I have listened to and enjoyed Third Day‘s music for years, but it’s only been in the last couple of months that I found out about how active Third Day’s fan base is. Their fans call themselves “Gomers,” and there are THOUSANDS of them. TENS of thousands.

Well.

There’s a lovely lady who calls herself Mama Gomer, and she runs the Third Day fan network. I liked her as soon as I heard about her, mainly because she uses the word “Mama” in her internet moniker, and I have a little bit of a fondness for that. For whatever reason.

And a few weeks ago, I interviewed Mama Gomer – because quite frankly I am fascinated by her and her Gomer people.

Plus, I mean, where but the internet could you find an interview between two women who willingly call themselves BooMama and Mama Gomer? Where, I ask you?

Doesn’t it sound like we should be the opening act at a 1958 Grand Ole Opry production? Playing some spoons or something?

Anyway, I asked Mama Gomer a few questions, a few of which I will share with you before I announce today’s fab giveaway.

Okay. First thing? I’m FASCINATED by the whole Gomer phenomenon. So I need some background info: how many official “Gomers” are there? And did you ever in a million years think that Gomer-dom would take off like it has? Why do you think it’s been such a huge success?

There are about 30,000 Gomers registered. No, I never thought it would be this big! When we first started it back in 2001, we thought we’d have maybe . . . maybe . . . 100 people from the message boards join. But it just took off like a wild fire! Certainly the success of the Gomers is due to the love people have for Third Day and their music. But there is more to it than that. God gave me the idea of starting the Gomers, and He is behind its success. He has used this family to minister to many, and I pray He will continue to do so!

I don’t think it hurts that becoming a Gomer is free and open to everyone. We’ve strived to keep it free and open to all, because it is all about love.

Initially – way back in 2001 – how did you even find other Third Day fans online? Who were some of the first people you met?

None of this would have happened without the message boards on ThirdDay.com. It is there that we started the Gomers, and there that we develop most of our relationships with one another. We have people from all over the world on the boards, and all ages. We’ve had six couples meet and on the boards and end up getting married!

The first time I met other Gomers in real life was in February, 2002, at a Third Day concert in Dallas. Back then, if you told your friends or family you were going to meet up with someone you met online, they thought you were nuts! I met some other Gomers that day: the members of Third Day! Yes, they are all Gomers with Gomer names. I’ve always found that sweet and kind of refreshing, that they would join their own fan family. Not that they are arrogant to say they love Third Day, but that they each consider themselves fans of the other four guys. And that they consider themselves equal with their fans.

Y’all are an incredibly organized fan base. Has that happened over time? Or has that always been the case?

From the start we kept a list of members, and used the internet to arrange gatherings and things like that. What makes it all possible is the band’s involvement. It’s much easier to keep everything going because the band, management, webmaster, and the record company all help by providing support, webspace, time with the band, prizes for contests, and lots of other things. We work pretty closely to think of new ways to make being a Gomer a fun and unique experience. I’ve got so many ideas running around my head. There are fun things on the horizon!

You can read the rest of the interview here. I’m telling y’all: this Gomer thing is a phenomenon.

Now.

I believe I mentioned a little something about a giveaway.

For all you didn’t-know-you-were-Gomers, active Gomers, and Gomers-to-be, there are five Third Day Christmas Offerings CDs that are yours for the taking.

Well, you can’t take them, really. But you can leave a comment to try to win one of them. I’ve had my own copy of this CD since way back in the summer, and I think it’s wonderful.

Here’s all you have to do to win:

1) Click here.
2) Watch and listen to see if you’re interested in winning this CD.
3) If you are, come back here and leave a comment.
4) And for kicks, tell me your favorite Christmas carol.
5) Because it’ll be fun.

I’ll close this giveaway Thursday morning, December 13th – so time’s a wastin’, people! Get to clickin’!

And as always, I will select the winners with the assistance of the oh-so-capable random.org.

Adios, you bunch of Gomers!

*Edited to add: I just saw that Shannon has a great Praise Baby giveaway going on here – open to the first 300 bloggers who sign up! So run! Run like the wind!

This giveaway is now closed.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. We have actually recorded and posted podcasts TWO WEEKS IN A ROW. Because we’re givers, people. And as such we are giving you yay, even MORE unstructured, unorganized ramblings from the two of us. We like to think it’s the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. Whether you want it or not.

This week we talk about what music we’ve listened to the most over this last year and thereby remove any remaining doubt in regard to our complete and utter lack of coolness. We also have a (way too long) discussion about celebrities who we’d like to invite to a dinner party, we speculate about why Anthropologie tries to be so edgy, and then we cap off the podcast action with some stellar observations about being Southern girls.

In short, it’s yet another laugh-an-hour episode filled with the first-rate mediocrity you’ve come to expect from us. And we could not be any more proud to bring you our own unique brand of sub-par entertainment.

Thank you and have a lovely day.

Click here to listen on the web.

Subscribe via iTunes here.

Subscribe via RSS feed here.

And if you have any questions for a special Christmas edition next week, fire away.

In just a minute I’m going to tell you the names of the winners in the Bonbon Charms giveaway, but first, a reminder:

Soup’s on tomorrow, y’all – OOOOOOH, HOLLA.

And by the way, if you had told me when I was eighteen that one day I would be hosting a soup recipe exchange on the internet, I would have quickly said two things:

1) “What’s the internet?”
2) “A soup recipe exchange? That’s, like, the lamest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Then I would have rolled my eyes and thought about very un-lame I was.

While I brushed my hair and reapplied my blue mascara.

But now?

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE SOUP, Y’ALL.

And you can post one recipe on your blog or five recipes on your blog – or however many soup recipes you’d like to share. I’ll put up the Mr. Linky early tomorrow morning, and just make sure that all four of you link to your specific soup post when you sign it.

It’s going to be soup-tastic!

Now. Winners.

The following internets have won the charm or ornament of their choice from Erica at Bonbon Charms:

Comment #81 – Cara
Comment #84 – groovyoldlady
Comment #134 – CPTMom
Comment #183 – Kit (no blog; gmail email)
Comment #215 – Betsy (no blog; earthlink email)

Congratulations, girls! You can email Erica directly – ericaATbonboncharmsDOTcom – and tell her what item you’d like from her Christmas page. She’ll ship it out and make sure that you have it in time for Christmas!

Also: if you didn’t win but still want to order some Bonbon goodness, you can get a 20% discount off of your total order by entering in the discount code BOOMAMA at checkout. This offer is good through December 10th, and it can be used multiple times. If you’d like to join the Bonbon Charms mailing list, click here – and you can stay updated on all their great new designs.

Okay. I believe that’s all. Have a soup-er evening.

(You know you laughed.)

(Oh, you know you did.)

Is it just me, or does that title sound like a Star Wars movie?

Anyhoo.

What you’ve got here in episode 7 is a SUPER-SIZED podcast, a combination of the one we recorded right before Thanksgiving and the one we recorded a couple of days ago. Which means there is nothing even remotely resembling narrative structure. But then again, we never really had that before, even when we tried. So you should feel right at home.

And what topics do we cover? Well, we spend a lengthy amount of time discussing Big Mama’s hair (seriously, it is a WONDER – I’m thinking of erecting a memorial stone in its honor because it is a testimony to God’s love and faithfulness), various and sundry perfumes we have worn through the years, recent college football coaching changes (OH, WE CAN’T HELP IT), Big Mama and Gulley’s annual Christmas shopping extravaganza and last but not least, how much weight we gained when we were pregnant.

Or in Melanie’s case: how much “weight” she “gained” when she was pregnant.

Not to mention that Alex reminds Melanie that he knows how to shake his bootie.

He is his mama’s child.

Click here to listen on the web.

Subscribe via iTunes here.

Subscribe via RSS feed here.

And we would love some new questions. So fire away, internets. Fire away.

Two years ago today I started this little blawg-o-mine. I decided to call it BooMama because clearly basing the name of a blog on a regional grammatical quirk offers any potential readers the assurance that “QUALITY WRITING HAPPENS HERE.”

And then I picked out a kiwi green Blogger template because kiwi green seemed like a terribly sophisticated color.

After all, this blog is the epitome of sophistication.

Not to mention klass.

And then I wrote my first post about D tiling our bathroom, and I used the ellipsis A LOT.

(Yes…yes I did…I used it a lot…because apparently I enjoyed the ellipsis…even when pauses…were really unnecessary.)

Also: I had about eight page views that first day, and they were all from my computer.

I believe that’s what one might call “humble beginnings.”

And now? Now there are all of you. And what in the world would I do without the internets?

So let me just say: Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading and commenting and emailing. Thank you for laughing. Thank you for encouraging. Thank you for being the sweetest friends that I’ve never actually, you know, seen.

Because without y’all, this blog is just a never-ending monologue.

Thanks for turning it into a conversation.

Y’all make this so much stinkin’ fun.

And I am more grateful than you will ever know.