Question Of The Week
What’s the best blog post that you’ve read this week?
What made it so special?
Please share your answer with us at Friendship Friday!
My Answer – Best Blog Post
Jen – Rich Faith Rising
The Stranger In Our House. And A Hidden Rainbow.
Sometimes you read things
That just resonate
In the deepest core of your heart,
Your soul,
Your humanity.
Jen’s essay about The Stranger In Our House –
Her 11 year-old foster daughter –
Touch those places in me.
Her foster daughter did not come
From a background of affluence
Or a place of privilege.
In their home,
Two worlds collide and
Two cultures clash
On a daily basis.
As Jen tries to process their differences,
She writes:
I realize God alone has the power
Of the sun, the rain, winter storms inside her.
And I must surrender to the weather maker.
This hour.
If I am to parent her.
She wonders:
How often we need people to see in us….
Not how far we must go….
But how far we have come?
Her epiphanies end with her:
Giving thanks for the stranger in our home.
Thanks that she is not like us.
But a rainbow in the making.
Filled with more colors
Than even I can imagine.
Yet.
Wow. Powerful stuff –
And that’s just a sampling of what you’ll find on Jen’s blog!
Be sure to visit Jen to read the full post and to explore her site!
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Friend Of The Week
Renee Ann Smith – Doorkeeper
This week’s Featured Friend is Renee Ann Smith from Doorkeeper!
Renee teaches literature at a Christian school by day
And writes inspirational fiction by night!
Faith plays a huge role in her life and
During the in-between moments,
She spends her time door-keeping –
Opening doors and encouraging others.
To give you a sense of Renee Ann’s spirit,
Here is a wonderful quote from her About Page:
In everyone’s life, at some time,
The inner fire goes out.
It is then burst into flame by an encounter
With another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people
Who rekindle the inner fire.
Albert Schweitzer
Last week’s Friendship Friday theme was Advice;
Renee wrote about Gratitude.
Here is one of the quotes she shared in her post:
In daily life we must see that
It is not happiness that makes us grateful,
But gratefulness that makes us happy.
Brother David Steindl-Rast
I invite you to visit Renee Ann’s blog, to follow her,
And to extend your hand of friendship to her this week!
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Join The Biannual Blogathon Bash
June 22-25, 2012
Would you like to improve the quality of your blog?
Do you have some items on your To Do list that need completing?
If so, join me for The Biannual Blogathon Bash!
Details are on the spotlighted post!
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Friendship Friday #21 – Week Of June 1, 2012
Welcome to Friendship Friday – a week-long opportunity to:
- Foster friendships with other bloggers!
- Share what’s unique about yourself and your blog!
- Grow your blog and social media networks!
Are you ready to make some new friends? Then, come join the fun! Please follow these friendly guidelines:
1) Each week, I’ll post a question that’s designed to help you get to know one another a little better. To participate, simply create a Friendship Friday post that includes the Friendship Friday blog hop button and/or a link back to this post – then add your permalink to the party!
You can also participate by adding the Friendship Friday button to your sidebar and answering the Question of the Week in the comments!
2) Please follow Create With Joy and leave a sweet comment so I’ll know you stopped by! If you’re a new follower, let me know how you are following so that I can reciprocate! You can follow me on:
- Google Plus
- Linky Followers
- E-Mail Subscription
- RSS Feed Subscription
- Stumble Upon
3) Visit your fellow participants and get to know them – building friendships is what this community is about! Support the bloggers you connect with by leaving a comment and following their blogs through one of the available subscription methods on their blogs!
The party will be open all week so that you have plenty of time to post, link and mingle! Have fun making friends and be sure to join me for Inspire Me Monday and Wordless Wednesday!
Thanks for the linky 🙂
Sandie
You’re welcome Sandie Lee – thanks for participating! Hope your weekend is FAB-U-LOUS! 🙂
I found a lot of chocolate posts this week… what made them so good? Chocolate. The only one that I have had timeto try is the Chocolate Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Beet Frosting from Joy the Baker. I am NOT a fan of zucchini in cake, but I thought the beet cake turned out quite nice. Her website is joythebaker {dot} com. I am actually posting about it next Friday.
Oh my goodness? Chocolate? I am SO there! Who could NOT love a site named Joy The Baker by the way! 🙂
Thanks for sharing Gina – have an awesome weekend!
Yay! Great question for the week! It was hard to pick just 1 so I listed the top 3 that came to mind! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and, as always, thanks for Friendship Friday!!!
Awesome – can’t wait to see what you shared! I am looking forward to visiting some GREAT blogs and reading some GREAT posts this week!
Have an awesome weekend Michelle!
Thanks so much for hosting this link-up and friend-finding opportunity! Looking forward to visiting those who have posted here!
God bless,
Laurie
Thanks for joining us this week Laurie at Friendship Friday! 🙂
Jen’s writing is beautiful … thanks for sharing! I’m participating in the Small Hands Creating Hope project, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. I can’t just list one favorite post for the week. Every day, the participants are writing about their part of the book. Many of them have very moving stories. There’s a list of links to participants’ posts in my Small Hands Creating Hope post at Living Montessori Now: http://livingmontessorinow.com/2012/05/22/one-small-part-of-small-hands-creating-hope/.
Thanks for sharing Deb – I can’t wait to visit! I hope your weekend is wonderful! 🙂
Thank you for featuring my blog. What I love about the internet is how it lets me connect with wonderful bloggers, like the ladies who join your linky list every week. And I really appreciate generous folks like you who make it easy for us to find each other. Thanks for all the great ideas and encouragement you share here on your blog. Blessings!
It was a pleasure to feature you this week Renee. It’s always a joy to meet wonderful bloggers like you. Have a blessed week and thanks for inspiring me!
This week has gone by in a blur it’s hard to pinpoint just one! 🙂 Have a great weekend! 🙂
Keeping Boredom at Bay
thanks for recommending jen’s blog. I visited. there are so many stories to touch your soul, I read a few. this week, the best post that i read was about how to keep your password safe. it will probably be discussed in next week’s post if I can hold on to the thought that long. smiles.
have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks Amanda for sharing – protecting your passwords is such an important topic!
I’m SO glad you enjoyed Jen’s blog – it’s fabulous, isn’t it?
Have a wonderful weekend too! 🙂
I will definately be visiting Jen’s blog ~ the quote from her you posted certainly evokes emotion. Thanks so much for hosting :))
Have a great weekend!
Paula
I’ve read quite a few. Hard to put in a good list as I flit around the internet.
Enjoy your weekend!
There is this blog called SilverStrands and I read the story of how it got it’s name, and what this woman did was cut off all her hair to make her mother a wig because of her Cancer and chemo she had lost her own. They wore scarves together, and then wore wigs together and just the whole story just brought tears to my eyes. She loves her Mom so much to do that for her. How wonderful. My mom had breast cancer years ago when I was 11, and I related some what & it just… I have so much respect for this woman! Truly the both of them are special. http://lovely-silver-strands.blogspot.com/p/how-it-all-began.html
She’s a super lady too. We have become friends for sure.
Dear Dolly
Thank you so much for introducing us to Silver Strands – what an incredibly touching and moving story!
I hope you have an awesome weekend! 🙂
New Follower! Looking forward to reading more!
Hope you will follow back.
Daisy
I linked up my laughs!!
Wow! What a beautiful post from Jen’s Blog! Her analogy of needing rain and thunder to create a rainbow describe so perfectly what happens in each of us. The timing of her encouragement could not be better, as I find myself facing similar challenges with my three boys. What a powerful reminder that our greatest tool with our children is prayer!
I’m thankful I found you on NOBH! I actually shared a few of my favorite things on Cross Moms’ Show and Tell Saturday. I will be sure to link it up here! Thank you!
Love and God bless,
Christy at Cross Moms
Welcome Christy
It’s a delight to meet you! I enjoyed your post and hope you will become a regular at Friendship Friday! 🙂
Thanks for linking to B&BB. Your first pick really resonated with me. Many years ago we did foster care and I experienced some of the same feelings. thanks for providing so many opportunities for bloggers on your blog. I pray you have a blessed week.
Thanks Gail – I love your new meme – I hope you have a wonderful week too and I look forward to seeing you at Inspire Me Monday! 🙂
Brand new follower and I just wanted to say thank you for hosting this wonderful blog hop. =-)
Kate, The Blog Diva
Welcome Kate – delighted to meet you! I love your beautiful cats! 🙂
It seems like almost every one I read each week is “the best”. This one was definitely inspirational. Thank you for sharing,.
Blessings,
Charlotte
I’m new linking up on here! 🙂
Welcome Monica – just stopped by your blog and left you a comment on your poem! 🙂