Leibster Award!

     So apparently there is this thing called a Liebster Award. From what I understand, bloggers without a ton of followers can be nominated, and it helps them get "discovered"... or something like that. ;)
     Anyway, I've seen some of my friends posting about it, and thought, "well, there's no way I'm getting nominated for that, because I think I'm below amateur on the non-existent 'blog experience scale'." But, low and behold, my friend Reyna at A Peace of the Past (awesome blog, by the way, be sure to check it out!) nominated me!!!! Thanks so much, Reyna, that pretty much made my day :)

     Here's how it works:
         * Link back to the person who nominated you (Done, notice the link in my previous paragraph.)
         * List 11 facts about yourself.
         * Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
         * Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.
         * Ask them 11 questions.
         * Let them know about the nomination!

So here go 11 random facts about me!

1. If you've kept up with my blog at all, you'll already know this, but I AM A BOOKWORM! Want proof? My mom and I went to this huge used bookstore yesterday, traded in a bunch of old books, and ended up getting 26 new (to us, anyway) books and movies for 18$!!!! And this made me WAY more excited than it should have :)

     2. I am a missions/children's ministry student at Moody Bible Institute (going up to Chicago this fall!!!)
     3. I am about to try this recipe as a way to utilize our overly-abundant supply of summer squash...
     4. Two places I would love to go one day are Norway (pleasure purposes) and India (mission trip).
     5. I really love coffee way too much for my own good ;)
     6. Recently, I have had a huge interest in keeping up with world missions, Christian world news, the persecuted church, and unreached people groups. Here are a few sites I hope you'll check out, as I think staying informed helps us, as followers of Jesus, know how to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world (as well as those who do not yet believe):
            * https://www.opendoorsusa.org/
            * http://joshuaproject.net/
            * http://www.worldmag.com/
     7.  My favorite flavor combination is chocolate and peanut butter :)
     8. Target is my favorite store EVER!
     9. I love playing the piano, and some of my current favorite songs to play are I See Fire (by Ed Sheeran, from the end credits of Desolation of Smaug), Song Without Words by Felix Mendelssohn, and It's a Small World (the classic Disney song, arrangement found in this book).
     10. Here is one of my favorite Bible passages:
             "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:17-21, NIV)
     11. I just recently watched most of the Disney princess movies for the first time!

And here are the 11 questions Reyna asked me!

1. "Do you have a favorite classic hymn? If so, what is it?" Ah, I have too many to decide! However, since that's not really a valid answer, my most recent favorite is How Firm a Foundation :)
2. "What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?" Well... I must say that I love Peruvian french fries. I know, it's sort of odd that Peru serves lots of french fries, but hey! They're good!
3. "What do you consider to be the most fascinating time period in history?" Probably medieval :) Even though nothing much happened for over a thousand years.... 
4. "Which time period would you like best to live in?" While I pretty much want to live in whatever time period I'm reading about at any given time, I'd have to say that overall I'm glad God placed me where He did, when He did!
5. "Have you ever worn a hoopskirt?" A costume one, yes :) It was at a medieval feast with my homeschool buddies! 
6. "What might one find you doing on a rainy afternoon?" Most likely reading, playing games with my family, doing something random in town, or watching movies...
7. "How many bookshelves do you have, if any?" I have two in my room, but they're overflowing, so you'll find random stacks of books here and there :)
8. "Do you prefer a laptop or a desktop?" Laptop, definitely! Love the portable-ness!
9. "What's the desktop on your computer right now?" 
   
10.  "Do you like to write with a pen or a pencil?" Well, being left-handed, I have the choice of either having ink dots all over the side of my hand, or graphite smudge. I choose the latter.
11. "What was the last song you sang?" I remember singing some Air1 song while cleaning my room this morning, but I don't remember what it was...

And now for my nominees (let's see if I can come up with 9! Some of them may have already been nominated):

•  Beth at Adventures of an Elven Princess
• Karis at The Horse Nextdoor
• Vanessa at A Bit of Everything
• Hailey at Coming Like Christ
• Michaela at Adventures of a King's Daughter
• Sandra at MountainTop Blessings
• Hmmm.... I can't think of any more at the moment....

And finally, here are my 11 questions for YOU!:

1. What book/s are you currently reading?
2. Have you ever been on a mission trip, or multiple trips? If so, where? If not, where would you go on one if you could?
3. If you HAD to choose a favorite book of the Bible, what would it be?
4. What is your opinion on funky colors of nail polish?
5. Have you ever seen the same movie in theaters more than once? If so, which one/s?
6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
7. What is the most adventurous thing you've ever done?
8. Have you taken a selfie in the past week?
9. Are you a Duck Dynasty fan?
10. What is your favorite fruit?
11. And finally, do you play any instruments? Which one/s?

So, that's that! Hope you enjoy!

Just so y'all know, I WILL be posting very soon about Peru! I'm just waiting until after our team presents the trip to our church to avoid "spoilers"  :)