Making a List

Even Grocery Lists are Hard.

Checking it Twice

I'm honored, humbled, and stunned that my blog appeared on a list this week. It happened like this:

1. My amazing friend Diana Trautwein said, "Hey! Here's an awesome list of us mature lady bloggers!" And  blogger Sarah Bessey published the list here. You'll find my name on the list. 
2.  Sarah published Diana's list because she had curated and published In which I present 50 Church and Faith Lady-Bloggers. Sarah's list included, primarily, younger women.  This event prompted Diana to speak up for us biddies. 
3. Sarah published her list in response to churchrelevance.com's  publication of its updated list of Top 200 Church Blogs. Sarah noted:  "The list was notable for two reasons: mainly Calvinist and mainly male."
4. Meanwhile, churchrelevance.com responded, noting that the initial list of 200 isn't as male-centric as it might appear. 

You might draw a lot of conclusions from this chain of events. You might infer, for example, that gender politics are alive and thriving both in the blogosphere and in Christendom. You might reach the same conclusion about age politics. You might determine that listmaking is fraught with peril, as some worthy entries are always overlooked.

My conclusions are simply these:

First, my friend Diana and her friend Sarah are women who do something positive when faced with a situation that strikes them as inadequate (exclusive? sexist? ageist? wrong? I won't put those words in their mouths...). I'm so blessed to belong to a community that includes people like them.

Second, being included in a list like this fills me with gratitude. My life is filled with blessings so far beyond anything I deserve. These wise, literate, eloquent people let me sit at their table, when I'd be honored to sit at their feet.

Finally, if you've been looking for a good read,  these three lists will provide you with about 275 choices.

Life is good.

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.
Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT)