Twelve Days of Community. Day One: Billy Coffey

Christmas tends to be a season of extremes. You’d almost think we all spent the first eleven months of the year suppressing the urge to party, shop, send cards, attend concerts, give gifts, and gather with loved ones, and now we’re compelled by some mysterious force to accomplish it all in a few short weeks. We decorate more, bake more, entertain more, spend more, and basically run ourselves ragged, grasping for that elusive, hand-knit, twinkle-lit Christmas spirit that we must have overlooked on aisle nine, probably stashed between the monogrammed golf tees and the flashing red-nosed Rudolf cuff links.
The good news is that Christmas also tends to bring out the best in people. In my daily jaunts through the bloggerhood I’m encountering all sorts of wonderful projects and opportunities to bless others in various ways. I plan to highlight several of those in the coming weeks, and I can’t think of a better way to start than by mentioning and participating in the Twelves Days of Community. L.L. Barkat and the talented folks at High Calling Blogs suggested spotlighting twelve of your favorite bloggers during the month of December, and today I want to start with Billy Coffey.

I “met” Billy last January when he reviewed Parting the Waters on his blog. I was deeply touched and honored by his words, but even better than the gift of a lovely review, I discovered a man who lives life with his heart and eyes wide open, then writes what he sees with tender insight and breathtaking beauty. His words sometimes make me laugh, often bring me to tears, and always make me think. He has a remarkable gift. His first novel, Snow Day, releases next year, and I won’t be a bit surprised if it soars to success. Billy has that spark, that je ne sais quoi that makes a reader feel her inner thoughts have been exposed, understood, and validated.
Billy is also making a difference this Christmas. You can read about The Ten Dollar Challenge on his blog and also at Christmas Change–another place where folks are trying to bring Christmas into focus. I took the ten dollar challenge and will share my story soon. You can sign up to participate, too. Just click the box!


While you’re at it, consider joining in the Twelve Days of Community. I’m eager to meet the Billy Coffeys in your life.

Day Two coming soon!