Anne Marie Miller

Category: Blogging

  • just curious…

    how many blogs do you subscribe to?

  • it will take you FIVE seconds to answer this. por favor?

    where do you live?

    all i need is your city and state.

    this is for a REAL reason, i promise! you will find out VERY soon.

    (and it’s not to beat los on his 750+ comment post…but let’s try since it’s an easy question anyway, right?) :)

  • So, tell me what you want…I’m Blogging Catalyst 08…for YOU

    i have decided to step out of my introverted comfort zone a bit.

    last week, after a lovely telephone call with this guy, i learned that i will be given the honor of wearing a pretty little badge that gets me in everywhere (except maybe the men’s restroom, maybe?) at a nifty little conference called catalyst. Catalyst 2008

    what this allows me to do, i think, (without getting ushered out by big, hairy security guys) is to talk to speakers, including a couple of my favorite people, ask questions, and then blog it as live as humanly possible.

    and maybe even get some of it on camera.

    roll that beautiful bean footage.

    so…again, the thing that makes this adventure different than the other live blogging adventures of the past is i want to know what YOU want.

    not what you want to ask people (yet)…but what would make this a good experience for you?

    think outside the conference blogging box, mkay?

  • warning: this blog is not live (all the time, anyway)

    one of the most frequently asked questions i get about this monster of community you guys have created here at flowerdust.net is how i keep up with it all.

    i don’t!

    i wish i could, but i can’t.

    some people have asked when i find time to write. a book…some articles…this blog…and at the deadly viper blog…not to mention the amount of stuff i write for my job at lifechurch.tv. it can and does suck the creative vibes from my head really fast!

    so…i have learned to combine two things to master the madness.

    1) write when the moment is right – i am writing this on tuesday, but i’m having it post on friday. some blog platforms let you schedule stuff out ahead of time. today i’ve written three (soon to be four) posts. obviously i’m not putting them all up on one day. even if your blog doesn’t let you schedule posts for the future, if you’re feeling the words, write them down now! save them in a word doc or something and then you will just need to copy/paste!

    2) don’t write when the moment is wrong – i can’t tell you how many times i have stared at this screen and tried to force something, only to delete it or save it in a mass of unpublished (and quite terrible) drafts. thank goodness those things will never see the light of day.

    by having some posts saved for a rainy day, i really don’t feel much pressure to have to write something each and every day. because let’s face it. sometimes the creative juices aren’t flowing, and you’d be better off keeping quiet than forcefully making something happen.

    ya know?

  • the tattoo adventure [unexpected!]

    pinkhairedgirl.net (her real name is crystal) and i have been friends for about five years or so now. and, every year for the last three years, we’ve upheld a tradition of body modification (tattoos, piercings, etc.)

    this year was no different. she flew down to okc, we made an appointment…and this is what happened. (and seriously…could my freeze frame be any more awkward?)

    after you watch, click here for more information.

  • the right kind of influence

    a few people i known have referred to blogging as a grown up and online version of high school. you have all your stereotypical groupings…the cool kids, the nerds, the teacher’s pets, the testosterone-driven, and the moms.

    (yes, the moms. i grew up in west texas and in high school, the moms had their own table. but i digress.)

    based on the description of others, evidently i sit somewhere on the cool kids table. but since punctuality is not in my nature, i consider myself to still be standing in the lunch line, waiting on my rectangular pizza from a greasy lunch lady named helga.

    (but again, i digress.)

    i used to watch my stats and analyze them all the time. how did i stack up to others? will i ever break 100 subscribers? 500? 1000? will i ever break 100 authority on technorati? 300? 500? can i hit 10,000 pageviews a month, 30,000, 75,000?

    let’s just say i became a little obsessed. especially since the giants of this blogging business are mainly men…i wanted to be the cool little sister who was able to follow closely behind.

    to confess: jealousy was a commonly played tune in my head. all the cool kids went to all the cool conferences. they got free stuff. they met each other and it was all off the hook. i mainly sat behind my computer.

    if only i could be one of them. if only…

    and then i realized…

    even if “if only” happened…would i really care?

    don’t get me wrong. i love my blogging brethren. i have met many of my fellow bloggers in person and they are sharp, and they are amazing. they are impacting the church culture in so many ways.

    but me? my heart and my passions are expressed in different ways. and that’s just peachyfine by me.

    for example – i am not a conference-going kind of person. i am not uber-extroverted leader, and speaking to a billion other uber-extroverted leaders would probably make me curl up in a ball and suck on my thumb until jesus comes.

    it took a while, but i finally realized that it’s not a large amount of influence that matters.

    it’s the right kind of influence.

    so, i look around.

    kids living in poverty are being sponsored left and right because of the community on this blog. over 100 malaria nets were donated from the community on this blog. pastors who were broke and needed help were helped, mission trips were funded, people were prayed for, addictions were spoken about, and ultimately…god’s name has been glorified by this community BEING the church in relational and missional ways.

    this blog isn’t about me. it is about us. a group of believers reflecting the love of christ to the world in a million different ways.

    that’s the right kind of influence.

    thank you for being a part.

  • two sites you should check out

    CompassionBloggers.com – WOW. from the first time brian mentioned the trip to me, to now, three months after returning from uganda, i don’t think anybody really knew the impact blogging could make in releasing children from poverty. well, needless to say, it has blown everybody’s stinkin’ minds.

    shaun (in between wearing a dress and a cute little girly hat, and hanging out with cuban assassins) has been working really hard on this site which connects bloggers and children to the world. the next blogging trip is in november, and he is looking for people to go that want to passionately explore this new road of getting children sponsored and having their own lives changed forever. oh, and you can also post about 2873 cool widgets and stuff on your blog.

    VISIT COMPASSIONBLOGGERS.COM NOW! :)

    WeTheChurch.org – i love prayer. i love praying for others, and hearing how god is working in their lives probably more than anything in the world. it is powerful and transforming.

    my friends chad and scott launched an amazing site called WeTheChurch.org. people submit either prayer or praises — keeping their thoughts within 140 characters like twitter — and from all over the world, people can pray and celebrate with them.

    my favorite part of this site is that i can get new prayers/praises in my twitter feed. let me tell you there is nothing like reading,

    “A friend’s father had a massive stroke today, in ICU, doctors said he has 50/50 chance of surviving, if he does, he’ll have permanent damage”

    in between the daily tweets of “at starbucks” and “my cat barfed up a hairball.” it’s divine. truly.

    CHECK OUT WETHECHURCH.ORG and FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER.

    =====

    in all the craziness, i have had some great posts brewing in my head this week that i haven’t fleshed out. thanks for hanging in there with me.

    what site or blog have you been digging lately?

  • because it is quiet here

    crystal asked me to guest blog on her blog this week. it has been one of those weeks where i have not been taking very good care of myself…not sleeping great, not eating great, not drinking enough water, and running like a chicken with my head cut off. and it has caught up with me as i am working from home this morning, eating zicam tablets to ward off whatever little bug seems to have latched on to my throat, and taking it a little easier.

    so, instead of coming up with something original, she was gracious enough to let me post something i wrote a while ago.

    you can read it here. it’s about sorrow without despair.

  • what kind of people are you, anyway?

    occasionally i post the random searches that land people here at flowerdust. without further ado, the searches…and responses.

    pantyhose blog
    you will find none of that here. i haven’t worn pantyhose in…10 years?

    girl dies from spider laying eggs in throat
    that sucks.

    doggie day care hot springs arkansas
    i prefer cats, actually. and really? day care for dogs? i thought that would be called, “a yard and a rabbit?”

    purring cat paws at my face
    that means he loves you.

    why does my cat put his butt up and in my face?
    that means he doesn’t.

    what to do when you live in the middle of nowhere and stay at home with your child
    open a doggie daycare.

    my husband of 38 years ran into his old girlfriend what should i do?
    did she fall down? well, make sure she’s okay! chances are she’s pretty old.

    chicka chicka boom tree shaped cake
    uhhhhhhhhhh………

    sister teaching brother to put on pantyhose first time
    and let’s hope it’s the last time, too.

    evil leprechaun drawing
    like this?

    sister farting on a airplane bathroom
    and how, exactly, would you know?

    any surprises in your stats lately?