Thinking Blogger Award

I am ever so honored to be tagged for a "Thinking Blogger Award" by cyber pal Mimi over at Bigger than a Breadbox. My heart has been touched by her words, both on her blog and through our rambling e-mail conversations, many a time. Although, as she notes, our faith is expressed in very different ways we still share a bond as sisters in Christ as we both do what we can to search out truth, love our families, and find our way in this crazy old world.

So, the ground rules for this tag are as follows:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

In sorting out various categories of online work that I follow, I acknowledge that much of my blog time is purely entertainment. There are a few I check on nearly every day out of friendship and camaraderie. But this meme did not challenge me to list who I LIKE the most. Instead, I am to list those that cause me to really think. So here, (in no particular order) are a few that do just that:

1. CLOSE TO HOME - by Molly Sambourin;
Molly is gifted writer, passionate Orthodox Christian, who mainly writes about faith and family. Yet hers is no commonplace vanity blog. I love the way her words cut right to the heart of so many issues.

2. Naihadot - by Naiha Earhart. An LDS woman with brains, style and plenty to say

3. Q and O - multiple contributors, I mainly follow Bruce "McQ" McQuain. Politics and social commentary

4. Goal Free Living - by Stephen Shapiro
Not sure how much I agree with the guy, but he DEFINITELY makes me think. This one is a more "commercial" type blog - serving as a promo for his book, his speaking engagements, etc. Still, his postings are worth a ponder. I've been a chaser of focused, specific, measurable goals for many years. Reading Shapiro's works feels like both liberation and heresy to me. At any rate, he adds some interesting ideas to the mix.

5. Ok - pressure is on....who gets the last spot?
I dunno. I think I'm going to just leave this one open for now... perhaps I'll come back to it in a day or two when I've given it more thought. Suggestions? Nominations? What blog makes YOU think? Maybe I'll find something new.

But then, my rebellious, prideful nature twists and turns a bit....Who says I have to name five? What if I want to leave it at four? What if I want to name six or nine?

ALSO - what's this bit about you can only pursue this meme IF you get tagged. Oh rot on that. My inner anarchist rebels. I say any time any blogger wants to play - more power to them. Also, if NOT ONE of the ones I've posted choose to follow up with lists of their own, I'm not going to get my panties in a twist.

The beauty of blogging is the independent nature of it. We each use the platform for whatever we choose - endless navel gazing, national agendas, selling of widgits, or making new friends. I suppose I can understand the reason for "blogger award rules" but I just don't much care for imposed structure here. I say it's every bloggers right to do this if they choose to. Or not.

I have no illusions that me being nominated for this award means my little blog has any more merit than the next one. What it means is that Mimi and I have made a connection, and that connection has been a blessing in both our lives. Why would we want to limit that sort of magic to some secret-handshake insiders group?

So I say go for it if you want to. Governing bloggers can and should be like herding cats.

See HERE