…or, another blog-meme I really like.

Shush over at *! (That’s Emphatic Asterisk for the uninitiated) tagged me with a very useful little meme yesterday.  The idea is to share some of your favorite blogs along with a few words about why you enjoy them, and then reprint the favorites of the person who tagged you.  I think it’s a great way to give some of your blogging friends some well deserved praise and to expose your readership to some new writers.

With nearly 200 blogs in my Google Reader queue I thought I needed to narrow thing down a bit, so I’m going to list bloggers (a) whose stuff I always read no matter what it’s about, and (b) who probably aren’t getting thousands of hits each day.

So then…let me introduce you to a few of my friends.  And since I can’t exactly tag Shush back, I’m calling this my Emphatic Asterisk Memorial List.  I simply cannot say enough good things about her!

My Four Walls:  This is the personal blog of my best friend, Lucas Land.  More than anyone else, Lucas taught me what it means to think “outside the box” on matters ecclesiological.  You should also check out his new project, What Would Jesus Eat?

A Musing:  Peterson Toscano blogs with such depth that I tend either to laugh or to cry when I read his posts.  An ex-gay survivor called to lead others to self-love and healing, Peterson has modeled empathy for me in powerful ways.

SisterFriends Together:  Anita Cadonau-Huseby, founder of Grace Unfolding Ministries, is a top-notch exegete with a heart for building community for lesbian, bisexual, questioning and transgender women.  When Anita talks Scripture, I listen.

TransLate:  Within minutes of meeting Joyce I knew I’d encountered a kindred spirit.  She’s blogging her way through transition with style, humor, and mind-boggling intelligence. 

Willful Grace:  Pam had me at “Hello.”  I’ve rarely met anyone with such strength in her humility.  (I wish I could conjure up some better way to say that.)  I think about her when I read 1 John 4:4: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Here are Shush’s favorites:

Amber:  Because every day she tells me something new, she makes me think, and she makes me grateful that in this wide world of blogging we somehow brushed up against each other.

Suddenly Christian:  Because it’s a fresh view on what Christianity is and who Christians are and who and what we should be.  I don’t always agree with everything John says, but I’m always grateful to have read him.

PolitiPorn:  Because, I must admit it, I’m addicted to politics in a way that sometimes feels smutty.  (Oh, and, they, like, totally publish my stuff from time to time.  :D)

Crossing the T:  Because Allyson is a woman of incredible strength.  She quotes some of the most inspiring and thoughtful people.  And if I ever pastor a church, I want her to speak there.

The Lesbian said What?:  One of the first people I bumped into on WordPress.  And sure, there are things that one might find a little… different… about this blog, like sensual picture days, but she posts some of the most beautiful thoughts, like unrefined diamonds, and she challenges stereotypes and preconceptions.

Musings of a Home Engineer:  Chocolate, tofu, knitting, scripture meditations, and some of the most bizarre search referral terms.  What’s not to love?

Thought Dream Guillotine:  theoceanisawake needs to post more.  Political and cultural ponderings.  Very good.  NOT OFTEN ENOUGH.

I’ve recently updated the “About the Banner Image” page with a traditional prayer to St. Joan of Arc for faith.  It inspires me every time I read it.  Please check it out!

My friend Dana at Mombian (one of my absolute favorite blogs on the net) meme-tagged me this morning to write a memoir of my life in six words or fewer, mention my tagger, and then tag five others.  As a preacher, author, and student, so much of my life for the last decade has revolved around choosing the right word.  The sentiment attributed to Mark Twain has certainly proven true in my ministry and my life:  “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”  So as those of you who know me can probably imagine, I’ve spent most of the morning pondering six right words.  My various drafts have ranged from the humorously self-ridiculing…

Changing the world in impractical shoes.

…to the satisfyingly symmetric…

Boy discovers God; God discovers girl.

…to the shamelessly derivative.

There is no spoon.  Bend yourself.

But in the end, I settled on six words that best describe my experience of life together with parents, siblings, partner, children, friends, and God.  This is everything I’ve learned about living and all I hope to be for as long as I get to live.

When in doubt, bet on love.

To pass on the meme, I’m tagging:

Lucas at My Four Walls,

Joe at Collideoscope,

Joyce at TransLate,

Peterson at A-Musing, and

Shush at Emphatic Asterisk.

Other readers, please feel free to offer your memiors in the comments!

I am now Twittering, in case you’d like to keep track of my every move. I will be tweeting my entire Radical Transgender Agenda™, so for those of my readers who are curious as to precisely what constitutes said Agenda™, you can catch glimpse by following me here. Here’s what the Radical Transgender Agenda™ looks like so far:

1. Get out of bed.
2. Drink coffee.
3. Check email; read morning blogs.
4. Bathe, dress, makeup, hair.
5. Go to coffee shop.
6. Work on a resume.
7. Do some proofreading for a friend.
8. Write a (snail mail) letter.
9. Drop off rented video; pick up new one.
10. Drive home.

Next on the Radical Transgender Agenda™: Eat dinner. Be afraid, conservative America.

If you’re on Twitter, let me know so I can stalk follow you, too!