A Special Thank You

I would like to thank Jessi over at Existing For More for nominating me for this award. We found each other in a wonderful community forum of Christian bloggers. Investing my time in these forums this past month as been one of the most encouraging things I have done. Even more encouraging is seeing Jessi’s story which is not unlike my own. As she walks through a very special season of mothering, sharing in her writing, I reflect back over my time when I was in her shoes.

I recently signed up for another friend’s website, and her email subscription greeted with me by asking to join her tribe. I giggled and I thought about the sentiment.  The next morning I found myself reading a devotion about community. As much as I don’t agree with that it takes a village to raise a child, I do think finding a tribe or like-minded people is important in the Kingdom of God. We need each other to encourage our walk no matter what season we are in. The community I have found with Jessi and the other women writers has done more for my writing than anything else that I have sought out.

I encourage you to check out Jessi’s story in the above link. Be encouraged, friends.

One of My Favorite Blogs

I really enjoy reading over at We Are That Family Blog. Kristen Welch seems to be in a season of parenting right in front of my own. She has wonderful insight on raising grateful children.   She is honest about parenthood and I really enjoy her posts about Raising Grateful Children.

There are also many other insightful articles and resources that encourage teaching children and community about diversity and ministry. Some of her posts have led to great conversations around the dinner table. My children have shared some of the ministry with their friends and I have encouraged extended family through awareness.

I thoroughly enjoy Kristen’s work with Mercy House Global. It has brought awareness to our family of the need to support women and families in learning sustainable trades.  We participate in their Fair Trade Friday monthly subscription in hopes of making a small impact in this ministry and in the lives of these brothers and sisters.

10 Facts About Me

• I live on a tropical island.
• I hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail when I was in college.
• I am a 10 year homeschooling mom of four children.
• I once played on a Laser Tag team for a year when I was in high school and college.
• I am always going, going, going, with activities, crafts, any and all outdoor activities, reading, writing, domestic chores, ministry, singing, advocating, cheering on my husband and children, go-go-go.
• I LOVE Christmas! We celebrate Advent all year even if the tree and lights are not up and there aren’t fa-la-las on the radio.
• I enjoy history and I am always looking to digest more.
• I do not believe that it takes a village to raise a child.
• My children think I am fun, always asking for stories and antidotes that eventually will have them in stitches on the floor.
• I met my husband because I once said that the sailors on Navy Pier were cute. I never thought that I would marry one of their fellow shipmates. Cheers to 17 years and counting.

Questions

• What is your favorite room in your house and why?  I would like to think that my bedroom is a sanctuary and often my husband and I would like to ban all children so it could be so, but it has a mostly open door policy at this point. I find myself propped at the kitchen table most days, reading, writing, studying Scripture and talking story with my family. It’s our gathering place.
• How do you relax?  I relax at the beach. We have a blessed opportunity to live on a tropical island at this point in life. I often search out “beach therapy” when I know I have taken on too much. It’s our resting place.
• Are you an early bird or a night owl? Have you always been this way?  I am an early bird now that I have turned 40 years wise. I don’t plan on becoming my grandmother, but I am track to becoming so. I use to be pretty even with consistently rising at 7am and in bed by 10:30. You rarely find up past that time, but I do get up before the birds on most days.
• Describe your overall inspiration for your blog.  My inspiration comes from the Apostle John. 1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  I had my greatest struggle after the birth of my youngest child and wanted to really give up on life.  You can find more on my testimony in my post Joy At the End of Drought I also find inspiration in other bloggers who become transparent in their seasons of life. It is very encouraging.
• If you had to pick a Bible verse that serves as a mantra for you at this point in your life, what would it be and why? All of the Above!  Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  It is our family’s theme for the year. It reminds us that Christ never leaves us behind, we just need to keep running the good race.
• What would be your ideal morning (or start of day) look like? Wake to coffee already made just the way I like after sleeping well, quiet, lights dim, and my children waking after I completed my study or reading for the day.
• What post are you most proud of and why?  I am working on a few right now that talk about the meaning of Advent and one honoring the victims of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I am very excited to post these in the next few weeks. One post that is already up on the blog that I feel has helped me change focus is about Revival in a time of harvesting. When I wrote it I kept going back to one of my ministry leader’s theme of revival for 2017.  We don’t need a revival only when things are fresh and new, but we can strive for it in all seasons.
• Describe your dream vacation.  I live in a perpetual vacation spot. I can look out my front window every morning and see mountains and palm trees. At one point I moved away for a few years and my mind always drifted back to my white sandy beach.  Hawaii it is.
• What is your earliest memory? I can vaguely remember a shadow of myself as a baby standing in my crib looking towards a window. I laugh because I am always looking outside.
• Describe your ideal weekend.  Sleep without an alarm clock on. No activities to attend. Hiking for a few hours.  Cooling off in the ocean. Steak on the grill. Sunday morning worship with our church family.
• What is one piece of advice that you would give to a new blogger just starting out?  Don’t give up. I see a lack of encouragement and support in my own writing at times, but a mentor of mine reminded me of the reason that I am writing. I don’t write for man or for self but for the Lord.

My Nominees

• I have known Tricia from This Life of Ours for many years. She’s a fellow homeschooler and we attended the same little church for a time. Little did we grasp the amount that we ministered to each other over the years we were stationed in Hawaii together. She’s been an encouragement to me in my walk as a Christ follower and as a homeschooler.
• Carol Graft has been a great encouragement to me. She started this new phase of writing just about the same time that I did. We have both been writing on and off for a bit, but found the Lord calling us to step up and out of our comfort zones. Here we are, on this journey together.  You can find Carol at Carol Graft Blog.
• I would like to introduce to you all in a brand new blog and on-line friend of mine, Tracy Herbener. She is also on this writing journey with me. I would like to give this sister some love and encouragement as she writes about what the Lord has placed on her heart and has a way to nudge her readers to seek out His will for their own lives.   You can find Tracy at Her Website.

Questions for my Nominees

1. What is your favorite room in your house and why?
2. How do you relax?
3. Are you an early bird or a night owl? Have you always been this way?
4. Describe your overall inspiration for your blog.
5. If you had to pick a Bible verse that serves as a mantra for you at this point in your life, what would it be and why?
6. What would be your ideal morning (or start of day) look like?
7. What post are you most proud of and why?
8. Describe your dream vacation.
9. What is your favorite memory?
10. Describe a special time in your life.
11. What is one piece of advice that you would give to a new blogger just starting out?

About the Liebster Award

If you are nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster Award in which you should do the following:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
2. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post. Check out this post to select an image: Liebster Award
3. For the 2017 Liebster Award, administrators would like you to write a 150-300 word post about your favorite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog and provide links.
4. Provide 10 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate a handful of blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information)
6. List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here or simply link to this post.)
7. Once you have written and published, you then have to inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post. You can then post a link to your nomination in a comment at the  Liebster Award post.