While I am incredibly grateful for the recognition, I feel that words on a blog are not nearly as powerful as action. I am really trying to be more about acting and serving on behalf of others – there is so much need around us and I feel too blessed to not give it back to others. I will confess that it is way too easy for me to become self-centered, and I have to fight that temptation daily. (Some days I completely lose the battle.) So, thank you so much for seeing the “silver lining” in my posts, but know that I feel completely inadequate and unworthy at times!

A requirement of receiving this award is to then pass it on to the blogs that have inspired and uplifted me – something I am excited to do! So here are a few blogs I follow that I feel deserve The Silver Lining Award… as well as your “follow-ship.”

Heather McCorkle at Heather’s Odyssey – Yes, she has already received this award and passed it onto me, but I know that had I received it elsewhere, I would have passed it on to her first… Heather is a YA writer who cares about encouraging others in the writing business by sharing her own personal journey. Her posts are extremely helpful and I so enjoy seeing how she finds and keeps inspiration.

Myra McEntire at Myra McEntire: Writing Finally – I found Myra on Twitter – a debut YA author (who just made her big sale with Egmont USA right before Christmas!) and I have truly enjoyed keeping up with her blog posts. She is able to remain witty and entertaining on the internet, and yet, still keep this refreshing vein of “real-ness” and sincerity. She is a new author to follow and I am enjoying witnessing her writing journey, too!

Rachel Britts at What A Ride! – I just recently met Rachel in person at the To Save A Life movie premiere! She is the co-author of the book, To Save A Life, based on the movie, whose screenplay was written by her husband, Jim. Rachel seems to have a wonderful enthusiasm for life and it has brought me great encouragement to find a writer/teacher/minister with some of the same experiences as me. It is exciting to see how To Save A Life is currently changing the world.

And then, because I can’t imagine not passing this award on to at least one AMAZING teen…

Briana McNair at The Book Pixie – I found Briana’s blog on Twitter and discovered she was a teen with a big vision and a big heart. I love how driven she is to read and review YA books and make an impact not just on other readers like herself, but on authors from all walks of life. She runs her book review blog and her photography site herself – and does an amazing job!

So… special thanks to Heather for the award and an even bigger thank you to these listed blogs for continuing to inspire me! Make it your priority to follow them.