Liebster Awards!

The word "Liebster" is German for the word "sweetheart" or "dearest. This originated from a German blogger and is for up-and-coming bloggers with less than 3,000 followers. Basically it is NOT an award that is given by judges and a panel of experts on the subject of blogging, rather it is an award from blogging peers who consider you worth giving an award to for your blogger personality. It is now for bloggers with less than 200 followers who have potential. The main point and why to get excited about it, is that it is an award to share love and build community with other bloggers.

The sweetest IG friend around, Cassie, nominated me for this awesome award. I'm so happy she wanted to share some love with me! 

After being acknowledged, you should...

1. Acknowledge the blog that nominated you in a post.

2. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created.

3. Tell 11 facts about yourself.

4. List 5 to 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you believe deserve some recognition.

5. Post 11 questions for them to answer.

6. Notify all the bloggers selected that they have been nominated and ask them to pass it on. 

So, I started this post acknowledging Cassie so on to number two. All the questions from Cassie...... here we go. 

1. What motivates you to blog?

The happiness I feel when I take the time to read my posts from a few years ago. It's so wonderful to see the growth in my own life and my relationships through my writing here. 

2. How did you get your first name?

Well... Cassie and I have almost the same exact story which is still hilarious to me. My Mom and Dad liked Cassandra (my actual first name)  but then my Dad heard Cassie on a Soap Opera so the decided to call me Cassie. 

3. What do you think about the phrase, "Let go and let God." What significance does this statement hold for you?

I believe that God has a hand in everything in our lives but I also believe that He gives us a free will to make our own decisions. There will always be times when we need to come to Him and listen for His will which is important but I also think that in the little decisions from every day when you have that gut instinct that is God pointing us in the right direction. If He is the owner of your heart then He will push your heart to follow Him. 
In my life this way of thinking is very significant because of my relationship with Peter. I know we both knew when we were dating that we needed to end our relationship but niether one of us wanted to do it. Once we finally took that step and broke up we had that time to follow God and then realized that we were ready to work on our relationship again after nine months. The second time around was completely different because we had a new perspective and we knew what we truly wanted.

4. What is your opinion on reality television?

Depends on what kind of show... the talent reality television can be good and I can usually be sucked into it but the only "real life" reality television show that I can actually sit through and enjoy is Married to Jonas. I think they are such a sweet couple and I like them more than I probably should. 

5. Public school or homeschooling (even if you are not a mom), and why?

Peter and I both went to public school and enjoyed it but we have been toying with the idea of homeschooling ever since we started talking about our future together. I know several wonderful families that homeschool and their kids seem so grounded and family oriented which is extremely important to me. I also know a lot of the families at our church homeschool and they have a great community there for it. I know we will figure out what will work best for our family when we have one but right now I like the idea of homeschooling. 

6. Today, the church is sometimes portrayed negatively. What do you think we, as Christians, can do to change that portrayal?

Love like Jesus. The song by Bethany Dillon, You Are On Our Side always reminds me of the way Jesus loves and how I should also love... 

"You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor. You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore." 

In this world that is so full of sin and anger we Christians should be the light and love shining through the darkness. Instead I think we come off as the judgmental and harsh Christians to most of the world that do not believe as we do. We need to reach out to the lost with love and patience like Jesus does with us every single day. We are all sinners and no one is better than the other. 

7. Can we pray for you? About what specifically?

Making more time for prayer. That is my biggest set back with my relationship with the Lord. I make time for church, worship, bible studies and fellowship but I find it hard to just sit and talk with Him without any distractions. My mind wanders and I get lost instead of simply sitting at His feet. 

8. If you had unlimited funds, what is the FIRST thing you would buy?

Remodel my kitchen with all new appliances and make it look like a Food Network kitchen!!

9. What is your favorite Christian charity? Why?

I think the Freedom Campaign from Passion 2013 is such a wonderful cause. There is so much darkness in this world and what they are doing to try and end it is something amazing! 

10. What is clinical psychology? (This one is for my own entertainment, many people have misconceptions about what it is and I am going to fix that in a future post!)

I have no idea... please tell me, Cassie. ;) 

11. If you were to have five minutes with God, what would you tell Him?

If I could even open my mouth and stop crying to tell him anything at all I would probably just continue to thank Him for all the grace and love He has given me. His love is like no other love and I know I would be overwhelmed with thankfulness if I had five minutes with Him. 

Now on to 11 facts about me... 

I did something like this back in February of 2012 so I guess now would be a good time to do eleven new ones.... 

1. I absolutely LOVE my church and the community that I am starting to create there. The teaching is amazing and I am so thankful for it. 

2. Jumping in rain puddles is one of my most favorite things to do. Peter now points them out when we are walking downtown and he will stand back and let me have my fun and then we will continue our walk after the puddle splashing is complete. 

3. I have this awesome dream of living off of our huge garden in our future back yard. Peter has totally brain washed me but I love it! It's just so exciting to know that the food on our table will come from our hard work and dedication to a healthier life style and that is so exciting. 

4. If you read my list of 11 things from 2012 you will know that number four from then didn't last after all... I am no longer a red head. I do miss it almost every day but I need healthier hair and for that to happen I have to stop coloring it. 

5. In exactly 4 months from today I will be getting married. Heck. Yes. 

6. After the wedding we are going to spend a week in Northern California for our Honeymoon and I'm so excited. We both have never been before so I am super pumped to make new memories in a new place with my new husband!! We are going to go to San Francisco, Wine Country, Yosemite and the Big Sur so any recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!! 

7. If I could quit my job and do anything I want right now it would be a party planner. After the past year of my friends getting married and giving them showers and now planning my own wedding I absolutely love it. 

8. I am slightly obsessed with YouTube videos... most of the nights before I go to sleep I catch up on all the channels that I have subscribed to which are almost all makeup and hair videos. And Ellen, I love some Ellen! 

9. I hate the sand and because of this I pretty much hate the beach... it drives me crazy. If I'm at the beach I'd much rather be by the pool or in the ocean so I can wash the sand off of me. 

10. I completely have "Baby Fever"... its a serious problem. Even crying babies full of dirty diapers makes me think... "awww..... I want one." This kind of terrifies Peter. 

11. I ran out of facts so I asked Peter to share a random fact about myself and he said.... 

"ummmm, umm, ummmmmmmmmm, you.... you hate the sand but you love the ocean." seriously... he said that. I then shared my number nine fact with him and he laughed. 

He then said "You picked up Rock Band Drums very well." It's true... I did and it surprised him. One of my secret talents. 

I tried to find five blogs that I follow that have less than 200 followers but I really don't have that many. I guess I'm a fan of more followed blogs. Ooops. But I did have three beautiful women come to mind and here they are... 

Amber from Beauty in Humble Places

Sarah from My love, My life

& Francesca from The Happy One

And my questions are......

1. What is your favorite memory as a child? 

2. Your favorite quality about yourself? 

3. If you have a weekend to do whatever you want with no limit for money what would it be? 

4. What makes you tick? 

5. Describe your faith with God in one word and explain why you chose that word. 

6. Share your most favorite vacation and why? 

7. Your favorite finger nail polish?

8. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

9. What is your favorite Starbucks drink?

10. Community is so important, explain your favorite part of your Christian Community right now. 

Well, this took a while but it was a lot of fun!!! Hope you three ladies enjoy it and thanks again to Cassie for nominating me! xoxo