One of the most fun parts of the week is collecting the tidbits of news, encouragement, inspiration, laughs or just yumminess (that means food) from the blogs we follow.  Some favorites from last week:

Louise:
I’ve been reading Amber Haines’ blog, The RunAMuck, (http://amberchaines.com/therunamuck/) and loved her story, plus the fact that she’s just “down the road” in northwest Arkansas.  Through a guest post in Amber’s Wild in the Hollow series, I discovered Arkansas blogger Jenny Marrs – who shares heartfelt posts about their adoption experience and farmhouse living (http://blessingsandraindrops.com).

Gwen:
I have been reading and studying about prayer.  New insight and inspiration have been part of this week for me.  One of the blog posts I loved was from Micha Maddox from Deeper Life Today.  She put out a series on prayer.  I enjoyed her thoughts on “God-Centered Prayer:  God’s Provision”. Micha said, “I’ve grown to expect miracles. It’s not that I want more or think I deserve the best of everything, but I know God is bigger than anything this world can offer. For some reason He keeps proving Himself in ways I cannot explain.”  You can find her series at  http://www.micahmaddox.com/topics/god-centered-prayer/

Shannon:
Confession:  I kind of have an addiction to blogs about big-families-through-adoption. I love hearing about the amazing ways they find to conquer the challenges in their lives.  Anyway, as I clicked my way through several families a few years ago, I came upon this precious blog created by an unbelievably mature young lady whose family literally moved to OUTER MONGOLIA (literally) to start an orphanage for babies with special needs.  This gal, Hannah, has come to America for nursing school so she can go back and serve God and those kiddos with new medical skills. Her blog is full of comparisons between life here and in the frozen tundra, and sprinkled with really intriguing recipes and projects that she has morphed and created to make her Mongolian home feel more Americanized and vice versa.  Her faith and drive inspire me, and I love having the chance to catch glimpses of her ever-expanding family back in the Far East.  Her website is Loving Dangerously.  You can click on the link or find her at: lovingdangerously.org

Check it out.  It’ll change your perspective.  I promise.