UPDATE: I am so excited! Darlene Schacht from CWO also sent this award back my way...You can read her comments here. What a blessed girl I am to have such sweet bloggy sistas!

I am so grateful to Iris at Sting My Heart for mentioning my name for the Thinking Blogger Award. You can click on her site name or the award button to view her exact comments. I had never heard of this award until today, but I can not think of anything that would make me feel more special than to know something on this blog would make you linger over the goodness of God. Iris has an enormous heart and is a constant source of encouragement to me. I am still in awe that God has placed me in the midst of so many incredible women whose company I do not deserve.

From what I understand about this award, when it is given you pay forward meaning you send this award to others in the blogsphere that make you think. Here are the official rules of this award:

If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative gold version if silver doesn’t fit your blog).

Please know I could list about 20 here, but I'll be a good girl and follow the rules. So girls, I am tagging you five:


Tracey at Show Me State of Mind - I chose Tracey because her recent posts about her son's friend, Katie, who died in the Enterprise, AL High School which was hit by a tornado reminded me how everything in life can change in an instant. What touched me is that Tracey and her family took the time to drive down and be with this family. Often there are no words, but people remember who surrounded them in their time of grief. Tracey is that kind of friend.

Mindy at Ponderings of the Heart - Mindy has the most reflective spirit and is truly after God's heart. I am blessed to not only call her Blog Sister but family as well. (My stepdad is her uncle for those of you who have wondered) I can honestly say we've gotten to know each other in our adult lives and in our roles as pastor's wives moreso through our blog than time and distance would ever allow in person. Her family has never been considered a 'step' family...They have always been as good to me as my own. I am blessed.

Rita at The Jungle Hut - Where most of us would have to be dragged into the jungle to live in a hut and minister among natives, Rita had to be dragged out. Her blog is one I have only recently begun to read and it has touched me deeply. You simply must visit her site and read about her family's work in Venezuela. A hint: You'll never buy Citgo gasoline again! :)

Bonnie Bruno at Macromoments and Photo Buffet - Bonnie is the person God used in my life in my very first blogging days to encourage me in writing. Through several 'coincidences' (we all know there are no such things) she put me in touch with Darlene Schacht at Christian Women Online where I now have the blessing of contributing at the Internet Cafe Team Blog. She has two blogs, Macromoments which is features her writing, and Photo Buffet which highlights her photography. Her words are as beautiful as her images and as her tagline reads, I always 'arrive hungry and leave inspired'. Bonnie also is a columnist for Christian Women Online Ezine. Her April article, Snug as a Glove, is phenomenal. Thank you once again Bonnie for taking the time to bless me.

Darlene Schact at DarleneSchacht.com - Darlene truly has lofty thoughts and can use words to turn the most simple, everyday occurences into a beautiful image that is forever burned into the mind. I am specifically referring to her article, Therein Is Life, in CWO Ezine this month but you can check out her blog and find many more fine examples.

There are so many more I could list here. What I want you all to know is that you have made my life more rich than it was even two short months ago. Thank you for being my bloggy friends! :) And Iris, again, thank you my sweet sister. You just don't know how much it means....