Blogger Reflection Award

My dear friend and teen blogger extraordinaire, Jocelyn Dixon of ~*~Lothlorien, Realm of the Lady of Light~*~, has passed the Blogger Reflection Award on to me and asked that I keep the flame burning. She created the award to help us reflect on the reasons why we love certain bloggers... and so that we could share their sites with others. Here's a quote from her initial post:

"...this award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them."

I pick up my torch with gladness... and share with you five blogs that make me light up each time I log on. Here below are...

Sprittibee's Top 5 'Blogger Reflection Awards':

1. Big White Hat - He's not a homeschooler, but he is a Christian father who is raising five kids (one who is autistic) and trying to be a good guy in a bad world. Therefore he has a big heart for those with learning challenges and believes that "everybody brings something to the table", no matter who they are... that "Everybody is a blessing". I enjoy the post-sermon lessons he shares when he gets home from church (a lot of them are similar to the lessons I tend to get when I really listen to a sermon - "even a bad sermon"). His honesty is refreshing. Takes guts to write about personal failures and admit where you went wrong. Another favorite thing about his site: his stories about living in the Lone Star State. What Texas ex-pat wouldn't enjoy a little reminder of home? It's good to see a Christian man stepping up to the plate and leaning on the Lord to guide him through life and raising his family. Most of the sites I read are written by women... so it is nice to get a man's perspective of the Christian walk.

2. Especially Heather - Heather, my partner in crime over at the Homeschool Blog Awards, recently underwent brain surgery to have a large tumor removed that she was diagnosed with during the Homeschool Blog Awards this March. I knew she was a sweet and faithful Christian before she was diagnosed with cancer, but reading her blog and following her story since then has been so inspiring to me. Just take a look at a snip from one of her recent posts about her prayers while she is in chemo:

"I have 2 weeks of radiation and chemo under my belt, and I have found the right mixture of medication, (and the right times to take them). But nothing can prepare you for the moments that you are on that radiation table, the clicking, the aloneness, the reality.

So I use that time to talk my Savior. As my friend Bethany says: “Jesus knows my every cell” I take that 15 minutes and really pray. I pray for my husband, my children, my parents, but then I pray for my cells, as odd as that sounds. I pray that the radiation would target those “stray cells of cancer” in my brain, and then I pray for the next person who will be on that table, that God would grant them peace and strength. I pray that their bodies would be made whole, and if before this experience they didn’t believe… cancer would draw them closer to Him."

3. It Coulda' Been Worse - DeeDee may not slap you in the face with her Christianosity, but she's certainly a faithful Christian lady. Her blog is more about her life and the nitty-gritty (humorous) little details of being a wife and mother... and middle-aged. I never leave her site without a belly-laugh and a smile. In these days of gloom and doom in the media and trash on TV, what DeeDee's blog provides is like a breath of fresh air. In fact, it has become one of my very favorite blogs on the net - so much so that I actually signed up by email. Now I can read her posts even if I forget to click over.

4. Owlhaven - There's always something interesting going on over at Mary's site. She's got a wonderful mixed family with children from Korea, Ethiopia and even some that she baked herself. When she's not accidentally dying her hair red, cooking up Potato-Carrot Curry with Injira, or "receiving sticky kisses"... you can find her sharing her inspiring life as a homeschooling mom of (soon to be) TEN kids. I hope you'll be as impressed with her humble servant's heart and love for others as I have been. You can see how blessed her kids are to have her as a mom by looking at their contagious smiles in her sweet photos. You won't be sorry you stopped by at Owlhaven.

5. Save the Kittens - Crystal is an American sweetheart... the girl you wish lived next door. I love her blog because she is so real and open. She is inspires me with her daily discussion about how she loves her husband so much. Despite the curve-balls they have been thrown in life (their daughter, Emily with Papillary Thyroid Cancer on Feb. 15, 2006) she continues to remain a faithful Christian, loving wife, and manages to homeschool on top of it all. I always enjoy seeing their family photos (all smiles) when I stop in to check on her. I get such a kick out of how head-over-heels she is for her man. I love seeing a Christ-centered marriage in action. It is something this world is so in need of... and has become a rare treat to witness. If only the world could know the joy of marriage - God's way.

Just because I am only listing five blogs doesn't mean I don't have many more favorites. It is just too hard a task to narrow them all down. Picking only five for this post was hard enough! I recently had to weed out my bloglines folder because I have so many blog subscriptions in there that I feel overwhelmed each time I open it. I keep a lengthy blogroll on my list of "other blogs I read" (those I love checking in on), I keep a few email blog subscriptions of those that I can't stand to miss, and I frequently click over to read many of the blogs in my Christian Homeschooling Blogroll and my other blogrolls in the sidebar. I can't vouch for the Cat-lover or political blogrolls (don't say I didn't warn you that they might not be Christian sites)... but there are a great many of those that are good, too.

I don't get to read blogs (even my favorites) as much as I would like to. If I did, I would get nothing done around here. I know how precious your time is... and am thankful that you stopped by today and gave me a few of those moments. I hope you know that I appreciate you for visiting and if I haven't been over at your site for a while... just shoot me an email or comment and bring me out of my little bubble!

If you would like to participate in the blogging reflection award, I'm sure Jocelyn would be more than happy to pass the torch on to you. Here below are her rules and the purpose behind these awards:

"This award is for the best-of-the-best so consider who you pick, carefully. This award should not be given to just anyone. If you're going to do the award don't just write a few words and slap it on your blog. Write real thoughts about these bloggers and what they've meant to you. If the bloggers you pick have already been given the award, don't be afraid to give it to them again. They deserve it as many times as it's given."

Rules of participating:
1. Create a post in which you reflect and list five bloggers and write at least a paragraph about each.
2. Copy the rules and information from this post or her original one.
3. Make sure you link back to her original post.
4. Notify the bloggers you picked and let them know they've been given the award via email or comment on their blogs.
5. Put the award icon in your post. She has more icons at her site (I have only included one of them).


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