The Sunshine Award

Thank you so much, Ana at Butterflies of the Imagination for nominating me for the Sunshine Award!

The guidelines:

- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Answer the questions from the person who nominated you.
- Nominate a few other bloggers.
- Write the same amount of questions for the bloggers you nominated.
- Notify the bloggers on their blog.
- Put the award button on your blog.*

My answers to Ana's questions: 

1. What is your dream job, and why?
Writing and acting and teaching all together. I love to read and like to watch movies. I think it would be fun to be part of the process of creating those stuff. And teenagers are so complex, it would be neat to help someone figure life out a wee bit more.

2. Name five of your favorite blogs.
Nancy Rue's In Real Life, Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson's GoTeenWriters, Tessa Emily Hall's Christiswrite, Jamie's Ctfdevourer and Athelas Hale's Red Lettering.

3. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging mainly to build a platform. And I liked doing book reviews for Ctfdevourer from time to time. It was Jamie, really, who pitched the idea. Thanks!

4. What is the word count of the longest piece you’ve ever written?
The longest piece would probably be my current work-in-progress which is 7765 words. Not much, I know, but I haven't ever finished a first draft yet. Yet.

5. What is your favorite genre to read?
Contemporary. I like Krista McGee's sci-fi trilogy, but contemporary is really more "my taste". That's the genre I write in too.

6. If you are going to college, what’s your dream college? If you’re already in college or have already graduated, what college do you go to?
I'm still in high school and I don't think I have a dream college.

7. What is your favorite Disney animated movie? Please don’t tell me you’ve never watched a Disney movie.
Probably Tangled. It's a really good one, don't you think?

8. What is your favorite classic book?
Maybe A Little Princess or The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett? I've only read a kid's version of The Secret Garden, though.

9. What was your favorite book as a child?
I don't know, but I do remember liking The Magic Tree House series.

10. What are your other hobbies besides reading, writing and blogging?
I like playing soccer and sometimes making small videos.

I nominate:

Athelas Hale at Red Lettering

Rachel O'Neil (aka Bluebelle) at The Ink Loft

Laura Pol at Crafty Booksheeps

My questions for the nominees:

1. On a scale of one to ten, how much do you like reading fiction? Non-fiction? (1 being you don't like it, 10 being you absolutely can't live without it.)

2. Do you like/love any sports?

3. What's your favorite writing blog (if you write)?

4. What's your favorite blog about life?

5. What are your favorite and least favorite things about blogging?

6. If you're in high school, do you already know what college you want to go to? If you're in/out of college how much do/did you like it?

7. What's your favorite Christian song?

8. Do you/did you go to a public school, a private school or homeschool?

9. What do you do in your free time?

10. Do you have a role model?

*I'm kind of apprehensive about adding any stuff that isn't mine to the blog, so I hope you guys don't mind if I don't post the award picture. Athelas, Rachel and Laura you can find the award on Ana's post.


Thanks again, Ana, for nominating me! Congrats nominees! And everyone who's reading this: do you have a role model in your life? Who is it? I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Do not be anxious

~Tuesday Thoughts~ 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

"Do not be anxious" can be so hard to do at times. I mean, worry is one of the things we do best, right? There's an almost endless supply of things to be worried over. Stuff like "Where do I want to go to college and why don't I know yet?" "Why am I sixteen and not working? Shouldn't everyone?" "Why does my family fight so much?" etc., etc., etc.

Philippians 4:6 says to "present your requests to God". Sometime's it hard to let go. To say "here, God, take it". But it's possible: 

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

I find the "with thanksgiving" part of verse six pretty interesting. Really? Giving thanks? But, seriously, I'm pretty sure everyone has at least one or two things God has given them that they can be thankful for. We may take them for granted or maybe they're really hard to find, but I think they're there. 

So let's say we did all that. We let go of our worries and with thanksgiving asked God to take care of it. He has to make everything go away, right? Not really. He CAN, that's for sure. But He doesn't promise He'll turn the situation around to how you want it to look. Verse seven says:

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I know it's hard when the answer is "no" or "later", when some stuff seems to be working specifically against you. But God has it under control and you can actually feel PEACE. His peace. 

By the way, here are two blog posts by Nancy Rue on her blog In Real Life that talk about similar stuff: "Ready For It To Be Okay" and "Lather, Rinse, Repeat". 

How about you? Do you struggle with this kind of stuff? How has God helped you in the past? 

It's not over yet

~Monday Movies & Music~ 

Here's a cool song by For King & Country: "It's not over yet". Here are the lyrics.

Whenever you feel that it's just way too hard, remember God still has a plan for you. He won't leave you halfway there.

How about you? Do you ever feel that life's just over? How has God helped you through it? 

The Bluebird and the Sparrow by Janette Oke

~Saturday Stories~ 

Typical Berta: There was such a contrast between her life and Glenna’s. Glenna had it all. Looks and… yes, her prettiness had made life easy for her. […] Suddenly Berta rose and tossed the letter on the small table beside her chair. Life was so desperately – uneven. It made her angry.

Berta always knew her younger sister Glenna got the most attention. Glenna was the pretty and happy one. No one could help liking her from the start. Berta, she was just plain. Plain and unnoticed. Already as a kid she decided that she would be the total opposite of Glenna. Year after year, she’d ignore the fact that Glenna had it all and would live her own life, however empty it seemed to be. But as God reaches out to Berta’s heart, she learns that, whatever the circumstances, she can love and be loved.

This was the second time I read the book and I cried anyway. The Bluebird and the Sparrow is a beautiful tale of how attitude and choices determine someone’s character more than circumstances. For years, Berta has believed she isn’t loved, that Glenna was loved more because she was so pretty. It takes a lot for her to understand that she can be loved just the way she is. I think that message speaks to a lot of us, don’t you?

For more on Janette Oke visit this website and this Facebook page.

Achievement

~Friday for Friends~

Continuing the Friday for Friends post series, we have the word "achievement". Webster's 1993 dictionary defines it "something achieved by work, courage, or skill".

We tend to think of friendships as something fun and light-hearted. But real friendships take more than a little work.

We work to forgive. We help our friend stand up when life's hard. We write back and forth when he/she is far away. We make time for each other. We say "hey, I'm here" when our friends need it.

Friendship is work. But it's worth it.

Consider what Jesus did. He gave up His life so we -everyone- can come to Him. And now we are friends with our Maker. How amazing is that?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 (NIV)

Being around Christian teens

~Tuesday Thoughts~

You might think I'm repeating myself as I again talk about fellowship. And I am. Because this topic is both important and something I'm going through now. 

You might remember (I mentioned before) that the church I go to is small. There are literally no teens my age. So it's wonderful when some members of our family go to this other church, which is bigger and, yes, has more teens. Christian teens. People I can relate to in two ways: not just by being a Christian like at church and not just by being a teen like at school. I can interact with people who share my beliefs AND are my age. 

I am so thankfully to God for this opportunity! 

How about you? Do you hang around other Christian teens? How often? How does it make you feel?

We are His

~Monday Movies & Music~ 

I know I've already had this song in an earlier blog post, but here’s Who Am I by Casting Crowns. And here are the lyrics.

We are HIS, people. Is that super amazing or what?! Isn’t that thought mind-blowing? Almost unimaginable? Just plain AWESOME?

Thank you, God, for taking us in. That’s the best thing we can have. Thank you.