Thanks for your responses to my post on Mommy Blogging — it was fun for me to hear back from you on why you blog. Someone said neighborhoods aren’t what they used to be — and that’s true. Except that now our neighborhood is the entire world, and I think that’s pretty cool. (Hello to whoever you are in Argentina who visited!)

I mentioned a few days ago how I’ve discovered the high/low game, which we play at dinner — several nights a week. I don’t know what my deal is this past week but I’ve been on a roller coaster — either feeling like I’m super high on top of the world, or like I’ve plummeted to the bottom of the ocean floor.

IT’S TIME FOR ME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT EXERCISING.

I wrote it. So therefore I must do something about it. I always feel better and more even about life when I exercise. Maybe I need to go hang out at Blair’s blog and learn how to be consistent with charting my progress — which doesn’t exist right now. In fact, since I wrote my post on The Secret Pedometer Club, I’ve stopped wearing my pedometer because I never could get above 8,000 steps — even when I walked over an hour. And in the last two months, instead of losing those dreadful postpartum 20, I’ve gained 5 more!

But back to the highs. Indulge me a minute, and let me share with you the cute things my kids are into these days:

— I taught my 11-month old daughter to use the phone, that wonderful Fisher Price Chatter Phone (no batteries required) — and she promptly began putting it to her ear and calling her “Da Da” over and over. Already, Daddy’s Little Girl.

— My toddler son wants me to read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and No, No Jack several times a day, and he likes to walk around the house with a bucket of trains and a piece of wood, which he uses to make a bridge.

— The girls, 5 and 8, are into beauty parlor and like to brush my hair and read to me from their journals. When I put them in bed tonight, I noticed they had a row of baby dolls set up in their room in various cradles, high chairs, and a rocking chair. There was one lonely doll on the bed. “That’s the Mama, and she has five children,” they told me. I was almost afraid to ask, but I did. “Is she a nice Mama?” They said she was. (You never know.)

— My 9-year-old son is into magic card tricks. He has about four that he always wants to show me. “Pick a card, any card” is his most-repeated phrase around here. (And they really are cool tricks.)

So, that’s it. Those are my highs. The lows? I feel like I’m constantly spinning, being pulled different directions. Everybody around here needs something from me. And who is me? The other day I began to plummet, from the sheer exhaustion. I wrote in my journal, “Lord, I feel like I’m always spinning, not really getting anywhere, just spinning.” And I felt Him answer, “Pinwheels are beautiful to watch when they’re blown by the wind. Let my Spirit set you free.”

Ah … thank you, Lord.

Up next: a visit from a mom who has her act together in the kitchen. Though she admits it wasn’t always this way. Susan Thacker, author of Supper Swapping, will be here to tell us her story, and what it was like to be on the Dr. Laura radio show.

One brief announcement: Don’t forget to post on the topic of God’s Sovereignty for this week’s Carnival of Beauty hosted by Iris of Sting My Heart. The word sovereignty sounds deep and scary, right? Well, just tell us how God is big in your life! What does He mean to you? Some of you will probably come up with some great stuff — I’m looking forward to reading your posts!

I know there are over 30 million blogs out there, but I confess most of my favorites fall under the category of “Mommy Blogging.” I love reading what ordinary moms like me have to say about their days. Sometimes I think it’s truly fascinating that this blogging phenomenon has given us a voice — many of us are staying home stirring spaghetti sauce and raising our family — yet when you google a topic, our blogs rank up there as high as top news sites (especially those of us who post every day — Google seems to like that.)

So, I was fascinated to discover yesterday that Catez of All Things 2 All spent several days researching women’s blogs that were nominated for the Share the Love Blog Awards. She visited and read posts from 197 women’s blogs — wow! You’ll have to go read the details in her post, Share the Love: Demographics and Some Thoughts.

Here are the statistics:

No. of blogs I read: 197 (in 8 categories)
No. of blogs I didn’t read: 34 (in 3 categories)
Inaccessible: 3 (links didn’t work or bandwidth exceeded)

And here is how she categorized them:

Not Religious or No Religious Content
Christian (Protestant or Catholic)
Other Religious/Spiritual Beliefs
Mormon
Jewish
Unspecified

You can read her post to find out the numbers and percentages in each group. It’s very interesting! After all of her research, which I’m sure took dozens of hours, here’s what she discovered:

Most of the blogs I read didn’t have a lot about religion or spirituality. Of those that expressed a religious or spiritual belief the majority only made an occasional reference. The biggest theme, by a huge majority, was motherhood and what is called mommy blogging. I have said that before, but I think the demographics help to make the point better …

Thank you, Catez, for doing all this work! (I think this topic would make a great magazine article.) Do y’all find this as fascinating as I do? Why are mommies blogging? I’ve joined a few blogger mom groups lately — and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading essays on DotMoms — which expresses an extreme diversity of views on mothering. (Key word: diverse.) But I can’t get enough of reading about real-time motherhood — obviously!

One common thread I’m noticing personally — in many of the tag lines and throughout the posts — it seems like moms joke around about blogging to keep their sanity. I’ve always felt like I needed to write out my thoughts or I would go bananas. Maybe I’m not alone.

I’m curious — if you’re a mom and you blog, why do you do it?

We had a picnic yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed our Happy Meals from McDonald’s. At first, I was disappointed that we didn’t have cool boxes, just bags. Then I saw whose picture was on the bag, and I started telling my kids, “Look! This is Vonetta Flowers! I know who she is!”

Do you?

If you’re really into winter sports, you probably heard her name a good bit during the Olympics. In 2002, Vonetta Flowers won the gold medal in Salt Lake City in women’s bobsledding. Actually, she’s the first black athlete from any country ever to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.

And she’s from Alabama! Now obviously, bobsledding is not a popular sport here in the Southeastern U.S.; we’re lucky to get an inch of powdery snowflakes a year — and then we use cardboard boxes or pizza pans as our makeshift sleds to slide down hills — whoop-de-do. You’ll just have to sneak over to Vonetta’s website and read how a girl from the deep South made the Olympic bobsledding team — this story will give you chills (um … that pun wasn’t intended, but it’s fitting — haha.)

In Torino this year, she and her bobsledding partner came in sixth place, but the even bigger news was that the Kleenex company surprised her by flying her mother and twin sons out to see her. TOTALLY unexpected on her part — and she was in tears when they were interviewed on NBC’s Today Show with host Katie Couric. (Can anybody say, “Please pass me a tissue?”)

I admit that I first heard her name from Terry Whalin, — can you see his name on her book cover? Y’all know I like reading author/editor Terry’s The Writing Life blog — in fact, some of you do too. He told us all about Running on Ice, and that’s how I knew to look for her story in Guideposts Magazine in the February issue.

There’s where I discovered the real story — Vonetta Flowers is a strong Christian, a wife, and a mother to twin boys! On her website, she includes her testimony and says, “God has blessed my family. I give Him the glory and honor.” One of her sons was born without the ability to hear, yet he underwent successful surgery in Italy last December, and now he can. Amazing.

Back to that McDonald’s bag — Here’s what it says:

“i push myself harder than i push my bobsled
i can hit 80 mph in less than a minute
i’m faster than any woman alive
i am Vonetta Flowers
i am golden

Vonetta Flowers
Olympic Bobsledder
Mom”

That last word there says it all. Sure, she made history by winning a gold medal in the Olympics. The first for her race. But I bet if you ask her which title she’s most proud of, she’ll tell you, “Mom.”

Uh huh. I’m lovin’ it too.

I’m discovering there are a ton of Heathers out there in the blogosphere — so here’s a quiz that says our 1920s name would be:

Your 1920’s Name is:

Isabella Lovie

If you take this quiz, I’d love to find out what your name is!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you wearing green? Hope so — or somebody will pinch you. Is this just a custom in the U.S.? I just now thought that maybe some of you out there wonder what I’m talking about.

Well, everybody around here celebrates March 17 with the color green and shamrocks, but when I think of Ireland, I think of all these cool Celtic crosses. Here’s a picture:

I could spend all day looking at these crosses, but my kids are home from school — it’s a teacher workday. My kids think there’s no school because of St. Patty’s Day. Funny.

I reviewed a book a few weeks ago that was filled with Celtic crosses. It was gorgeous. If you’d like to read my review, it’s of the book, My Jesus Is … Everything! by Anne Graham Lotz. It’s here at Christian Book Previews. How fun — don’t you love the cover?

Have any of you ever been to Ireland before? Oh, that would be a dream to go. I’d LOVE to go visit some of those crosses … and tour an Irish castle and go eat in an Irish pub. Maybe stay at a bed & breakfast like this one.

We have some friends who have taken several mission trips to Ireland. I think of them when I think of these Celtic crosses. If you happen to live anywhere near Alabama and you have a college-aged student, you will HAVE to go visit University Christian Fellowship in Birmingham. Our friends started this ministry a few years ago with only a handful of students, and now he’s speaking to over 800 STUDENTS a week. Let me tell you, there is something on fire over there. I also discovered there is a UCF blog that records the weekly messages. Anyway, they love going to Ireland, and I’ve enjoyed seeing their pictures and hearing about how beautiful it is over there.

Here are a couple of my favorite Irish Blessings:

Irish Marriage Blessing
May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortunes
and rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
from this day forward.

An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I can’t help but crack up (haha) every time I look at that book cover. Kathryn, sitting at her computer, holding the burned meatloaf. Ooh … I can relate. I once put cookies in the oven, then thought I’d run up to the attic REAL quick to find something. And of course when I got up there, I totally forgot I had cookies in the oven. Oops.

So, I gotta ask Kathryn. What’s with the burnt meatloaf?

The burnt meatloaf reference was just a phrase that made me laugh, but it also refers to those moments in our life when we make silly mistakes, like burning the meatloaf, and instead of crying about it, we should just laugh at ourselves. It makes life a lot more fun!

Tell us about your new book. Why is it called Cracked at Birth?

Well, when I first started writing my column, the editor asked me to come up with a column name. My husband actually came up with “Sunny Side Up” because the columns really just try to get people to laugh at all the strange and unexplained phenomena in life and not take life too seriously. Then, when I was developing my Web site, I recognized that sunny side up is also a way to cook eggs and I just started brainstorming along the whole egg theme. When I came up with “Cracked at Birth,” it just sounded funny to me and also kind of explained my slightly cracked view of life — so I went with it.

Fun! Hey, I saw that your website was one of the top 10 in the Writer’s Digest Best Website competition in 2003. Congratulations! So, what’s it like running a business from home?

Well, like anything, it’s got its plusses and minuses. It’s nice to be able to work from home and contribute to our family’s bottom line, but it’s also challenging because you have to work around your child’s schedule. I learned early on that I could only juggle so much and that has helped save my sanity.

I think it’s important for each mother to determine her comfort zone. How much can you handle? Do you like to be busy all of the time? Do you mind working at night after the kids go to bed? How much money do you want your business to make? These are all important questions you need to consider before you just dive in and start a business.

Can you tell us a little more about your marketing communications business?

Originally, I started out doing both the writing and designing of marketing communications materials, like brochures, fliers, direct mail pieces, etc. I quickly learned that I got flustered trying to handle the whole project, so I decided to focus my efforts on the writing and now outsource the design. This has worked out really well for me.

The percentage of moms working from home continues to grow every year. Do you have any suggestions for women who need to help out with their family income and want to try to work from home?

Just to try and determine what YOU need to make it work. Everyone has different needs, goals, time constraints, and stress tolerance levels. I think a job should be fun and fulfilling. If you find yourself working into the wee hours of the night, not enjoying the work, and most importantly neglecting your kids on a regular basis to get the job done, then I think you need to reassess the situation and come up with
a better balance.

I’m constantly reminding myself that my decision to stay home was to be with my kids and that is the most important thing, so when they get off the bus, I get off the computer and totally engage in being a mom. Raising those little human beings to be successful and happy is our main job and we need to keep sight of that.

Someone once said to me, “You’re only as happy as your unhappiest child,” and I totally believe that to be true. So I try to have fun with my kids, make them laugh, and if they’re happy…I’m happy!

That’s so true! Thanks, Kathryn! This has been such a refreshing experience to talk to someone with such a great outlook. I really enjoyed your book, and I wish you all the best as you continue seeing the Sunny Side Up of life.

P.S. Don’t forget to stop in Kathryn’s website and drop her a note! 🙂

My daughters and I were just enjoying some shortbread cookies they made at their grandmother’s yesterday. Mine was shaped like a pineapple, but there are also hearts and circles. I wish you could taste them — can I hand one to you in cyberspace? Here ya go … we’re moms … we’re good at pretending.

I thank God for grandmothers who are good cooks and pass this skill on down to their grandchildren. I asked the girls if they’d share with you here how they made them. Here’s what they said:

“You put a half-cup of sugar and two sticks of butter in a bowl. Then you stir it around really good. Then you get a measuring cup and you pour flour halfway to the top. Not all the way to the top. Then you stir it around. You mash it up really good with your hands. Then when it’s real stiff, you lay it out on a tray. But first you put some flour on the tray. Then you roll it out with a rolling pin and then you get cookie cutters and you cut it into shapes. Then you put it in the oven. After they’re done, you have to wait 15 minutes for them to cool. Then you can eat them.”

This is the second time I’ve enjoyed cookies today. Wanna hear more? Well, this morning was my last Beth Moore study — we finished up Believing God. Wow. Have any of you done this one? I wish I could say that I was perfectly consistent and could report to you week by week what I learned, but the truth is, I missed several weeks.

I don’t know if y’all were around when I started this blog last October, but here’s a post where I told you how hard it was for me to get out the door. Well, it got harder. Impossible, even. I had several writing assignments come in that just kept me busy every minute while my kids were at school. Funny thing — I was writing about spiritual topics, yet I was having to stay home and miss my fellowship group to write.

The women in this group are awesome — I love each and every one of them. They kept up with me, telling me they missed me, and keeping me in the email loop. So I’ve been back and they let me borrow the DVDs to get caught up.

Back to the cookies.

Today, I was a little closer to heaven while I sat in a group of ladies, eating chocolate chip cookies and watching Beth Moore. I can honestly say, this is just the beginnning for me to explore all the incredible things I’ve learned in the past few months. And I can’t wait to start the next study, Living Beyond Yourself, with my new cyber-group. YEA.

Here’s what’s truly amazing, and here’s why I had to take a minute to sit down and write to you. Beth Moore is teaching by video (excuse me, DVD) to all these thousands of women, but each one of us will go back out into the world, armed with our deeper understanding of scripture and love of Christ, and share what we’ve learned.

Well, one lady was bursting at the seams to tell us that she shared the Gospel with her 80-something-year-old grandfather. He’s been a bitter man for most of his life and has never believed the Bible, even though his wife went to church without him. She knew God wanted her to share her faith with her grandfather, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. Yet she did it anyway. And you know what? After an hour of peppering her with questions, he finally realized he was missing something … he wanted the peace in his life that she has. The assurance that when he died, he’d go to heaven. So, he prayed to accept Christ. Right there on the spot, with his granddaughter.

I was boo-hooing, let me tell you. That’s the impact of studying the Bible together. If you’ve done this study, then you know what I mean when I say I can’t wait to see how God is going to fulfill Hebrews 11:41. (Check your Bible — it’s not there. It’s not written yet because you fill in your name. By faith, (Heather)…”

I’m. Believing. God. (with the hand motions, if you know them.)

Today, we have a guest visiting us here at Mom 2 Mom Connection. I’d like you to meet Kathryn Mahoney, a mom of two boys who started her own humor newspaper column. I feel like I know Kathryn because I’ve read her hilarious stories in her new book, Cracked at Birth: One Madcap Mom’s Thoughts on Motherhood, Marriage & Burnt Meatloaf.

If there are any of you out there who have ever thought of turning your family stories or blog into a column, here’s what Kathryn says about it:

Welcome, Kathryn! Can you tell us how you got started writing a column in the newspaper?

Well, it all started when I met a fellow writer named Gina. We met through a printer who we both used when we were working for different financial institutions. He hooked us up because he knew we had a lot in common. We had both left our jobs to take care of our children and we both started our own marketing communications business. One day when we got together with our kids, we were talking about how much we identified with Erma Bombeck.

Oh, yes! I grew up reading Erma Bombeck! She wrote If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? So, did she give you the idea to start your humor column?

Well, Gina mentioned that she would like to try writing a humor column for a newspaper some day and even though that thought had never crossed my mind before, I decided to give it a try. I submitted a couple of columns to my local newspaper, and the editor asked if I wanted to write a biweekly column. That was in 2001, and I am still writing for them today.

Wow! So you’ve been writing a column for five years! Is it hard thinking of ideas every week?

I must admit, I haven’t been writing as regularly as I was when I first started my column. When I made the decision to write my book, the column kind of got put on the back burner because of time constraints and fortunately the editor of the newspaper has been very understanding. Now that my book is out, I really need to get back to writing my column on a regular basis.

What do you like to write about?

I like to write about my family and just the funny things that happen in everyday life that I know many of us can relate to. It’s the best feeling when I receive e-mails from readers who say, “I can totally relate to that” or “my husband does the same thing.” I think most people want to feel that they’re not the “only one” feeling a certain way about things. There is comfort in knowing “you’re not alone.”

Yes, that’s true. So, what would you say to a mom who’s considering starting a newspaper column?

I’d say … GO FOR IT! Like I said, I had no humor writing experience and in fact I was never the class clown or anything. I made my immediate friends laugh, but I always knew that I was funnier on paper than in person so I thought I would give it a whirl. If you think about it, you have nothing to lose by trying, so why not give it a shot?

Is there a certain way to approach an editor?

I think my case was unique because the newspaper I approached is relatively small. There are about 8,000 readers. I think it’s important to know how the editor likes to be approached and you can find that out by either sending an e-mail query or calling them on the phone and asking them a few questions. Is the paper looking to fill a certain need? Could you submit some samples for consideration? What word count do they prefer? Do they prefer e-mail or postal mail? Will they accept e-mail attachments? And then once you send this information, it’s important to follow-up in a couple weeks to discuss the situation. The key is, if you really want it, don’t give up.

That’s great advice for us, Kathryn. Now, I love your sense of humor — you seem to find the most hilarious ways of describing things that can almost drive moms crazy! Do you think it’s important for moms to keep a sense of humor in raising children?

Absolutely! If you don’t, you’ll go out of your ever lovin’ mind. Raising children in the world today is stressful and if we don’t try to approach it with humor and a good attitude I think our children are the ones who ultimately suffer.

OK, so how do we do we keep a sense of humor?

I think you have to learn to let the little things go. I went to a seminar once and the speaker referred to “the little things” as the “C” basket. Baskets A & B are things that might affect your child or other children’s well being and these are things that we should focus on. The “C” basket contains things like what clothes they wear, whether or not they brush their hair in the morning, whether they put their clothes in the hamper, etc. If you stress about the little things every day, you and your children are both going to be stressed out on a regular basis and it won’t be much fun at home.

My husband and I often remind each other about the “C” basket. If I hear him harping on the kids about something I consider a minor infraction, I’ll yell to him, “C basket.” He realizes I’m right and then everybody relaxes and we get on with life.

Wow — that’s a great idea. I’ll have to give the “C” basket a try around my house. What do you think are the really important things we should focus on instead?

I’d say always keep your eye on the big picture. Do your kids have good values? Do they use good judgment? Are they doing well at school? If all of these are true than you’re probably doing a pretty good job as a parent. So what if their hair is pink and their pants drag on the floor. It’s a passing phase and it doesn’t affect who they truly are inside. As they say in all of the parenting books…you’ve got to pick your battles.

A lot of us here are moms who like to write about our families in our blog or other places. Why do you think it’s important for moms to write down stories like you’ve done with your columns and now book?

I just think it’s a great history to have of your child’s life. I don’t know about other moms, but I have a lousy memory, so I knew that if I wrote these stories down as they happened my kids and I would have this history to share together forever. The key is to log these memories so you don’t forget them. Then when you’re older and your children have left the nest you’ll have all of these precious moments to relive in your mind and in your heart when they are out starting their careers and families. Even now I go back and read what I wrote a few years ago, and it puts a smile on my face.

Any more advice on helping us get started?

Just start writing, and don’t edit your words. Let it flow. You’ll be amazed at how just writing the words down on the paper is very cathartic.

Thanks so much Kathryn. You’ve been so helpful! I’m sure there are some aspiring newspaper columnists and essayists out there, and you’ve given us some great tips!

You’re welcome.

Tomorrow, Kathryn will be back visiting with us here to tell us more about her new book, Cracked at Birth: One Madcap Mom’s Thoughts on Motherhood, Marriage & Burnt Meatloaf. She’ll also be here to give us some tips on how to juggle a home business with keeping up with family responsibilities. You can read some of Kathryn’s writing here on Sanity Central and on her website.

I’m posting this here because I’ve looked all over the internet and can’t find out who wrote this. Does anybody know?

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even include college tuition.

But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month
* $171.08 a week.
* That’s a mere $24.24 a day, just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don’t have children if you want to be “rich.” Actually, it is just the opposite. What you get for your $160,140:

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last,
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:

* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal boo-boos, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so that one day they will like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!

So love and enjoy your children and grandchildren!

I want to say hello to my reader(s) from New Zealand! I know you’re out there. Thanks for stopping in! There’s a little dot on my map that shows me SOMEbody is coming to read my blog from New Zealand, and that’s very fun!

My husband and I went to New Zealand years ago, as chaperones with a group of high school students who were studying marine biology. I have to say New Zealand is one of the most beautiful, pastoral places I’ve ever seen in the world. There were fields dotted with sheep at nearly every turn. Is it still that way? I hope so.

Today’s Carnival of Beauty is being hosted by Sallie of Two Talent Living, so click over to her place to see what 13 lady bloggers contributed on the topic of The Beauty of My Life.

BETH MOORE! We’re going to be up and running soon — we’ll probably start Monday, March 27. If you’re at all remotely interested in joining our Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit online study or being a faithful weekly lurker observer, then leave Lauren a comment here, and she’ll add you to our list. There are 14 of us signed up right now. Isn’t that fun? Not only us ladies, we also had a visit from Paul of Hill Country Thoughts blog who said he’ll be praying for our group. (I met Paul in person last fall at a writers’ conference — recognized the white cowboy hat and said, “Hey, you’re the Hill Country Thoughts guy!” He’s very nice and a gifted spiritual writer.)

OK, now onto to some other exciting news. It looks like our post Teens in the Blogosphere has captured the interest of USA Weekend Magazine, which is a little insert that comes in your weekend newspaper. It has a modest circulation of 47.5 million readers. (I did say million, ladies!!) Their ParentSmart columnist, Pat Olsen, is doing an upcoming series called “A Parent’s Guide to Blogging.” If you’d like to have some input in this story, here’s the address to contact USA Weekend Columnists. And if you haven’t had a chance to contribute your input into our Mom 2 Mom post here, please do. (The truth is — I did send them an email, but they wrote back and said they were VERY interested in our input. You just never know … This columnist may end up expanding the topic into a book someday.)

One more interesting tidbit: I got a note from Agent Tim yesterday — he thinks his mom wouldn’t mind my asking her some questions about raising teenagers. Does anyone have any questions for her? Her son is the 16-year-old visionary behind the new organization, Regenerate Our Culture.

P.S. If you’re going to be in the Beth Moore study, I found this Lifeway site has several sizes of online banners and graphics. Just click on it, save it, and upload it to your sidebar. Then you could link it to Lauren’s Created for HIS Glory site where we’re all “gathering.”