We’re taking a little break from interviewing our hosts to bring you an interview with a woman some of you may not be familiar with yet. Those of you who already enjoy reading Ornaments of Grace probably know that Terry has strong feelings and opinions about family and marriage. She is a breath of fresh air in a world where absolutes are now frowned upon. But I won’t tell you anymore, I’ll let her own words below speak for her.

Me: Hi Terry, I’ve got a lot of questions for you so let’s jump right in, how long have you been blogging?

Terry: I’ve been blogging about 9 months.

Me: Do you have any advice to beginners?

Terry: My biggest advice to any newbies is keep writing and don’t be discouraged by the deafening lack of interaction and comments those first few months. If you’re a decent writer and are passionate about what you write about, eventually someone will notice.

Me: What are the good things blogging has brought to your life?

Terry: One of the best things about blogging is the interaction with likeminded ladies. The world is not nearly as conservative in reality as it can seem in blog land sometimes.

Me: Interesting. What would you consider the pitfalls?

Terry: Thankfully, I’ve avoided this, but I have seen bloggers get into feuds with one another via their blogs and post about it. Not cool.

Me: I have to agree.

Is there anything about blogging that bothers you?

Terry: It bugs me when people who vehemently disagree with my views come back again and again to tell me so, in a less than polite manner. As one of my blog friends said once: blogs are not required reading. I don’t get why anyone would torture themselves that way.

Me: I don’t have the answer to that one. People can be strange.

Ultimately, what would you like your blog to accomplish for you or others?

Terry: I want to write about things I care about, and I want to make people think. It seems to me that too many of us are living on autopilot. For the sake of our kids, we need to learn to think and live intentionally. Sometimes while I’m writing, in mid-sentence, I have my own personal ‘aha!’ moments. It’s great.

Me: How about outside of Blogland, can you tell us something you’d like to see change?

Terry: Tolerance taken to the extreme. There is this idea that there is no such thing as good, better, or best. How absurd! There is always an ideal, and our inability to achieve it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the ideal. Example: and I hope this isn’t too politically incorrect, but the idea that anyone can do as good of raising your kids as you can. I understand that the world we live in is far from ideal, and sometimes both parents have to work. That doesn’t change the fact that the ideal situation would be for little Johnny to be with his mom (or dad). When we make all things equal we take away any incentive to improve ourselves. Hey, I’d probably be a lot healthier if I lost a little weight. Denying that fact won’t make it any less true. Does that make sense?

Me: Yes, absolutely. And wouldn’t we all? But let’s not talk about weight right now, I was enjoying myself.

Have you ever experienced something that changed you forever?

Terry: Yes.

Me: Could you tell us about it?

Terry: Nothing has changed me as much as my Christian faith. It has literally changed the way I look at everything- most importantly my role as a wife and mother. Learning that I am not the most important person in the world-even in my own world- has freed me from that constant internal struggle and search for significance. I could stop focusing on my wants and needs all the time and give my family the love and attention they deserve without the ever present question in the back of my mind: “What about ME?”

Me: I know you love to write about your family, can you describe your perfect day with them for us?

Terry: My perfect day is when me, my husband, and all our kids are hanging out on the backyard patio on a warm, but not too warm, breezy spring day, playing, talking, and grilling hot dogs and burgers. It’s so peaceful when we get to do that. We don’t do it enough.

Me: And what about a hobby? Do you have hobby that you love?

Terry: I love to bake. Growing up, almost all the cakes we ate were made from a store bought mix. Then I married my husband whose mom made all her cakes from scratch. And she baked good ones, too. I HAD to learn how to bake from scratch. I kept at it until I was a pretty good baker. At one point, people were regularly paying me for baking homemade cookies, cakes, and brownies. I don’t sell very often anymore because that was getting overwhelming time-wise, but I still enjoy baking for my family and friends.

Me: Sounds like another good reason to become your friend.

OK, this one’s a little weird but just go with it. Through a strange turn of events, who’ve just been elected President of the United States of America. Congratulations! Tell us what’s your focus and what changes you’ll make, who you’ll appoint to what position, or all about your inauguration party.

Terry: I don’t compromise my convictions well enough to ever be President.

Me: I knew I liked you for a reason. I mean besides your baking.

Time for some personal trivia -

How old are you? 36
Married? yes
Children? 4, another due in 2 months, and one stepdaughter
If so, homeschool, private, or public? Public School, but I do plan to homeschool my younger kids when they are old enough.
Favorite season? Spring
Favorite past time? reading
Favorite color? Blue- You HAVE seen my blog?
Favorite movie? Sense and Sensibility
Favorite song? I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack
What kind of car do you drive? Gas guzzling Yukon XL
Mac or PC? PC
Dog or Cat? Neither
Salt or Pepper? salt
Vanilla or Chocolate? Are you kidding? Chocolate!
Diet Coke, Sweet Tea or Evian? Sweet Tea. I’m a Southern girl!
Steak, Chicken or Shrimp? Steak

And lastly, here are five words. Type the first word that pops in your head after you read each one.

Water – Beach
Light – Morning
Time – Eternity
Sofa – relaxing
Run – Elliptical machine-Ugh!

That was wonderful, Terry! Thank you so much for opening up and sharing with us.

Categories: Interviews
Tags: christian, convictions, interview