I was nominated by Alisa Westerholm from On the Housetops for the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is an award that bloggers give to other bloggers, and it helps us all spread the word about our blogs – and helps our readers to know more about us. Check out Alisa’s blog and the other blogs linked below!
So now I have to answer the 11 questions Alisa asked:
1. Why did you start a blog?
I’ve actually started quite a few blogs over the years, but I started this blog because I wanted to get serious about writing and sharing my work. and to make a space for myself to be able to be creative and vulnerable.
2. What is your favorite song?
This is a really tough question since it changes on a regular basis. Last year I was obsessed with Boa Me by Fuse ODG ft. Ed Sheeran & Mugeez (I still am obsessed, to be honest). I’ve had the entire album by I AM THEY on repeat for months. I love Wherever I Go by Dan Bremnes. And lastly, as an Enneagram Type 1, Andrew Peterson’s Be Kind to Yourself has been such a balm to my heart.
3. Do you play an instrument? If so, what?
I get this question a lot, but it usually goes something like, “So, wait, how many instruments do you actually play?” I usually stutter around a bit and struggle to answer. But recently someone helpfully rephrased the question, “How many of the instruments that you play do you play publicly?” To answer that, I play the piano because I took lessons for 8-9 years when I was a kid. I play guitar because I needed to be able to lead worship when my dad was busy (but now I play it because I like it). I play fiddle because… we randomly bought one and my mom told me I was having a solo in our bluegrass “I’ll Fly Away” medley the following week (I may be exaggerating a bit, but not much). Nothing like a little pressure to make you teach yourself what you need to know (love you, mom). I play harp because, again, we randomly bought a harp and after getting the basics from a family friend, I just used what I knew from piano to go from there (then years down the road I find out from a real harp teacher how many things I do wrong…). I play mandolin a bit as well because it’s basically a cross between a fiddle and a guitar. But I don’t really feel like I have much mastery of any of these instruments. As the saying goes, “jack of all trades, master of none.”
4. Do you have any pets?
I don’t anymore because I live in a little apartment in Chiang Mai with my brother, but growing up on a farm, I had plenty. My personal pets were a top-hat chicken named Jack, a cat named Princess, a little runt sheep named Lambette that I raised by hand, and a goat named Carmelita that I bottle-fed.
5. Would you rather spend time inside or outside?
Depends on the day and where I am. These days in Thailand when it’s so blazingly hot, definitely inside in the air conditioning. But when it is cooler and the sun is shining, definitely outside. In Montana, I’d rather be outside no matter what the weather–snowy, rainy, sunshiny, or cloudy.
6. What is your dream job?
My dream job is to work cross-culturally to educate people about trauma and how meaningful arts can help in the healing process. I want to raise up a new generation of people that are trauma-informed, knowing how to be kind to themselves and one another when they are hurting. Most importantly, I want people to know how God meets them in their pain in raw and real ways, and how Scripture, arts, and body-centered therapies can heal wounded hearts.
7. What is your favorite verse?
I can’t pick a favorite, but this verse has been really meaningful for me lately:
Psalm 18:32-34
God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights.
He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
8. What is the main message of your blog?
This is actually something that I’m rethinking right now. It’s been over a year since I last posted, and in the meantime, I’ve been processing a lot of experiences and challenges and doing a lot of inner work. This year, I’m coming back with some fresh perspectives and ideas of what this space is for and how I should use it. My About page is already changing (although by no means is it in its final stages), so keep an eye out for new content and some more posts on what’s been changing.
9. What is your favorite book?
Oooh, another tough one. It’ll have to be top five or something (in no particular order):
- Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conner Grennen
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossini
- The Lucky One: A Chilling True Account of Child Sex Trafficking and One Survivor’s Journey from Brutal Captivity to a Life of Freedom by Jenni Jessen
- Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores by Diane Langberg
- The classics: Pride and Prejudice, Anne of Green Gables, Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, etc.
11. What are your hobbies?
Right now, swing dancing absolutely tops the list. It’s been the highlight of the past seven months or so. This blog is another hobby that has fallen by the wayside a bit (hopefully bringing it back now). I also really enjoy baking (when I have access to an oven and ingredients) and cooking in general. Then music, of course. Besides leading worship, I also really like performing with my family.
11 Random Facts About Myself
- As weird as writing 11 random facts about myself is, I do love lists. They order my life and give shape to my thinking. A brave step for me is NOT making a list of what I need to accomplish this week.
- I’m really bad at choosing favorites (you may have noticed my non-committal answers to the questions above).
- You know that meme that says something like, “My eating habits range from supermodel yoga enthusiast to unsupervised child in a candy store”? That sort of describes my life. It’s one extreme or the other (she types as she sips chocolate milk and munches on cookies from 7-11).
- It’s hard for me to complete things. It’s that perfectionism thing again. Even now, I’m on number four, and I don’t know how I’m going to get to 11 because I spent too much time on the first three.
- Growing up, my sister always had her hair up in a messy bun, so every memory of her, that is the mental picture I have. After moving to Thailand, and not being able to stand to have my hair down in the heat, I realized my little brother’s mental picture of me is probably the messy bun with the pencil or hair stick or sad, stretched-out hair tie.
- I’m allergic enough to cats that I’m punished for petting them by my eyes getting itchy and about twelve thousand violent sneezes. But I’m not allergic enough for it to stop me (most of the time)
- I’m really tempted to change the title of this section to “7 Random Facts about Myself.”
- I’m probably what some people would call a “granola” or something. I really like researching natural skin and hair care, healthy eating, and just holistic health in general.
- Probably mentioned elsewhere, but I have five brothers. One sister. Yes.
- Thanksgiving and Christmas aren’t Thanksgiving and Christmas to me without homemade eggnog.
- I probably shouldn’t write blog posts when it’s getting late because the random facts get very random.
And now according to the rules of the award, I’m supposed to nominate 11 other bloggers. The idea is to pick blogs that are new and/or don’t have a large following yet but I don’t have a huge pool of blogs that I follow to choose from so here are the five I could come up with. However, the blogs listed below are ones that I have been really encouraged and challenged by. Definitely check them out if you have a chance!
Nominees: my questions for you:
1. When & why did you start your blog?
2. What kinds of foreign food do you enjoy?
3. What was a book or series that you’ve read recently that you really enjoyed?
4. What are your hobbies?
5. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type?
6. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?
7. What’s your favorite song and/or artist?
8. If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be?
9. What’s your favorite color to wear?
10. Have you studied any other languages?
11. Have you heard of the Enneagram? Do you know your type?
Rules:
Acknowledge the blogger that gave it to you and display the award.
Answer 11 questions that the blogger gave you.
Give 11 random thoughts about yourself.
Nominate 11 other bloggers and notify them of their nominations.
Ask your nominees 11 questions.