A Sonflower

In yesterday's post I mentioned my friend, Tina Downey, and how she introduced me to the A-to-Z writing Challenge.  This online community was hugely important to her.  And, clearly, Tina was loved online as much as she was in person.  I was inspired by the beautiful sunflower tribute offered last fall on her behalf, and would like to join your ranks in posting a sunflower in her memory.

It brings to mind a conversation we had in our Bible Study one day last fall when we were talking about how much Tina was like her favorite flower. Her bright golden hair fringed her face, much like golden petals.  Her vibrant personality, full of fun, brightened the lives of those about her.  And, like the heliotropic flower that keeps its face toward the sun, her gaze was always turned toward the Son, whom she loved.  His life was in her, and it was beautiful.

EASTER UPDATE:  In addition to the two A to Z tributes linked above, there is a special post here that remembers Tina.

A Salute

I first learned about the A to Z Challenge through my dear friend, Tina.  Sparkling with life and wit and humor, she extolled the benefits of the Challenge.  Her enthusiasm wrought inspiration... but not for my own endeavors.  Instead, I opted to assign the 30 day adventure to my youngest daughter, an aspiring writer who was being homeschooled through high school.  It was fun to cheer her blog from the sidelines, to sample the blogroll, to occasionally put on an editor's cap, and to step back and observe the web of A-to-Z connectivity.  Ah, the joy of vicariously living through your children—to enjoy the glow of success when Z rolled around without having to sweat out the deadlines!

This was not the only time Tina had pulled back a curtain to share another world with me. For several years she had energetically taught a small band of women through a number of Precept Bible studies.  I was privileged to be in that class for two years, to witness how she reveled in the truths recorded in Scripture and to learn from her passion for inductive Bible study.   Her love of words seemed to reach its fullest height when centered on The Word. Her openness, her delight in God's many graces, her vulnerability and her generosity were all aspects of His Light shining in her life.  How we miss her!

So this year I come reluctantly but determinedly to the A to Z blogroll.  I come not as a blogger, but simply as a friend wishing to salute a sister in Christ in a forum that was special to her.  I come to share with others some of the treasures discovered on a journey that our little Precept class began with Tina last Spring, when we started our study of the Gospel of John.

We have just completed that study in John.  In this blog, we will journey through the Fourth Gospel from A to Z.  I will author most posts, but trust that other students of Tina's will chime in from time to time.  We do this not just for Tina, but to testify to the Risen Savior and the life that He affords.