Liebster Award

Friends, I have been tagged! Playing tag in cyber-space is pretty fun, so here goes.

First, the RULES.

1. Link back to the blogger who nominated you (I love how this tag tries to pass itself off as something like an Oscar). Many thanks to Joy for inviting me and my little ol' blog to play.

2. Answer the 11 new questions (see below)

3. Nominate other bloggers, as many or as few as you would like.

4. Create 11 new questions for them to answer

5. Notify them that they've been nominated!

All righty, first, Joy's questions:

1. What is the driving passion of your life? 

The driving passion of my life. I spent a whole lot of time in high school worried that I had no passion. While everyone around me knew exactly what they wanted to do with their lives, I stumbled around, feeling a little lost. I wanted to be an author, a teacher, eventually a wife and mom, but I had no idea if any of those things would come to fruition. The only thing I was really, really good at was reading. Which is fun and enjoyable, but it's hardly up there on the list of "Top Ten Things People Want to Do With Their Lives" now, is it?

Of course, I discovered later that I'd been confusing "passion" with "desires for an aspiring career."

Once I got that cleared up, I realized that my passion had been there all along: to glorify God the best I can, in any way He will let me. I want to be a pane of glass, through which people see not me, but Christ and His love. And I want to take care of my family, and raise my children to know the love of my Savior. In His infinite wisdom and grace, the Lord has let me be a writer, a teacher, a wife, and a mom. And right now, I get to be all four of those things as we venture into the realm of homeschool with our eldest.

2. What is your favourite subject of study?

I enjoyed school, and I love learning. My favorite subjects when I was in school were Bible (particularly a class I took senior year of high school called "Systematic Theology" as well as a class on Apologetics), English Literature (is that a surprise?), astronomy (outer space fascinates me), physics (I'm no good at it, but I love it), and math (yep, I love math (well, I love geometry and algebra, I'm rubbish at trig and calculus).

3. When you're having an "off-day", what are some of the things that help you snap out of it, or just help you relax and take the rest of the day in your stride? 

Things that help me snap out of an "off-day" tend to be immersing myself in reading the Bible for a bit and praying. Also, being outside, getting out of the house and doing something active or productive. Music is also helpful, but I sometimes forget about that one, so I don't turn to it very often. Also, I enjoy talking on the phone to friends and family, so sometimes if I'm feeling glum I might pick up the phone and call the first person who springs to mind.

4. If someone made a movie of your life, what actor/actress would you cast to play you?

Hmm, I feel like that would be a fairly boring movie... but, if if I had to choose... I have no idea. However, I just took a fairly lengthy quiz and it says I most resemble Emma Watson... so we'll go with that. I guess we have some similar facial features.

Maybe Anne Hathaway, if Emma's not available.

5. If you could go back in time and meet any authors of the past, who would your top 4 be?

Moses would be my first choice. I mean, he's not necessarily remembered for being an author, but the first five books of the Bible are attributed to him, so that counts as an author, right?

William Shakespeare would have to be up there. There is so much controversy over who he was and what he was like, it would be interesting to go meet the man behind the "Bard."

Jane Austen. I kind of have to say that. She wrote many of my favorite movies (erm, books... except I haven't read many of them... I'm mostly familiar with them in movie form).

Albert Payson Terhune. I don't think I would have liked him as a person much, but I would love to see The Place and meet his collies, and just sit with him and the Mistress on their large veranda sipping lemonade and watching the sun set over Sunnybank.

6. What is the biggest lesson you have learned during the past year?

Hoo, boy. That's a tough question. I think the biggest lesson I've learned (or relearned, really) in the past year is that God is bigger than all my problems, and that He is enough.

7. Do you have any exciting adventures in your life that bring back special, fond memories?

Many! One of the most notable ones that springs to mind is this beautiful old church bell that rests in front of my grandparents' church. My cousins and I would sneak out in the middle of the night, walk the several blocks down the road to the church, and ring the bell and then dash off into the cornfields. It became a bit of a tradition whenever we visited my grandparents. We only got caught once.

8. What is your favourite non-fiction book? Why do you like it?

My favorite non-fiction book would have to be the Bible, because it is the ultimate standard of truth and I try to live my life by its words.

If that's cheating, however, then my second favorite non-fiction book would be Mountain Madness by Robert Birkby. It is the remarkable true story of the life of a man named Scott Fischer - a man who lived more in forty years than most people manage in far longer lifespans. It is inspiring, and also inexpressibly sad.

9. Do you play an instrument (may include voice)?

No.

10. Have you lived all your life in one country? If you could live anywhere else in the world, where would you wish to live?

Yes, I've lived my entire life in the USA.

If I could live anywhere else in the world, I'd move to Montana or Washington, or Michigan... or... somewhere farther North than North Carolina, and a lot closer to my parents.

11. What is something that makes you cry (a book, song, movie, etc) and why?

I tend to cry very easily when it comes to books, movies, and songs. Not usually because the moment is sad, I cry more often when a scene or a set of lyrics is achingly beautiful. A few examples:When Sam picks up Frodo and carries him up Mount Doom in the movie

The scene in "Dreamer" when the dad talks to his daughter about the story she wrote and she tells him, "I love the stupid king."

When the Juggler in Tales of the Kingdom realizes that his strange rhythm is not a mistake but a beautiful gift from his King

"I am a leaf on the wind," scene near the end of the movie Serenity

The end of "Where the Red Fern Grows"

When Aragorn bows to the hobbits

When Edmund sides with Lucy about the path they should take in Prince Caspian

The lyrics to the song "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away" by Justin Moore

12. What is one blog/blogger that inspires you to write? Please share why and provide a link!

Gillian Bronte Adams is a blogger who inspires me to write. I love her blog, and am quite envious of her way with words and how she makes everything on her blog sound like an adventure. I wish I could do that.

http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/

13. Why did you start blogging and what is the goal of your blog?

I started blogging because it was kind of the thing to do at the time. I first started with a personal blog in 2002, but as I worked more and more on my writing I realized that I should probably start a blog where I could talk about writing and my books and things.

The goal of my blog? To connect with readers who are looking for family-friendly fantasy and sci-fi stories to read! Also, this is my outlet for sharing my thoughts and dreams and nerdy opinions about books and movies. And finally, my goal for this blog is to have fun!

14. What are some of your favourite hobbies (if any) besides blogging and writing?

-Does reading count as a hobby? Because it's one of my absolute favorite things to do.

-Watching my children grow up is another favorite pass-time of mine.

-Watching shows on Netflix with my husband.

-I love rock-climbing, though I don't get to do it very often.

-I also love hiking. Preferably up mountains, but through the woods or along a river is good, too.

-Going on family bike rides (we haven't gotten to do this with our kiddos yet, but we've been talking about trying to facilitate this in the near future)

-Board games. My husband and I have really gotten into Euro-style gaming and we enjoy playing board games like Settlers of Cataan, Power Grid, Pandemic, Letters From Whitechapel, Smallworld, and Dominion with our friends.

Now, 11 questions of my own... (warning, these are super deep questions!) just kidding, I don't have the brainpower to come up with deep questions, and I may borrow a few from Joy, because she had good questions!

1. What is your favorite fairy tale?

2. What is your favorite outdoor activity?

3. Favorite villain of all time?

4. Least favorite fantasy book?

5. What is your favorite board game?

6. Which movie coming out in the next year are you most looking forward to? Why?

7. How are you doing/feeling at this moment?

8. If someone made a movie of your life, which actor/actress would play you?

9. What is your favorite color? (blue, no, wait! Yelloooooooooow!)

10. If you could teleport safely to anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to go and why?

11. What is the last book or movie that made you truly laugh out loud?

And there you have it. Now I must tag people... um... I don't know. I tag the first 7 people to comment on this post!