who inspires me

After my post about being more selective with my internet time, I had many people ask what exactly I changed, and also, whose blogs I do choose to follow.

I must say, I am still far from perfect in the iPhone use department, but I can say that I'm starting to make habit of resisting it in my moments of boredom.  And that in and of itself - allowing wonder and boredom at times, is so freeing.

The main thing I did was delete facebook off my iPhone completely.  I'm not near as tempted by twitter or instagram, so for me this was enough for me to detach a little bit.  I also turned off all of my notifications.  Even email.  I check on my terms, not when my iPhone notifies me.  I say when, not my iPhone.

I thought I'd share my top 10 go-to blogs.  The ones that, if I don't have time for anyone else, I am sure to check them regularly.  I read far more blogs than 10 (try about 175 I'm subscribed to) but these all have a special place in my "Favorite Writers" folder.

I will say, I like them all for different reasons.  Some, I love their writing.  Some, I love their wisdom.  Some, I love their friendship.

So, here you have it (in no particular order).

1) Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky
2) Sally Clarkson at I Take Joy
3) Amanda Williams at Life. Edited.
4) Jamie Martin at Steady Mom
5) Melissa Beaver at The Lovely Words
6) Lisa-Jo Baker at lisajobaker.com
7) Kat Lee at Inspired to Action
8) Aly Allen at Blossom & Vine
9) Cassidy Robinson at cassidyrobinson.com
10) Jessi Connolly at Naptime Diaries

Wow - that was a hard list to narrow down.  I feel like I could have done 11 or 12.

Oh, what the heck.

11) Kristin Cho at Lily & Light
12) Amy Davis at To Be Changed

Now go visit one or two of these ladies and say hello. :-)  Their words are worth hearing (in my opinion).  Uplifting.  Encouraging.  Inspiring.  Honest.  Genuine.  Making me want to be a better Mama and wife.

And stay tuned tomorrow, as I have a friend who so graciously is sharing part of her story here on my blog.  A story of redemption and truth.  I can't wait.

What are some your favorite blogs?  The ones you must check even if you only have a minute?

Freeze this moment.

We had a such a pleasant, calm, relaxing Sunday afternoon.  Just lazy.  Isn't that what Sundays are for anyway?  Intentional nothingness.

Last night was a LATE night after Jordan's band played at Founders for their final show.  I haven't been out that late in a long time.  Not that I haven't been UP late... or frequently.  :-)  But it meant that today was for rest.

There was a moment of about 15 or 20 minutes when Jordan brought out his neglected acoustic guitar and entertained all of us with some of his talents.  He will just sit and play whatever comes to his heart.  He's good like that.

I think we were all a bit caught up in how good that felt.

 

This is pretty much what the afternoon looked like.  Jordan jamming, Jude rolling {and sucking on his now-wrinkled toes}, and me snapping away.  I've been self-teaching myself to try to take photos in manual mode.  I know our camera can take better pictures than I have been taking... and the reason is moi.  I'm not educated.  We have decided that, instead of paying someone every 3 or 6 months to take milestone photos of Jude, we are going to invest in a nicer lens for our Nikon D40 and take them ourselves.  Jordan has more expertise with the camera than I do, but I want to get to be better friends with it.  

It also has come to my attention that Jude is growing up VERY QUICKLY.  Like FAST.  SUPER fast.  Remember when I just gave birth, like, yesterday?  Well somehow he is now rolling and laughing and is slowly losing that baby-ish-ness and is turning into a little boy.  So, my goal?  Document.  Lots of pictures.  Lots and lots.  Daily pictures.  I won't post them all on here, but expect a lot more cute baby photo bombs.  I don't think anyone will mind. :-)

I'd love to see some of your favorite pics of your little ones.  Or your loved ones.  Or just your creative outlet.  I know there are closet readers out there who blog themselves.  I can't tell you how many people will randomly tell me "I read your blog."  And I'm shocked!!  I want to know who you are!  I write because I love to write.  I also write because I love to share life with other people.  That is you.  

So I am asking you to reveal yourself!  See that "follow" button on the side?  Click "Join this site".  Then I can know who you are and share the love.  

Believe it or not - I have a Google Reader list a mile long.  I do read your blogs... and don't comment enough, but I have resolved to do so.  This is just one more way to share life, encourage, and love on one another. 

Versatile Blogger Award

I think these award things are so fun.  Just a fun way to show people that you DO read their blog (because we all know tons more people read than comment) and that you appreciate them sharing their life in this way!  One of my followers, Shannon, selected my blog to win the Versatile Blogger Award!  This is kind of fun, because I realize I've never shared some of this info - so it will be educational for some of my followers.  I'll answer the questions and pass the award along. :-)

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
 
I don't know Shannon in real life, but I think she found my blog because we had the same (or very close) due dates for our little ones.  She has a super cute blog called Enjoy Life and Love, and an even more adorable son who was born 3 days after Jude. 

 

2. Tell seven things about yourself.

 

 1. I am currently on maternity leave and slowly getting the hang of this mom thing.  Being a mom is the most amazing and challenging thing I have ever done.  And I LOVE it.  Click on the link above "My Growing Boy" to read more about pregnancy and see pics of my cutie. 

  
 2. I love to sing and don't do it near enough these days.  In 2005 I did a Summer Project with Keynote, which is a part of Campus Crusade for Christ and toured the mid-west with a pop/rock band singing lead and backup vocals.  We rocked out and shared the gospel all at the same time.  Yes - those two can go together.  That was one of the most amazing, I'll-never-forget experiences of my life.

  3.  I work for an organization called Access of West Michigan and I think it is the best.  They treat us employees like family and I truly call them my "Access family".  We work with hunger and poverty issues in Kent County, MI (where we live).  I am the Development Director and do fundraising and grant writing.  In a mere three weeks I will be going back part-time.  They are so awesome, they are letting me work one day a week in the office and then the rest at home.  We'll see how it goes!!  As Jude's nap times are getting a bit more predictable and longer, I think it will work out just fine. :-)

  4. My sister {Krista} and her husband {Ben} are moving to Jamaica to serve as missionaries with the CCCD - Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf.  They are currently raising support and hope to be there this fall!  My sister has a degree in Deaf Education and will be teaching the students down there and Ben will manage the work teams that come down to help build the village.  They are currently looking for partners and people to pray for them, so if you are interested in learning more, visit bkbeukema.org.  They also have lots of pictures of what they'll be doing.  We'll miss them... but of course can't complain about a reason to visit Jamaica! ;-)

 

 5. I have the best friends ever.  They really are a huge reason Jordan and I decided to stay in Michigan after we graduated from college.  Jude has tons of "Aunties" that just adore him and we have been so so blessed to have the community that surrounds us.  It has been a huge blessing the past few years since we don't have family nearby.  I can't wait to see all of our kids grow up together.
  

 6. My husband, Jordan, and I met in college at Grand Valley State University.  We were both on the Campus Ministry praise team.  Jordan plays electric guitar and I sing.  We were friends for a long time with no real romantic interest in each other... UNTIL we went on a mission trip together doing Habitat for Humanity in Tallahassee, FL and something just "clicked". :-)  We started dating immediately afterwards.  We were engaged 11 months later and married 6 months after that.  I was only 21!!

  

7. Jordan is in a band where he plays lead electric guitar.  They are called "Those Eighty Acres"  and have kind of a folk/rock sound to them.  I really like them a lot {and I am not just saying that because he is my husband!}.  They have one album out called "1905" and another in the studio right now.  Check them out and look them up on facebook!

3. Pay it forward and award the Versatile Blogger to 15 bloggers. 

Go check out these fabulous blogs!!

1. Ben & Krista @ bkbeukema.org 
2. Laura @ betweenthelinesblog.net
3. Betsy @ thedaintydaisyblog.blogspot.com
4. Christine @ believinginjune.blogspot.com
5. Liz @ edalynews.blogspot.com
6. Emily @ ohapostrophe.blogspot.com
7. Abby @ pictureunperfectlife.wordpress.com
8. John {dad} @ johnhaddix.wordpress.com
9. Betsy @ pbthompson.blogspot.com
10. Erin @ dejeffries.blogspot.com
11. Brooke @ timandbrookecollier.wordpress.com
12. Sarah @ girlandgreatdane.blogspot.com
13. Jana @ jkenglishsessions.blogspot.com
14. Veronica @ saraiahsjourney.blogspot.com
15. Jenna @ jennaseverythingblog.wordpress.com

Enjoy!!