About the Author

Mary is a writer and speaker who lives for good books, spicy queso, and television marathons – but lives because of God’s grace. She writes about giving up on perfect and finding truth in unexpected places at MaryCarver.com. Mary and her husband live in Kansas City with their two daughters.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
Recent Posts

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tonight I am having dinner with a blog friend from Florida who is holidaying here in Ireland.
    Twice before I have been able to meet online friends and it is lively how easy it is to chat – the conversation flows!!
    Going to US this summer and had considered trying to attend BlogHer in New York to meet up with several online bloggy friends but not now going to work out 🙁

  2. Through blogging, I am meeting other Christian women who share the same values, goals and desires as I have. It is a rewarding experience, and at the same time challenging. It causes me to draw inspiration from deep within and pray for the creativity to put in words the encouragement I am attempting to pass on.
    To meet any of the blogger friends I have met would be an awesome priilege!
    Janis

  3. I had a free airline ticket. I packed my bags and flew to OKC…I live in CA. I stayed at a blogging friend’s house. We had never met until I got off the plane. I then got to meet 7 more of my blogging friends. They all lived in the area. It was so wonderful!!! I went back again a few months later. I miss those girls even more now that I have hugged their necks but I would not trade those trips for anything!!!

  4. I would have never made it through this tough year without the encouragement and prayers of my blogging friends. It is a precious relationship to behold. I can’t wait to meet them someday and hug their necks. We occasionally will send each other notes, gifts, etc. It is so rich and fun and a huge blessing in my life right now!

  5. how special! I know you feel very blessed. God brings special people into our lives for a reason…..

  6. I echo Mari’s comments. My blog friends played a huge role the past year or so.
    CANCER came into the family. A lot of my geographically close friends were kinda stuck for how to respond/connect. Not all, but most. With my blog friends, the conversations just continued on.
    In the blogosphere, I felt I had permission to talk or NOT talk about the cancer. It didn’t have to be the only thing going on. (Does that make sense?)
    My blog friends wrote about their stuff and I could read/comment. I needed to hear about the normal everyday stuff going on with people. That was important.
    I’ve at times worried that it was a sign of withdrawal on my part, that some of the best conversation and company was happening in the blogosphere for me. I think it’s important to stay alert to that possibility. But in the end I thanked God for supplying that outlet in the midst of a storm.

  7. I love this, Mary, because I got to meet YOU last summer at “She Speaks”! What a blessing and a gift it was to laugh with you, even for a few minutes. Now I’m wondering why you haven’t been up to my house–I’m only 4 1/2 hours away from you. 🙂
    Bloggy friends have been a great blessing in my life. Sometimes I think they “get” me better than my real-life friends.

  8. I just met up with one of my blogging friends this week who was in my town for a conference. I also met my very first blogging buddy a couple of years ago but that’s been the extent of it.
    I’m hoping to meet up with about 5-6 more this summer. 🙂 I’m so excited. 🙂 (And I’m hoping one of them will be Alece!)

  9. I know what you mean. I was part of a message board on iVillage for secondary infertility and met one of my friends from that board. I’ve met a few online friends in person and it’s always great.
    I second what a previous poster. It’s funny how you can be more candid with “strangers” you meet online, especially if you are going through a difficult time. Between secondary infertility and then my child being diagnosed with a genetic condition, most people who knew me were way too uncomfortable talking about it, or to us, or anything. It felt really awkward and during that time, I found some really great blogs that helped me feel not so alone.

  10. this is true, i am pretty isolated where i live and finding like minded fellowship has proved difficult, since becoming invovled with blogging and women’s ministries, i have found fellowship and those i haven’t met some face to face yet i look forward to hopefully this year. I definately has been a blessing because i have been very lonely in the stix in my new town. thanks for this post.And because everyone is a Christian and shares Christ that has been like a refreshin well, because you already know you are not meeting crazy(at least not too crazy) people.

  11. Blogging about my faith has increased my comfort level in talking about God to real people. I was always unsure of how to start “that” conversation but becuase I write about it all the time (and because I have wonderful feedback from my bloggy-friends), I find myself opening up to sharing God almost every day.
    My online friends (one of whom lives 10 minutes away from me…and I love her dearly) have been instrumental in helping get where I am today. It’s relationship that I never knew I needed and I am so thankful for it.

  12. Almost eight years ago I “met” several friends through a scrapbook message board. Over the years I have met nearly all of them in person, and with one exception, what you describe is exactly right. Another friend that I met through a message board introduced me to my husband! When we married, three of my scrapbook message board friends came to our wedding from north and south, and even Canada (with her husband, too!).
    My blog life has brought some truly remarkable people into my life through what they share from their hearts–the humor that brings laughter from deep down in my belly, and the richness of their faith and their insight into the everyday. My life is so much better with these friends as part of my day or week.

  13. I’ve had the opportunity to meet several of my blogging friends who live within a few hours driving distance, and it has been wonderful. Meeting Carisa {from 1+1+1=1 and Totally Tots} and her family last fall and then having her family meet mine ~ just plain amazing. Knowing that our friendship extends beyond blogging and goes so much deeper now makes it even more meaningful.

  14. I feel very close to several of my bloggy friends. A few even live in the same state but it may as well be on the other side of the world sometimes because of schedules. LOL
    There is a special bond that’s developed that others that don’t have online friends can’t understand. I’ve even been “accused” of investing more time in those friendships than “real” friendships. They’re all real to me!
    I have found a great balance in my friendships (face to face and online) and I pray that more of my online friendships will spill over into the face to face.
    God bless my online friends!!

  15. I have gained a great friendship through Facebook. That was just our “getting to know each other” place. We exchanged cell phone numbers and began texting regular. we have since shared phone calls and even both joined Skype to have more of a “real” like conversation.
    She lives in Memphis TN and I am in Durham NC. Driving time is about 12 hours I think. Even a half way point is not a day trip just to be able to have that “hug.”
    But we are finally going to be able to hug, laugh, cry and spend real time together this summer. Whoo hoo!!! She is attending She Speaks in Charlotte NC and I am helping Proverbs 31 as a volunteer. Three days will give me a life time of memories!
    I am really looking forward to this!!

  16. I love my blog because it allows me to avoid the question “How are you?”…which I get often. My husband of just 8 months passed away in February, and I blog about how I am doing with everything. People read, they know how to pray, they know how I’m doing…and I don’t have to constantly answer “How are you doing?”

  17. I travelled from England to America on my own (my first ever transatlantic journey BTW) to meet up with online friends, AND I was staying in their homes, AND I only got see some of them for 2 hours at the airport before they had to head home!

  18. I’m hoping to have opportunities to meet some of my blogging friends in the coming months! They’ve all made such an impression on me, and so many of them have been supportive, encouraging, and inspiring to me! I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually spend TIME with them!

  19. I love this article. I really need to show it to my husband. He just doesn’t GET IT. I have been trying to plan a quick getaway to meet up with some bloggy friends and my husband doesn’t know why I would want to do it.

  20. I can’t begin to tell you how I love this!!! Just last month I traveled from Ontario, Canada to Virginia, 12 hours of driving, to spend 10 days with a bloggy friend I had never met. We connected through a Proverbs 31 Ministry blog over a year ago and the Lord opened up this amazing opportunity for me to visit her. We truly have become BFF’s. I’m actually sharing the story on my blog currently, how God brought us together and all the ways He provided for both our needs during the time we spent together. I just posted “Part 4”, with many more chapters still to be written. My new friend has blessed my life more than she’ll ever know. I just love how God orchestrated the entire friendship…amazing to me how He brought two kindred spirits together. She is the answer to many years of praying. What a gift. We’re planning our next holiday this summer. Can’t wait!!!!

  21. Me too! I prayed earlier this year that God would answer my heart cry for true connections with Christian community. He totally answered in a way I could have never expected… He gently placed me into one of the most endearing, encouraging, and authentic communities I have ever known – a community of bloggers!
    When I got back from Burundi this week, I was SO excited to reconnect w/my blog community most of all! 🙂

  22. It’s funny that you asked how blogging has changed my life Mary.
    When I was just “dipping my toe into the blog pond,” I had some technical questions, etc. Because of your kindness and patience in answering my questions you’re one of my blog friends that I read daily.
    Reading mostly faith-based blogs has opened up my world and I’m also becoming a bit more tech savvy in “my old age.” It’s a win-win for me!

  23. So fun to read all these stories… It used to be people were afraid blog friends were really axe murderers in disguise. I think meeting people is going to become more and more common as relationships form.

  24. I started blogging a year ago. Right after I did, the Lord brought a very difficult trial into my life….see my posts about “Hoss”. The most amazing thing about blogging is having new friends who love the Lord praying for you literally all over the world.

  25. I love this story (and I also want to meet Sara some day 🙂 ) Last summer, I met a blog friend who became a real friend. She came to visit me in the fall, and I’m going to visit her later this month. It is such a blessing to be able to connect with people all over the country with technology the way it is!
    It is hard to explain to people in my “real life” about blogs and blog friends, so I think I will print this and at least share it with my mom 🙂
    “Getting involved in the blogging world has truly changed my life

  26. I’ve met a number of blog friends in real life, and they are some of the greatest friendships I’ve ever had!

  27. I have been blogging since 2005 and have met many blog friends in person over the years! What a precious blessing to hug and hear what their voices (and laughs) sounded like.
    As a young mom new to homeschooling I found a way to connect with ADULTS without leaving my home. 🙂 Advice, support, encouragement, recipes, and a place to be heard… that is what I found.
    As a mom that is journeying through grief from the loss of a child, I have found a way to connect with others that are in this same club that no one wishes to join. It has provided a safe place, a soft place to weep and remember. To hold one another up. To know that friends all over the world are praying with me and for me.
    I never knew that your whole life could be changed over this computer. Online friends ARE real friends! Even if you never meet face to face this side of Heaven.

  28. I’m starting to make several friends on Facebook -many people Iknew from high school and lost touch with, or perhaps didn’t even know well back then, but somehow we’ve hooked up thru mutual friends and discovered we have more in common now than we did back then. But, yes -they either live out of town or in another area of town and haven’t hooked up in person yet. I’ve also been making a few blogging friends lately. And I know the feeling of wanting to meet these ‘cyber’ friends in person. There’s just something about a face-to-face meeting that I think gives you a sense of solidarity and ‘realism’! Maybe I should take a cue from you and start pursuing my online pals for a playdate!

  29. Some of my Favorite blogger friends i have met thanks in part to (in) courage and word of mouth are….Angie Smith, Jessica N. Turner. Sara.(gitz) Anne Jackson is the ring leader who led me to your word world. I met Anne via my good friend and social media guru, Kelley Hartnett. Then I started meeting the Guy bloggers. Joshua white, Jay Brock(the sex rev) Mike Foster, Carlos Whittaker, Jon Accuff. OH MY WORD! The bonding and relationships that have started. I don’t claim to be on best friend status at this point, but, wow, I drove 100 each way to see @loswhit, @mikefoster and @scotthodge to worship, to fellowship, to be blessed in prayer and teaching with and absolutely to hug with. and let me say, carlos knew exactly who i am. and greeted me with arms wide open. I could not have even hoped for that reception. i don’t even get tthat from the mama. I am sooo blessed to be a part of the christion community! and even more thankful !

  30. Funny I should read this today! I just posted on my own fb account about making a new friend in my Pilates class. Because of that I was able to connect with one of my own fb fans who was also in the same class. We hadn’t met each other yet. I made 2 new friends in one day!

  31. I’m so glad you got to met them in person! I have met a couple people online and have grown so very close to them. We always say that if we have an opportunity to meet how we would love to do so. They have become instrumental people in my world. Being able to share struggles with trying to conceive, with losing a pregnancy to watching each other carry out a healthy pregnancy and watching our little ones grow. These people are such blessings in my life. Great, beautiful post!

  32. Do your patients seeking polished teeth whitening bemoan of sensitivity in their gums post-procedure? Are they unwilling to on teeth whitening as a mending because of the restrictive cost? Are some patients unhappy with the hue of brightness achieved by means of your widespread tooth whitening gels?

    Whack at one of Magic Beam’s pith offerings in trained tooth whitening services: the Multi-Strength Whitening Systems™. This advanced, comfortable, and operative teeth whitening scheme is harmonious of the best high-quality experienced tooth whitening options compared to competing teeth whitening products such as Zoom or Brite Smile. Using eight different strengths of teeth whitening gel gives you the privilege to consume it on patients with contrary levels of susceptivity without causing any pain. Patients who have forbiddingly stained teeth and sparse feeling longing find out the teeth whitening gel with the highest strong point to be the most useful, while those who be undergoing high tenderness can clear brighter smiles without the twinge alongside using the heavy-hearted fortitude gel. Occultism Smile’s patented Pronounce Opener, which was designed to metamorphose the forbearing as satisfied as accomplishable during the tooth whitening activity, is far better to the stock silicone mouth trays that are currently cast-off by competing products in the able teeth whitening industry.

    The Multi-Strength Whitening Systems™

    * Is simple, noninvasive, and does not significantly increase a unfailing’s sensitivity
    * Is guaranteed to leave a pertinacious’s teeth 2–6 shades lighter
    * Has results that typically mould quest of up to two years
    * Makes use of a patented LED candlelight and an innovative green Mouth Opener

  33. Wow, that’s some compelling information. I would search on Google to find other similar articles. Actually, I came across your blog on Google Blog Search. I’m going to add your RSS feed to my reader. Continue posting please!

  34. Today italian furniture designers continue to evolve design. Continually sourcing new methods with which to produce unique pieces, which are using smoothness and lightness of form, rather than obvious style. And most of all they are still trying to push the boundaries beyond pieces that have previously been crafted to design completely unique elegant designs for us.

    Contemporary bedsides add transforming ambience.

    Contemporary wardrobes enable you to rapidly rejuvenate the style of your home. As opposed to the older styled items, modern beds include versatile colouring and sleek designs that lend themselves to a contemporary and sophisticated look.

    Elegance is of the highest importance

    Perhaps the most striking seperation between older and italian bedsides is the creativity. Italian bedrooms tend to have highly simple lines lacking many ornate decoration. They normally feature simple, straight lines and dont have curves and ornamentation.

    Many people are drawn to this elegant simplicity , drawn by the appeal it has on the entire look of the room. Lacking many unecessary adornments, Modern beds do make the space appear increasingly spacious and even cleaner.

  35. Perhaps it has been a way of thinking, perhaps solely the awsome weather ..
    Orlando Florida, sunshine and absolute amusements, seashore, entertainment, accomplishment! Haha, I stumbled over Dorthy, Jennie and Osvaldo last month at one of the mammoth beach events. Living goes mad at this point moreover the women are matchless, well nearly all of them anyway! I am Stuart David and I move a good deal! My roots are actually in Belgium and I have found a lot of this humankind, but in no way and I in fact mean that, by no means experienced that much joy, absolute fun. This women at this famous happening tought me, that here is a fashion of livelihood, I never knew!
    I furthermore stumbled over a bundle of legendary people, comparable to this Event Organizer from Photo Booth Rental Orlando Florida himself! Cool, a truly gifted being. Everybody is at all times forthcoming plus in a nice mood! Haven’t found this ever earlier!
    Take pleasure in excitement!
    Stuart

  36. Everyone has their opinions on things. You do have a unique way of looking at things though. Keep posting. I am looking forward to seeing more on this topic.

  37. Quite a lot of months before I realized, that our beloved search engines look like they react changed! My mother asked some infofrom Ariel, to research this happenings. He appears to be among these brilliant Net People, who give the impression they understand all what certainly is an occurrence.
    Fine, didn’t all of us expect this by now? One amoung the most important search engines, let us not state the big name at the present, acting like God once more! This time they really messed up big time. Blogs like search engine rank truly vanished from the result internet pages also others unexpectedly came up. Your entire organization was in chaos after that the great question remained unrequited: “Are the site proprietors merely a gadget in the fingers of our mighty search engine?”
    One matter has been undeniable, one day the real folks have to answer the problem!
    I am Randolph Herman, a trivial light inside the immense net.