woman's journey. It's not easy to read, but she has some really good things to say.

And so, I pass along this award to all of you, who are much more deserving. Now it's your chance to pass the award along to 5 more people who have inspired you to think.

Thanks to you all!