Tip of My Iceberg

With so many outstanding blogs on the web today, it feels somewhat like a game to figure out which ones are worth your time. A little like Candy Land, where you hop from one color to another and slide through stretches when you hit special places. To me, landing on quality blogs is often like that.

My good friend, Terry Morgan, invited me to be part of a Blog Hop, where we participate with other bloggers in highlighting one another’s writing. It’s a chance for me to introduce people I not only value but whose work I respect and enjoy.

Terry’s not only a wonderful friend but a fellow follower of Jesus and the consummate coffee connoisseur. Having worked many years south of the border, she’s also a student of life and of people. Her capacity to see truth in the everyday and draw lessons of leadership and living from them is a gift I appreciate. That and she’s got an incredible sense of humor. Her blog is Maturitas Cafe, which is well worth the read.

For the Blog Hop, I’m to answer four questions that express why I’m on this blogging journey. The meanderings of my mind as I write.

1.  What am I writing or working on?

My posts deal with everyday life. Through my eyes. Which I will admit are often a little skewed. But they’re the eyes of my story–daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, nana, friend. More importantly, a Jesus follower, because He’s proved Himself to be more real to me than anything I’ve ever experienced. More loving and accepting than I deserve. I paint unashamedly with His color palette.

2.  How does my work differ from others of this genre?

I am me, which makes everything I do reflective of my personality and uniqueness. My story. I love to laugh. I am generally quite opinionated. And I’m able to follow bunny trails to the farthest ends of the earth. I’m passionate about people. And I believe we all live life with a purpose–and I will always direct that purpose back to a relationship with Jesus.

3.  Why do I write what I do?

Life is messy but amazing, pictures that flow across our days. Bringing them to life with words makes sense. I’ve wanted to write ever since I was a little girl. I wrote short stories and poems and read extensively to see what others had to say. I’ve always wanted to write the great American novel. Some day I might. But until then, I have lots of words. And writing helps usefully direct them. My husband is grateful.

4.  How does my writing process work?

Ideas are gifts. I discover them all over–in the comments and actions of my kids and grandkids, in everyday things I see, in my memories, in interactions with others. I see these small examples of life and they always seem to relate to the bigger picture of how I live. Or how I need to live. That’s the relationship with Jesus. Putting the words together is like painting a picture with quick, broad, bright strokes of a brush.

Now comes the fun. Hip hop to some folks I enjoy reading.

Steve Morgan, husband of Terry, is a true Cheesehead. (Wisconsin for you non-natives) and fun friend. He works with Terry in Global Leadership Development and writes about five L’s of significance to him: Living Well, Loving Deeply, Learning Continuously, Leading Courageously and Leaving a Legacy. He adds Laughing Loudly most days. His capacity for presenting great and complex ideas in easy to understand and memorable ways is amazing. He said if he ever wrote a book, it would be called, “I Thought I Would Be Better By Now.” That kind of humor allows him to see reality with honesty and tenderness. He loves God, his wife, family, work…and the Green Bay Packers. His blog is Leader Impact.

My friend, Gina Butz, has been in full-time Christian ministry for 19 years, a fact that’s hard for her to believe. 13 of those years have been in East Asia where she was incredibly fortunate to work alongside her unbelievably gifted husband, have and homeschool two children, and discover that she’s deeply passionate about communicating and creating in ways that help people dive deeper into their own hearts and meet God there. She hates cooking and coffee–I’ve forgiven her that one–but loves baking, photography, decorating and reading. She has a wonderfully quirky sense of humor (I do love humor) and shares her ideas with great passion.  Her blog is called The View From Here.

My sweet friend, Lindsey Dennis, came to blogging through a hard story. She’s married to a pretty fabulous guy, and in just over two years of marriage, they’ve experienced a life full of crazy. Their first daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with a terminal illness when Lindsey was 20 weeks into her pregnancy and lived only ten hours when she was born full-term. Now pregnant with their second daughter, Dasah, they found at 12 weeks that she had a similar terminal illness, and won’t live long–if at all–once born. Lindsey began writing after Sophie’s diagnosis and hasn’t stopped. She writes of grief, celebrating life, joy in the midst of sorrow, hope in the midst of suffering. In the vapor and mist of her life, Jesus is her greatest treasure. Her greatest hope. She lives and loves with great passion and understanding. Her writing reflects that. Her blog is Vapor and Mist.

These are stories worth reading. People worth knowing. I hope you take the time to get to know them.

All our stories are worth the time.

What’s your story?