Blogger Appreciation Week

There is a little something fun going on over at Grace Talk with Daveda. She is hosting something called Blogger Appreciation Week. You can read all the details on how to be involved at her blog. One of the questions she asks is to talk about why we write. I don't know the answer to that. Why do I breathe? Why do I think? Why am I pretty sure I am really funny? It is just a part of me.

I actually started blogging after a generic challenge was issued at a meeting I was attending. The thought kept rolling around in my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. I have been scribbling thoughts and cool sayings down in notebooks since I was 12 years old. When I was a kid, I said I either wanted to be a model or an author. I was definitely encouraged to pursue writing. I never saw the slight in that until much later. Writing for me comes as naturally as speaking, and often, it ends up on paper the same way it would come out of my mouth. Sometimes without passing by the brain filter first. I believe it is a talent that comes from God, and since I have started following hard after Him, my writing has taken on a deeper call for me. I feel like I have something worthwhile to say occasionally, and this gives me a forum for it. I pray that others are encouraged as I struggle publicly with the same things that others struggle with privately. I am not afraid to lay it all out there. It is much easier to type if I am not holding a mask firmly in place with one hand.

I find God speaking to me in the everyday. In my garden. Through the words of my kids, and mine back to them. In the struggles of being a wife and mom, He shows me how strong He is.

I have been encouraged by reading other blogs as well. I don't do a lot of blog hopping. I am actually friends with most of the people whose blogs I follow, although with one exception, it didn't start out that way. Luanne, at Less of Me always has some practical observations about real life relating to her walk with Christ. It has been fun to watch my friend Amy over at Insanely Blessed work things out in her life. My friend Heaven and I met through a Mr. Linky set up because I saw we were from the same state. Even though she is 3 hours away, we got to meet in person a month ago. She has been so public with her pain, joy, and struggles. She stands firmly on Scripture and shouts it from the pages. Check her out at God's Girl. I have friends with blogs, like Shelley at Crumbs From a Full Plate and The BlackSheep family who just hit with zingers and thought provoking material.

If you have stuck with me this long through this post, here a few of my personal favorites:
Second Adolescence
Call It What It Is
Hiding In Plain Sight
Whispers Across Time
What??
Workshop 101
And to the beginning of it all, why I called my blog Live...In Ninevah.