Photo: Bouquet

When I received my first blogging award nomination my reaction was kind of like this –if you can imagine a very plump middle age woman in the place of this talented child. Well, perhaps this is not the best visual, but still:

I didn’t post it right away because I was just so humble (ahem) and also because I couldn’t figure out how to get the pasty link thing to work. So I dropped it to contemplate the gravity of the honour. Then there were some more very flattering nominations, which I truly appreciated.

Then I read the rules on some of them. Pass the award on to 15 other bloggers? As I often say to my husband, I said, “Husband, I am an English major. You do the math.” So he did. He figured that if everyone receiving an award passed that award on to 15 other people the very next day and they did the same, in little more than a week we could pretty much encourage the entire world –at least several billion of them.

This relates to my post On Being a Descendent of Royalty. Just because the designers of rules for receiving blogging awards were exceedingly generous doesn’t mean that they are not of value and that some kind people out there took the time to read my blog and nominate me for an award. I am truly grateful. I thank you. I am honoured.

So to catch up on some inexcusably overdue acknowledgements I would like to thank the following bloggers for their generosity and kind words:

Admin at Pure Gory

Deborah at “Ye shall know me by my fruits”

Victoria at Made for Victory

Melody at Meanwhile Melody Muses

Gracie at Frames and Focus

I highly recommend their sites.

Now, the obligatory seven things about myself list:

1.            When I was in grade three I rode my imaginary horse, Ginger, home from school every day. The neighbours thought I was seriously gimped.

2.            I’m usually in the process of reading at least six books at the same time and I often start in the middle.

3.            I can’t dance or remember the 7 times table, but I always have music in my head. It can be annoying.

4.            Between my husband, my children and their spouses and myself we have about 49 1/2 years of university education (so far). Some of it is paid for. I’ve done umpteen year’s worth of courses in music, education, theology, art, and English, but I don’t have a degree.

5.            My parents were told I was dead.  Mom had a caesarean section to deliver a stillborn, but some friends gathered all night to pray for this young couple and their baby. God must have heard, because I am here. Still.

6.            I am seriously in love with Jesus Christ. So is my husband. It’s a magnificent threesome.

7.            I published my first poetry at 12, sang in my first opera at 14, performed in a nightclub when I was too young to get in, dated a politician when I was too young to vote, learned to fly a kite at 45, went through adolescent rebellion at 39 and started splashing right through the middle of puddles at 55. It’s not just that I have a tendency to be ahead of the curve or behind the curve — the curve and I have never met.

The point of awards is, I think, to bring attention to worthwhile blogs, so rather than contribute to the devaluation of awards I choose to bypass the whole system and get to the point of saying check out these blogs. I shall try to do this on a more regular basis. The following bloggers may consider themselves winners of Charis’ very own first I LIKE YOU award (if I could figure out how to make an icon I would):

Check out these blogs:
(Edited to add: after 25 edits on this post I think this is as good as it’s going to get. Click on the URL and not the name of the blog and you should get there. sigh.)

Admin at Pure Glory   http://pureglory.net –prophets Gabriel and Hazel bring strong words of encouragement

Deborah at Ye Shall Know Me by My Fruits   http://girlwiththepen1118.wordpress.com/  incredibly talented poet who writes the most evocative sensuous real stuff. She really should be famous. Seriously.

Victoria  at Made for Victory– http://madeforvictory.com/an over-comer of epic proportion

Melody at Meanwhile Melody Muses–  http://melodylowes.com/ fellow lover of words, flowers and hope who is not afraid to pump up the colour

Gracie at Frames and Focus–http://graciebinoya.com/   a sensitive, talented photographer with a gift of holy discontent that keeps her striving to be even better

And some others that have really touched my heart:

Quilla at Ruach333   http://ruach333.wordpress.com/–photography and poetry from a quiet but deep, deep man of faith

Disciple Gideon at Disciple Gideon  http://disciplegideon.wordpress.com/ -an honest humble man with a listening heart and a gift for being profound

Janelle at My Men and Me  http://mymenandme.wordpress.com–a pure soul who loves the Lord, loves her family, loves her farm, and loves her readers

Stephanie at The Potter’s Hand –  http://thepottershand2011.com  -a worshipping Singaporean who sees the glory of God all around her and captures it with her camera

Trina and Micheline at Whimsical Publishing  http://whimsicalpublishingblog.wordpress.com–a writer of children’s books and an illustrator/artist/photographer team who are much too lively and fun to stay in a box

Mirjam at Mirjam Aldolphi Photography  http://mirisphotos.org  -in Ukraine -a woman whose love for needy children needs no translation

There are other blogs I enjoy, of course. I’m just starting in order of when I first started reading them. If I forgot an award, please remind me, so I can make an excuse, and then acknowledge it.

Blessings on you all. You have enriched my life!!