Thinking Blogger Award

To my surprise I received a nomination for the Thinking Blogger Award from Carolanne C outside the box
I had not even heard that there was such an award so I had to do some research to find out what it was.
I guess the best way to explain it, for those of you who don’t know, is that it is an ‘in house’ , non-policed award given by bloggers to other bloggers of their choice who they deem worthy of recognition.
The participation rules are as follows;
1. If and only if , you get tagged, (nominated) , 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, The Thinking blogger award.
3. Optional; Proudly display the Thinking Blogger award image with a link to the post that you wrote (there is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog)
Remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content and above all – blogs that really get you thinking! And remember each blog can only be nominated ONCE..

For what it is worth, I have always been a ‘thinker’ . My earliest memory (at nine months) involves my thoughts, so that being almost 60 years ago I smiled when I was finally – after all these years – given an award for ‘Thinking’.

We all love to be recognized or appreciated for something we do that is important to us . We feel validated when someone takes the time or initiative to tell us they noticed. Even very small children will respond to praise. It is a ‘God-button’ He gave us to help us strive for perfection. While ‘rewards’ or accolades we give to one another are an appreciated gesture and make us feel valued, they are but a childish foreshadowing of the eternal awards that will be handed out one day by God Himself.
What a ceremony of ceremonies that will be !!
Revelation 22:12 “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.”

Being fairly new to the blogging world I have not found many blogs that I regularly read. So my field of choice is definitely not as wide as Carolanne’s 70. That is a lot of reading!!
The five I have chosen to nominate are as follows;
1. What matters Most It is because of Lovella’s encouragement that I started my blog, and I read her blog every day. Her posts are well written and she always has something of worth to say in an entertaining way, and loves to illustrate with photos. She makes you feel that you have truly stepped inside her home as a welcome guest. She has an interesting blend of memories, of daily life occurrences, of recipes and helpful hints all under girded by her faith in God and her desire to live her life in such a way that she is an example to her friends, family, and the blogging world.
NOTE- after I wrote this I found out someone else just nominated Lovella, so I will have to change this from a nomination to an 'honorable mention'!!

2. Reasons to be Thankful Today I am very happy for a technical loophole in the Thinking Blogger Award rules. I love to visit Carolanne’s blog – she portrays the events of her life in a way that is intimate and thoughtful and makes you feel you are a friend. Since she was tagged I would not have been able to tag her, but thankfully Carolanne has TWO blogs. Carolanne made a New Year’s resolution to record the things for which she was thankful every day, and set up a separate blog dedicated to this goal. She has been faithful and I find her ‘thankful list’ inspiring and thought provoking, reminding me that there is a ‘thankful’ side to everything that happens in my day. This site , as well as her other one, reveal her deep faith and love of God.

3. Jill’s World of Research, Reaction and Millinery Jill is someone with a characteristic I identify with – she loves to check things out and do the research. My impression of Jill is that she is larger than life- as evidenced by the large print she loves to use! (easy to see!) She did a 20 chapter posting on stories of people from her Dustin family roots. It was very thought provoking and fascinating to hear historical events told from a descendant’s point of view. She still has a couple of promised chapters to write – I am waiting!

4. Yokoso is Japanese for ‘welcome’ in Japan. The author of this blog, Demara, is someone who is open and honest and comes up with gems of thoughts sometimes hidden in her childlike sense of fun. Her blog is constantly changing visually with an interesting side bar with links to explore. Her desire to know God and understand Him are clearly evident.

5. Nathan's blog Nathan is a 14 year blogger who is obviously a thinker. I like to encourage young people , especially those who are not afraid to ‘think’ so I am pleased to nominate Nathan. His ‘Easter’ post includes a story he wrote that impressed me with the depth of thought and reasoned logic. Go Nathan!

So there you have it! "Once again , I thank you Carolanne for nominating me for the award – I appreciate it, especially coming from you!"

And as a PS to this post, I would like to remind you that telling someone you appreciate them or something they do is a ‘gift’ that takes such little effort to give in proportion to the pleasure it gives the recipient!! Give someone in your life an ‘award’ today !!