Double-Tagged for the Liebster Award

Hey y’all!  My friend Anna from Annie Writes recently tagged me for the Liebster Award… AND THEN Alyssa over at Here is Love tagged me, too!  Obviously I’m very popular :)  Kidding, of course!  But seriously girls, thank you so much for tagging me!  I’m honored.  Since I didn’t want to leave one of them out, I’ve decided to just combine everything and do it all at once.

What exactly is the Liebster award?  To quote Anna’s blog: “The Liebster Award is an award for new bloggers and those with few or small followers. It’s a way of giving new bloggers some recognition and encouragement for their hard work.”

The rules listed on each of the girls’ blogs were written out differently, but covered basically the same things.  Here’s my version of it:

1 – Thank the blog that nominated you and include a Liebster Award graphic (I took mine from Alyssa’s blog).

2 – Answer the questions the blogger gave you.

3 – Share some random fun-facts about yourself.

4 – Nominate as many other blogs you can/want to, and inform them of the nomination.

5 – Give your nominees questions to answer (Anna gave 8 and Alyssa gave 11.  Aim for somewhere in there).

Hopefully that made sense… ;)  But if you’re totally lost or have questions, feel free to ask below in the comment section and I will do my best to give an accurate answer.

Ready?  Let’s get started!  Here are the questions the girls provided…

What is your goal in blogging?

I want to encourage, inspire, and challenge young ladies to redeem the time and live for the Lord.  I also want to simply put a smile on your face, hence some of my just-fun posts! :)

Other than blogging, what are some of your favorite hobbies?

Music is definitely my greatest passion and I spend lots of time at the piano.  I also enjoy hand-lettering, photography, serving at church, and writing.

What is your favorite Bible verse and why?

Well, my favorite passages change all the time, but one verse that means so much to me is Psalm 23:1.  I’m not sure why, but it just calms my spirit in a special way, reminding me that Jesus, my faithful, tenderly loving shepherd, is ALL I need.

What has God been teaching you lately?

Time management/productivity is a big thing God has been teaching me.  I have also been learning to say yes to harder things, and to let God handle it when I get overwhelmed.  Recently I was getting all frenzied about some upcoming music responsibilities at church, and I had to speak God’s truth to myself.  I think God has been trying to teach me something about resting in Him, because within a week I sang Still, My Soul, Be Still for church with my dad and two others, and I played a piano offertory to Be Still My Soul.  See a common trend here?

If you could choose a “word of the year,” what would it be?

Not a word, but a phrase: DO HARD THINGS. :)

What is your absolute favorite book? (Just pick one… if it’s possible!)

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis is one of my very favorites!

When did you start blogging? What inspired you to start a blog?

Well, it’s been almost 3 years since I published my first post, which is super exciting!  As to what inspired me… well, believe it or not, it was a modest fashion blog!  Fresh Modesty was one of the first blogs I kept up with, and that’s kind of where I was introduced to blogging.  I loved everything I observed about it!  I didn’t have any goals or a vision in mind when I began, but in the past year especially I feel like my blog has really taken shape.  I’m blown away by the drastic increase in readership I’ve seen recently!

What is your favorite part about blogging?

I’ve been asked this questions multiple times, and I’m pretty sure I always give multiple answers.  There’s just so much I love about it! :)  I especially love interacting with my readers through the comments.  Writing posts is also super fun!   And blog design… and getting photos for posts… so, pretty much everything. ;)

What’s your salvation testimony?

I was saved at a young age, and I will be honest when I say that I don’t vividly remember all the details.  I’ve pinpointed that I must’ve been 5 or had just turned 6, but I’m not entirely sure.  I just remember knowing the basic truths – I was a sinner, Jesus died for me, and He was the only to heaven – and late one night I sat on the edge of my bed and asked Jesus to save me.  I remember being excited and going to my room knowing that God was about to do something special in my life!

Do you play any musical instruments?

Why, as a matter of fact, I do! ;)  Haha.  If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you know how much I love music and learning new and lesser-known instruments. :)

Have you traveled to any countries outside the US?

Nope!  I’d love to one day, though.

Who is your favorite preacher?                   

Hmm, well, my pastor’s preaching is great.  I was also really was touched by the one sermon I heard my youth pastor preach before he and his wife left on deputation for Ecuador.  Stephen Davies would also be a favorite.

Do you prefer iOS (Apple) or Android?

I’m not really sure; I’ve only ever had an Apple.

What do you believe is God’s highest calling for women?

I believe that the highest calling applies to everyone, and that is to make disciples and bring glory to God.  However, the specifics of this does look different for males and females, and even further, for all individuals.  I would say that one of the primary ways the roles differ between men and women is that men are called to lead and women are called to help.  Women are also called to keep the home and nurture life.  God has given most women the very special ability to bear children; an ability which He did not give men.  Men and women are uniquely different but equally important.

If you are interested in learning more about God’s design for women, Girl Defined is an excellent resource.  Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird have provided hundreds of helpful blog posts and YouTube videos centered on womanhood, and their book, Girl Defined: God’s Radical Design for Beauty, Femininity, and Identity, was outstanding.  I felt so much more confident and excited about God’s plan for womanhood after reading this book!

How long have you been blogging?

See above: “When did you start blogging?  What inspired you to start a blog?”

What is a “desire of your heart”/one of your dreams?

I would love to start my own music mission team, or be a part of one someday.  I’d also love to publish music.  A more down-to-earth desire of mine is simply to be a wife and mother one day.

If you could meet anyone (this person is currently alive), who would it be?

I’m not usually much of a fan-girl, and autographs aren’t really important to me, so I don’t really have a huge desire to meet any one famous.  The closest person to “famous” that I’d love to meet and sit down and talk with would probably be Taryn Harbridge.  I'd love to get some video-making tips from her and just chat about all things music and instruments.  But in all honesty… can I please just meet some of my dear faraway friends?

What is your favorite story from the life of Jesus?

Very simply, I just love meditating on His crucifixion and resurrection.  Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are very special days to me.  But I had to pick a specific story… well, I can’t.  But one that I do really love thinking about is when the girl with an issue of blood touched His robe and He knew exactly what had happened but stopped and asked anyway (Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48).  The reality of His omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience just sinks in so much.  I could say so much about this story, but you’ll just have to wait and read a Women of the Bible study on her ;)

What’s your favorite cuisine?

I love Mexican!

Now, here are some random fun-facts about me that you may or may not have known! :)

• I was born with 11 fingers.
• The highest note I’ve ever sung is two Cs above middle C.
• I played the part of Elizabeth Elliot in a play one time.
• I am a childhood cancer survivor.
• My dad’s nickname for me is “Miss Princess.”
• I began playing piano at the age of 9.
• I have finished writing one book, with a whopping page count of 30.
• I’ve been camping once, and it stormed almost the entire time (read my takeaways here).
• I have been on TV twice.
• I GOT A VIOLA LAST WEEK!!!!
• I don’t like whipped cream and for the longest time I absolutely despised Chick-fil-A.

Learn anything new about me? :)

Here are 10 questions for my nominees!

1 – What is your favorite topic to blog about?

2 – Share a person example of the evidence of God’s hand at work in your life (can be a recent example or something in the past).

3 – What is one random thing on your bucket list?

4 – What would be your favorite dinner + dessert menu?

5 – Which vacation would you choose: mountain cabin, beachfront cottage, amusement park, or a landmark that intrigues you?

 6 – Describe yourself with five words.

7 – What is your dream instrument?

8 – Three Bible verses that are special to you?

9 – Fun inside joke?

10 – Favorite resource (book, blog, movie, etc.)?

I nominate…

Mykaela from Making Music for the Master.

Grace from Don’t You Know That I’m Singing?

Beth from This Redeemed Girl.

If you have a blog and I did not tag you, please DO IT anyway!  And then comment below to let me know if you did it. :)

Thanks again, Anna and Alyssa! <3

How was your Resurrection Day?  Please tell me about it below!