It has taken me a while to write this post, due to being distracted first with the Gerig Hall Reunion (more about this later!) and then with Jera (more about that…. whenever we have something new to report).

A week or two ago, Amanda at following an unknown path passed on an award to me! I was really excited when I read that. I started reading Amanda’s blog a few months ago, and I have been blessed by her writings. She is a single tentmaker missionary in Taiwan, and I appreciate her love for the Taiwanese culture and her desire to follow God – even to another country! And if you stick around her blog long enough then you get to learn a bit about Taiwan that you probably didn’t know! I think it’s good for us to learn about other cultures, so I recommend you check Amanda’s blog out.

Amanda passed on two awards:

I am incredibly honored, and excited to pass these awards on to some of my favorite blogs.

Joanna @ Keeping Feet
Joanna is a friend of mine from college, and I appreciate her thoughtful and insightful posts. She is in a similar place in life as me – newly married, trying to figure out how to live life in this new grown-up world. She covers all kinds of topics, but she has recently been posting a lot about frugality, Christianity, and current events (she also has a cooking blog called Sunflowers in My Kitchen). She also has thoughtful and gracious posts about Christianity and our relationships with God. It always makes me think, and while we don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, I enjoy being challenged by her.

Lindsey @ Enjoy the Journey
I’m a bit of a lurker on Lindsey’s blog, but I have loved her writing ever since I first started reading about a year ago. She is a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of three kids in NC. As someone interested in homeschooling someday, I love her helpful homeschooling posts. I also enjoy her candid thoughts on other areas. She calls it like she sees it, and I love her for not being too shy to admit that she likes to crank her iPod to worship music and dance around the house. She also blogs about frugality on her second blog (also recommended), Finding Contentment in the Suburbs.

Lizzie @ A Dusty Frame
I’m definitely a lurker over at A Dusty Frame, but I have to say that no blog has touched me as deeply as this one. As a single mother with her husband in prison, Lizzie tackles the hard days along with the good ones. She has moved me to see beyond the social stigma and have compassion for the families of prisoners. One thing I love about her blog is that she has taken pains to be anonymous. This brave woman could be anyone – she could be someone I pass walking down the street, or see on the train, or attending my church. God has spoken to me through this blog like no other, and I think you’ll find the same as you read through her posts.

Beth @ The Natural Mommy
Beth is a friend of mine from college. She has recently decided to shift focuses on her blog, and she has moved her blog to a new address. I am excited about this! Beth is a young mommy of two – her daughter was a flower girl at our wedding last year. She posts a lot on mommy topics, and is a big advocate of natural methods. Look forward to future posts going more in-depth in these areas. :-)

Olivia @ Olivia’s Thoughts On All Kinds of Stuff
Olivia is a friend of mine from high school, and I was excited to discover her blog recently. She is very introspective and enjoys posting more thoughtful posts on culture (movies, music, tv shows) to politics to other things. Olivia and I disagree on a few issues, but she challenges me to think. She is really going to make an impact on the world – of that I am sure.