5 blogs you should be reading

I love a good blog. They can be funny, informative, intelligent, inspiring, and a way to make new friends. Before Google shut down their reader, I was following hundreds of blogs, which became a logistical problem of finding the time and not going blind while reading them all. When I switched to Feedly, I started from scratch. Now am exploring new reads to build my blog following repertoire again. I kept some gems from before and found new favorites. There are many more than (just) five that are fantastic blogs on my Feedly account, but these I found to be unique that (maybe) not everyone is reading.  I wanted to share. Because sharing is caring…unless it’s herpes. 

Here are the five blogs I think you should be reading (but, uh, don’t stop reading mine): 

1. Whispers of a Barefoot Medical Student–

I like to deviate away from the mommy blogsphere, to get a taste of the outside world. Ya know, life beyond poop stories and complaining about being tired. This is a well-written blog by a fifth year medical student at a South African University. You get to hear about semesters at sea, anesthesia rotations, dilemmas of working in public South African hospitals, and guest posts about things like electives in nuclear medicine. I love it! Loooove it. It’s like Grey’s Anatomy but without the sex and is, ya know, actually about the patients and medicine. Miss Barefoot also is a huge book worm, which mixes up the fun stories and medical student support group-like posts. I am not doing it justice in my description. Check out one of the posts above, try it yourself.

2. Lucy’s Football–

The best thing in the world ever is her end of the month “An Open Letter to People Who Find My Blog Accidentally.” She responds to random search terms that people put in and somehow found her blog and clicked on a link (all blogs have a list of these in their stats). You get really random search terms, even on a unpopular blog like mine. She manages to use her trademark wit to make me hilarious. Here is a taste:

“…i’ve got to let him go Yeah, I’ve been there. Your head’s all “I have GOT to get over this shit” and your heart’s all “BUT I CANNOT BECAUSE OF THE LOVING HIM” and it’s like this cage match going on IN YOUR OWN DAMN BODY. Sometimes letting go is best; sometimes you are utterly incapable; sometimes you cry in your bed a lot. It’s all tough. I’m sorry. I hate that feeling. I sincerely do. I wish I could give you a hug and a cookie….

ladybugs don’t bite Are you sure? Let’s investigate. WRONG! They DO bite, but only when they are needing salt. Huh. And apparently it doesn’t bother you, unless you are allergic to ladybugs. So sometimes ladybugs are totally vicious killers. This is good to know. Look out for those cute little things! Because POSSIBLE DEATH.”

3. Ashley Quite Franky–

Read this if nothing else but for the fact that her blog’s tagline is “I know why hamsters eat their young.” She has two boys, so she has lots of funny things kids say type content. She also is going through the process of becoming a yoga instructor which creates posts about crying in the middle of class, touching sweaty people, and being brainwashed by the process. It’s a good read. She has a sharp tongue that I have to say I appreciate more than I should.

4. Confessions of a Funeral Director–

This is a blog that is very strange for me to like and recommend but bare with me. This is written by Caleb Wilde, a pastoral student/ funeral director. His family runs a funeral home, but he is also a theology student exploring deep theological issues from a unique perspective. His blog lately has turned into a community/informational support for funeral services students (I think there is a technical term I am missing there), on top of everything else.

To be honest, what drew me to the blog in the first place was the sometimes hilarious and sometimes hilarious but morbid humor. I was touched by his posts about grief (one even helped me after my son was diagnosed). I was really moved in more ways than I can tell you to hear him be an advocate about how mothers of miscarried and aborted children are not allowed to grieve in today’s society, and how wrong that is.  And just find it interesting. These are topics most of the world ignores or tries to hide from, and he deals with them daily. He manages to find compassion and not get too jaded, find humor but always has respect, and find God through it all.

5. Rage Against the Minivan–

This is a pretty popular blog, so many of you may already read it or have heard of it. But I wanted to highlight something particular about it that I LOVE, her guest post series. She hosts a regular guest post series, where each post is titled, “What I want you to know about…”  Posts range from “…being a female Rabbi” to “…the isolation of being the new family in town” to “…the legacy of growing up in foster care.”  I appreciate the honesty, the straight forward answers to questions we may or may not have, and the glimpse to other people’s real lives. I was particularly blown over by this post about marriage troubles, that was actually a reaction to someone else’s post about forgiving a spouse.  Rage Against the Minivan has other posts that are equally fantastic, but I just love this series so much.

So there is my list. I’ll probably do a part 2 and 3 down the road because I’m a blog junkie and it was hard to pick just five. 

What blogs do you recommend? Share them with me.

Please.

Do it.

I must knoooooooow!