Sunshine Blogger Award

  Summer is such a fun time - and also a busy one. I often find myself running back and forth between school, writing, working horses, caring for pasture land etc. with almost no time in between. But I'm learning to enjoy it, no matter how crazy and stressful it sometimes is. It isn't difficult to spot a thousand blessings in the life God has given me as long as I have eyes to see it. Embrace the busyness and grasp the fun out of life!

   So, for the fun of it, I'm doing the Sunshine Blogger Award, which I was tagged to do by Laura who blogs at Flowers in my Basket. 

   Rules:

   - Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog - Thanks, sweet Laura!

   - Answer the questions provided by the blogger who nominated you (11 maximum). 

   - Nominate new bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. 

   - List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger logo in your post. 

   Questions:

   How can you serve Jesus at home? Loving the people God has given us called Family. One of the biggest challenges for me is to learn to always place my family before myself. Loving and serving them is such an important part of living for Jesus - and I often forget that.

If interruptions annoy me, 

and private cares make me impatient;

if I shadow the souls about me

because I myself am shadowed,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.

- Amy Carmichael -

   If you are writing a book, tell us about it! I do write books actually (surprise!). 😉 My two main projects are currently "under wraps", but I will gladly give a synopsis of one idea I would like to pursue in the future. 

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   Eli Morgan is a young man with a history of bad decisions, dark prison cells, and burned bridges that he is more than glad to leave behind. Eager to rebuild his reputation, he flees to the small town of Willow Bridge to find work on a large ranch and meets his greatest challenge yet.  

   Charlotte is a young girl whose sweet smile and love for adventure hides a broken heart. She doesn't hesitate to show her dislike for her uncle's newest ranch hand, but Morgan is ever hopeful of one day winning her respect.  Until tragedy strikes. 

   Morgan is accused of a murder he did not commit, and the truth about his past comes to light. He is sentenced to death by hanging, until a heated argument at the foot of the gallows gives him one last chance - to play a century old fiddle and save his life, or fail and die. 

   The fiddler's life lay in the balance between a frayed bow and a rusty set of strings. 

   - Based on the fiddle tune The Hangman's Reel -

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   What is your favorite song? It changes quite often! Right now, I would say maybe Come to the Table by Sidewalk Prophets and Do Life Big by Jamie Grace. As for hymns, I love Come Thou Fount or Be Thou My Vision.

   If you could live in any time period, which would you choose? Well, I would have to say either the period of the American Revolution, or any time during WW1 and 2. I love both - plus more!

   If you could go visit anywhere, where would you go? I would love to go to Boston again, although I afraid the Boston I want to see existed in the 1700s and is very different now. Otherwise, I know it would be fun to visit New Zealand, thanks to a friend of mine who is from there and loves it. 😉

   What is your favorite book of the Bible? Esther or Romans.

   What is your favorite quote? One of my favorites is, "God has never issued instructions that He is not prepared to enable us to obey." - Elisabeth Elliot

   Post a picture of your bedroom! Some of the décor has changed since this picture, but here it is! 

   Name a book that has inspired, motivated, or comforted you. Stepping Heavenward and Kisses from Katie have both blessed and inspired me this last year or so. Katie Majors' story is such a sweet illustration of God's love and sacrifice, and Stepping Heavenward is forever encouraging and spurring me on in my walk with the Lord!

   What is your dream job? The has changed so many times in the last seventeen years - however, I would definitely narrow it down to being a writer and working in the medical field. By God's grace, He has given me a way to do both, plus living more of my dreams than I ever could have imagined. My dream job is whatever He has planned for me next.

My Questions:

1. What's your favorite ice cream flavor? (Because this is such an important question!)

2. Do you enjoy writing? If so, what is your favorite part about it? 

3. Country-Girl or City-Girl? 

4. What is one character quality that you admire most in a person? 

5. What is one passage of Scripture that has really encouraged you in the last month? 

6. Tell us one random fact about yourself that most people would never guess at! 

7. What is your favorite style of music?

8. Who is someone - in real life or from history - that has inspired you, and in what way?

9. What is the first thing you do after waking every morning?

10. You have the whole day to do whatever you want. How do you spend it? 

11. Name the first book you ever read that inspired you in your walk with the Lord. What kind of impact did it make? 

Bloggers I tag are:

Madeleine O. - The Introverted Raconteur

Anna H. - Through Quiet Waters

Cara D. - Kumquat Absurdium

Alyssa or Carolyn H. - Treasured Memories