Sharing Some Link Love

What's going on in my little corner of the blogosphere...

I'm amazed at the quality of the blogs I'm following! I thought I'd take some time to point you in the direction of some great stuff...



--One of my favorite blogs that I just recently began following is The Weigands. This beautiful Dallas couple (the entire family could make a fortune in modeling, IMHO!) are artistic (she's an artist, he's a photographer and filmmaker), have two adorable babies named Aiden and Ainsleigh, and are refreshingly open about their faith. I love this blog!

Today, Casey and Ainsleigh are sharing a What We Wore: Girl's Edition. Tell me if you've ever seen a baby girl more adorable than that Ainsleigh!

--This whole Internet thing can get a little overwhelming at times, but Jeff Roney's blog, RoneyZone Media, always seems to be on the cutting edge with something helpful to share. Right now, he's sharing ten things you need to get started in (semi)extreme couponing.

--Do you like to look at beautiful home interiors--to get ideas for your own home, or just to gape at gorgeousness? Brabourne Farm is for you. Today, she's
featuring lovely little entry-way tables, set off to beautiful advantage.



--Alison Sweeney is the soap opera star who also hosts one of my favorite TV shows, The Biggest Loser. Alli's blog is a treasure trove for anyone--mommy or not--who's interested in living a more fit, nutritious, healthy life. It's reader-friendly, fun and appealing, and often offers contests and give-aways--like right now, when there's a chance to win a $1000 dollars American Express Card!



--I've been loving Blonde Episodes, another blog I discovered only recently. Visiting Kori's blog is like browsing your favorite magazine, except with Kori's personal touch. Kori is a recently-published author too...I'm looking forward to reading her vintage mystery, Murder on the Boulevard.

--Not only is Robin Lee Hatcher a delightful novelist, she's a top-notch blogger as well. Her Write Thinking blog is appealing, thoughtful, and informative. Her latest post reflects on the fact that, as a Christian fiction writer, she's glad she "writes hope":

"...Even when I've tackled difficult topics such as infidelity or alcoholism, since I know Christ and since most of my major characters know Christ, the books I write cannot help but be stories of hope."

The latest in Andrew Peterson's enchanting Wingfeather Saga series

--I happen to love singer/songwriter/fantasy fiction writer Andrew Peterson, and I heartily recommend his Rabbit Room blog. It features, thoughtful, intelligent, faith-based posts, book and movie reviews-- not just by Andrew but by his friends and compatriots. Check out Andrew's take on Harry Potter: Harry Potter, Jesus and Me:

"...(J.K. Rowling) didn’t grow up in the Bible Belt of America; she grew up in England. And yet, in defiance of a culture that tends to snub its nose at Christianity, she wrote a story that contains powerful redemptive themes, stirs a longing for life after death, piques the staunchest atheist’s suspicion that there just might be something beyond the veil, and plainly shows evil for what it is—and not just evil, but love’s triumph over it."

--Many pastors blog, but one of my favorite pastor-bloggers is Chris Brauns of A Brick in the Valley. (It doesn't hurt that I've met Chris and know what a great guy he is...he actually pastors in my area.)

Chris' posts are reader-friendly, clear, and always seem to share something good about faith, the Bible, and the Christian life.

These are just a few of the awesome blogs I follow. I'll share more later! In the meantime, when you get a moment, check some of them out. You won't be disappointed.

Check out some of my interviews...

Here are some links to interviews/excerpts/mini-interviews I've done in the past few years that you might want to take a listen to. They've been featured before on my blog, but maybe you just haven't had a chance to check them out.

--Scott MacIntyre of American Idol: Part One and Part Two

--LeeAnn Weiss, author of Valentine Promises: Heartfelt Reminders of True Love

--Christian novelist Virginia Smith

--Guideposts editor Edward Grinnan

--Megan Carson, author of A Year of Blind Dates

--Brooke Elliott, star of Drop Dead Divs

--Singer/songwriter/author Andrew Peterson

--SingerDanny Gokey

--Singer Mandisa

Why I love Andrew Peterson--and sort of a belated Easter post!

"...the early Christians... didn’t need faith to believe Christ’s resurrection like I do... They saw him. They ate fish with him. They walked and talked with the man who just a week ago was strung up like a criminal and dead as a doornail. For them it wasn’t blind faith. And that’s why the word spread like wildfire. Hundreds and hundreds of people laid eyes on the one human being since the beginning of time who kicked down Death’s door and made it out alive again."--Andrew Peterson

I've blogged about Andrew Peterson before. I've had the privilege of interviewing him a couple of times, seeing him in concert, and reading his richly imaginative fantasy books, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten.

But I have to talk about Andrew again today, because my daughter just let me listen to a song from a future CD, Resurrection Letters, Volume One (typical of Andrew's quirky, humorous approach to life, Resurrection Letters, Volume Two, was released first.)

Andrew is a poet. His lyrics are lovely and poetic, but deeply infused with Scripture and meaning. If your soul responds to such things,as well as to a rather folksy musical style, you will also love Andrew.

The song Elizabeth had me listen to was "Risen Indeed."

Had I heard it before Easter, this would definitely have been my Easter post, because both the song and Andrew's accompanying post celebrate Resurrection Day beautifully and profoundly.

In his Easter Sunday post, Andrew writes:

I long to see him face-to-face. I long to put my hand in his side, and touch the scars. I want to thank him and to worship him without this confounded veil between us. Just fighting to believe can make you weary, and faith is hard to hold. But we are given moments of reprieve. Easter comes around and the pews are full of every-Sunday sinners and once-in-a-blue-moon saints. The ice melts. The daffodils glow like little suns. We remember the earth-shaking fact of the resurrection of Jesus, and hope comes galloping in from the east, trumpeting the tune of victory.

You can scroll down Andrew's post to hear "Risen Indeed." I love how he struggles with tears as he sings certain parts of the song.

Christian singers are human, flawed sinners. I don't ask them to somehow be better or holier than the rest of us. But it sure is nice to find one who is "the real deal."

Andrew Peterson's faith is obviously unashamed and genuine. I'm a fan.

"...as I write this on Easter morning, when I think of the pain and death and sorrow that surrounds me and my community, I believe it, because I have seen a light the shadow cannot touch. I have seen healing, and unexplainable faith; I have seen quiet mercy stop evil in its tracks.

...The stories are true.

Let wonder infect you."--Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson talks about songwriting, storytelling and the evil Fangs of Dang

One of the ways that I think that we're created in God's image is that
he's given us this satisfaction in creation...in speaking light into the world...in speaking something out of nothing. This idea that something that wasn't in the world yesterday is in the world now, and I was the guy who got to be part of that process of speaking it into being.--Andrew Peterson on creating music and fiction

Before Andrew Peterson, Sharon Hinck and Jeffrey Overstreet converted me, I wasn't much of a fantasy fiction buff. It was Sharon's Sword of Lyric series that first lured me in, Jeffrey's Auralia Thread series drew me further, and Andrew's Wingfeather Saga sealed the deal. I guess I do like fantasy fiction after all!

I enjoyed reading On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness so much, as well as interviewing Andrew Peterson the first time and seeing him in concert, that I was delighted when the second book in the Wingfeather saga appeared. North! Or Be Eaten abounds with more of Andrew's vivid imagination, whimsical humor and riveting storytelling.

Andrew Peterson and me at a fall 2008 concert

I talked with Andrew Peterson recently about the newest book in the Wingfeather saga and about the differences and similarities between writing books and writing songs (something which he does quite well!),about what kind of an imagination it takes to create an entire world, and about where God and spirituality fit into that world, among other things.

--In this clip, Andrew says he thought that with his songwriting background, writing books would be a snap...but it wasn't quite that easy.

--In this clip, Andrew says songwriting and bookwriting ARE similar in some key ways.

You can listen to the entire 20-minute interview here.

As always, talking with Andrew Peterson was a joy...and I'm already eager for the next book in the Wingfeather saga!

Listen to my review of On the Dark Sea of Darkness.

For more on Andrew Peterson, go to his website...and for more quirky and whimsical info on the world the Igiby children inhabit, go here (one of my personal favorites? The Creaturepedia.)