Journey to the Center of the Blogosphere

Ok, so not really the center of the blogosphere, but one of the last episodes of Doctor Who was entitled "Journey to the Center of the Tardis" and I like to try to incorporate DW into life when I can.

Anywho. Today is all about blogs. Specifically, five favorite blogs. (Challenge day 19)

Some of the first blogs I started reading regularly are still some of my favorites. Others have ebbed. For a long time I felt like I had to keep reading certain blogs, even when they no longer had the same pull for me they once did. Then I realized that I didn't know them and they probably wouldn't be offended that I didn't read it anymore and that most people don't start blogs to have thousands (plus) of readers anyway. I don't have to read it out of guilt. I still sometimes go back to ones I have read before to "catch up."

But here are 5 of my favs, in no particular order!

1) Big Mama
Big Mama (Melanie Shankle) was one of my first. I love how she takes the every day and makes it interesting. She has a great sense of humor and a way to turn stories about the mundane (grocery shopping, soccer games, etc). I'm in the midst of reading her first book, Sparkly Green Earrings. She tells both hilarious stories (her daughter is a hoot!) and thoughtful reflections about life and motherhood.

2) The Pioneer Woman
Oh, Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond). A former city girl turned rancher's wife. I'm pretty sure I gain weight just by reading her recipes! Hello, butter! She has fun quizzes in her "Home school"  and "Entertainment" sections, great giveaways/prizes, fun recipes, and good stories. Sometimes her husband also writes posts about ranching and why they do things they do there. Mostly her "Confessions" section has stories about her life and the making of her shows on the Food Network. She cracks me up!

3) Stuff Christians Like
Satire! SCL has it in spades. The site takes things quite peculiar to Christian culture and makes fun of them. He does it from a place of love, though, to note how silly some of our "traditions" are. There is also a very active commenting community who often say things about as funny as the posts!
Some of my favorite posts over the years:
Getting font-tastic with faith
4 ways to Febreze "Blessed Be Your Name"
Vuvuzelas in Church
The Jesus Juke

4) The American Jesus
This blog has been a place where some of the silliness inherent in the direct association of Christianity/Jesus with American patriotism is portrayed. Zack Hunt, the author, also poses thoughtful questions and concerns about some of the direction the church is going in America. Each year in March, the blog hosts "American Jesus Madness," where popular people, objects, etc from the previous year's Christian news, are pitted against each other and voted on to find the champion. Examples of "contestants" this past year include Rob Bell's mission glasses, Tim Tebow, and History Channel's "The Bible."

5) Jen Hatmaker's Blog
OK. So, she doesn't blog on a very regular basis. What with writing books and having 5 kids and a church plant and all. And I may have mentioned her a time or several on here already. But her writing style and personality is so real. She lays it all out there with truth, humor, sarcasm, and a passion that runs deep. Also, totally chatted with her Friday night before our retreat. (Point of honesty...actually writing this on Friday night so I really JUST saw her again and we talked about how much of a genius my baby is..but we haven't had our women's event yet. SO looking forward to it, too!)