I'm Getting Sick So I'm Totally Stealing Ideas Today

Because I have a sore throat today (most likely the cold B brought back from Seattle last week) and because I'm putting off going to the gym today (should you really go to the gym when you feel terrible anyway?) and because I am out of ideas right now, I'm totally stealing an idea from Mary's blog from last week.

Mary stole it from someone else, so I feel completely justified.

Anyway, it was supposed to be a week-long blogging challenge to jump-start your blog, but Mary condensed a week's worth of challenges into one. She's a go-getter, that Mary.

Never one to be outdone, I thought I'd try the same challenge. So here we go. Cue fast-moving, challenging, frenzied music.

Monday's Challenge: Re-upload the first post you ever wrote on your blog.

"Yes, Another Mom Blog" was my first post in which I started to apologize for clogging the internet with yet another "Mom" blog, but then going on to tell you why I didn't care because my blog is all about me, me, me. Self-absorbed much?

Tuesday's Challenge: Re-upload a post you wish more people had read and explain why it was important to you.

Off the top of my head I would say that every post is one that I wish more people had read. I'm all about getting more readers.

But seriously, I think it would have to be this post I wrote about the woman with whom I shared a hospital room a few years ago. This was one of the most difficult times in my life, and yet the woman I knew very little about was going through something much worse.

Wednesday's Challenge: Re-upload a post with a title that you are particularly proud of and explain why.

"You'd think after 25 years of marriage we'd be better at it" was the title of a post I wrote last spring spilling all the silly ugliness of our random arguments. Totally meant to be a humorous picture of an imperfect relationship.

"It's All Kinds of Crazy Out There" is a title I liked, and still like, because it seems to sum up my feelings about the world today. Crazy. Nuts. Insane. All apply.

Thursday's Challenge: Write a new post about a woman who inspires you.

Yeah, well, that may have to wait for another day. I will have to give this one some serious thought, but just off the top of my head, all you moms who manage to juggle kids and a job-outside-the-home and church life and everything else--these are some of my heroes.

Friday's Challenge: As your last assignment to jump start your return to blogging, write about what blogging means to you. Why do you blog? What purpose does it serve you and how have you benefited from sharing a piece of yourself online this way?

Since I never really left blogging, do I still have to answer this question?

Actually, going back to read my first post has helped me see that I have grown and changed a lot in the past two-and-a-half years. I have seen how much GOOD blogs can do by reading the Compassion bloggers posts and by reading Kristen's posts about how her trip to Africa has changed her. Just last night I was telling B about her Mercy House project which is totally amazing to me.

I have friends who think they just don't have time for blogs, who really have no interest at all. That's O.K. But I have seen all the good that can be accomplished through blogs. I've personally experienced growth by reading inspirational blogs like Lysa TerKeurst's every day. I've made new friends who are a tremendous source of encouragement to me. And I hope I've been able to encourage a few people along the way.

God is using blogs, and it's wonderful and powerful to see.

Looking back on that embarrassing first post, I hope that my blog becomes less about me (although I'll still be writing about our wild life!) and more about the God who is there through it all. And I hope that this blog reflects Him more than it reflects me.

I'd love to know . . . what are some blogs that inspire you? Make you laugh? Teach you something new?