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Wow! Versatile blogging award…Thanks.

My appreciative thanks to booklovers1 for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  I am honored that you thought of my site as inspiring, loving, and encouraging, and I pray that God continues to move through us both to bring His word, His light, and His love into the lives of others around the world.

I love that these awards allow us to branch out, share our sites with others, and help build our community, however, I have it on my heart to make this an award free blog after completing this award so kindly offered by booklovers1!   God has a way of bringing people to the Journey with God blog when he wants them here, so I leave the growth of this site to him.  With that said, if I have nominated you and you are able to participate, that will be wonderful.  If you are not, I totally understand, but wanted to let you know that you have inspired me, bringing joy, peace, and comfort to my heart, and often times convicting me to go the extra mile and be exactly what God calls me to be.  God bless and keep you 🙂

versatile-blogger

** RULES **

–  Display the Award Certificate on your blog.
–  Write a post and link back to the blogger who nominated you.
–  Nominate 15 other bloggers.
–  Inform them of their nomination via comment on their blog.
–  Post 7 interesting things about yourself

** Sites that Inspire and Renew **

Settled in Heaven          Single Focus          A Mike for Christ          The Teen Theme

Christian Poetry          Beauty through Ashes          The River Walk          Life Reference

The Father’s Heart          This Day with God          Prayers and Promises          Kriz Summer

Just Happened Upon This          King of Kings Blog          Finding My Inner Courage

Now 7 interesting things about me…..hmmmmm?!?   Okay, here goes….

#1 I don’t like thinking of things that are interesting about myself or that I am good at.  I feel like I am bragging or being weird 🙂

#2 I so love the singing, especially worship and contemporary Christian songs, as they bring me great joy and enable me to rest at the feet of Jesus!  And, yes I sing in the shower….always sounds better in the shower!

#3 I love reading, but hardly ever finish a book before I start another one.  I must have more unfinished books on my bookshelf; some I only have a few chapters left in, but I get bored and then start a new one, forgetting to go back to the other later.  Sounds like I need to work on completing those before I buy any new ones….wow!

#4 I was saved when I was 16, of my own fruition since my family was not dedicated to any particular church and did not go regularly.  However, it was not until my divorce 12 years ago that I really found out who God was!  That was the most amazing point in my life: to know that God wasn’t just some higher power that orchestrated events in my life and answered my prayers now and again.  No, I came to know God on a very intimate level, learning that he was my lifeline, my help, my comfort, my rock, my provision, my security, my friend, my lover, my husband, my all in all!!  I have so enjoyed growing in his word, learning how to apply it to my life.  It is through my deep-rooted relationship with God that I am able to share his faith, grace, forgiveness, mercy, and love with all who come into my life, including my wonderful 14-year-old son, who is just now beginning to discover who God really is in his own life…no longer riding mom’s idea of God, but developing his own which is so great to watch!  God is sooooo good!

#5 A quick fact, the first thing most people notice about me is my smile and the fact that I am about 5’11” and with heels on I typically stand at 6’1″. Now my 14-year-old son is 6’2″ looking down at me as I now look up at him, even when I have heels on…dang it!!  Gotta love it when your kids outgrow you!  I am still amazed at how fast the time has flown and how quickly he has grown, but I praise God for the honor and privilege of being a parent for there is no greater glorious gift in my eyes!

#6 I am a native Florida girl who is now a California girl, via some travel through Europe along the way…though my roots are still as southern as they get with family in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Kentucky (none in Cali).  Funny fact though….my southern accent only comes out when I am mad or frustrated, hence the reason I think my friends get a kick out of me when I get angry or frustrated!!  At least they don’t aggravate me on purpose so they can hear it…thank God.

#7  I am an RSP teacher, also known as an Education Specialist, who works with students with special needs.  I absolutely love my job…sans the paperwork…and look forward to working with my students everyday!  I learn so much through the eyes of the children I work with, and I have a new appreciation and wonder for life that is found through hopeful innocence of children.  Children are indeed precious to the Lord and I am so blessed to be working with them everyday.  Matthew 18:1-5 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Whew…I did it!  I told you some interesting (or what I think are interesting) things about me.  If you want to know anything else, I will do my best to answer you if you ask (within reason of course 🙂 )

God bless and keep you and may your Christmas be filled with cheerful family moments and peaceful time with the Lord who gave His all just for you! ❤

Liebster Award…hmmm :-)

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by tanvimahajan362.wordpress.com.  At first thought, I had no clue what it was and was quite puzzled.  After reading more about the award, it came to my attention that it is really a great way of sharing a little bit about who you are, and helps to get the word out that your blog exists.  If you think about it, it is a very nifty idea 🙂  So, a quick shout out of thanks to tanvimahajan362.wordpress.com for the nomination!

LiebsterAward_3lilapples

I have read many posts for tanvimahajan362.wordpress.com and have enjoyed her bright and positive outlook on life and the situations she has encountered along the way. She has a go getter way of encouraging and helping one to believe that this world has much to offer! Stop by her blog and enjoy a fresh perspective on life!

With that said, I accept the challenge associated with the Liebster Award, though what I seek for this site, more than anything, is the ability to spread the love God has placed in my heart with others, helping to provide a ray of sunshine, a spark of hope, and to rekindle a passion for the Lord among his people around the world as they journey through the trials and tribulations of this life.

Here goes!!  This is broken into the four sections below.

Section 1: Directions if you accept the Liebster.

The Liebster Award is a “favorite blog” award. The aim is to bring exposure to bloggers and help them discover other amazing blogs and vice versa.

To accept this award, the nominee must do the following:

1.  Thank the person who nominated you, and link back and recognize their blog in your post.
2.  Answer the ten questions posted by the blogger who nominated you!
3.  Nominate ten other bloggers for the award.
4.  Create ten questions for your nominees to answer.
5.  Notify your nominees via comment.

Section 2: Questions I would like my nominees to answer 🙂

1) What are you most passionate about?

2) What is your heart’s desire?

3) Who was the most influential person in your life?

4) What are two items on your “bucket list”?

5) How do you best handle heated/angry situations?

6) What is your favorite scripture, and how has it helped you on your life’s journey?

7) What do you think are the three qualities to building and maintaining good friendships/relationships?

8) What was your most memorable moment in your life?

9) What is your favorite book/author and why?

10)  If you could go anywhere in the world, no attention to cost, where would it be and why?

Section 3: My responses 🙂

1) What is your biggest passion?

marbenbland.com

marbenbland.com

 My biggest passion is living a life that reflects the joy and light of God. I am not perfect by any means, but I strive to live a life dedicated to God and others.

2) What is that one school incident you can never forget?
I completely enjoyed project graduation at the end of my senior year oh so many years ago! We had free roam of the Naval base facilities, playing pool, swimming, eating, and watching friends go under the ‘spell’ of a hypnotist. It was a wonderful evening that marked the beginning of adulthood and a future yet unwritten.

3) Which is your all time favorite movie?

Wow, that is such a hard one as I have so many!! I love Ella Enchanted, Pretty Woman, and Soul Surfer. But I also love most any 80’s movie…Breakfast Club being high on the list! And then there are the Rogers and Hammerstein movies…Sound of Music, The King and I. Do I have to choose 1 favorite? 🙂

4) If given a chance, which electrical appliance you would turn into?

An oven! I can take a bunch of ordinary ingredients like eggs, flour, milk, sugar, and chocolate chips, add a little heat, and create something wonderful like scrumptious, gooey, chocolate chip cookies! I like that thought of making great things out of simple things….kind of how God turns us into something wonderful through the heat of life experiences! Love that picture….it makes me hungry!!

5) What is your favorite cuisine/food?
Oh my goodness! Again, I ask, why just one? If I have to narrow it down, I would say Italian (pretty much anything with pasta!) and Indian (butter chicken, originating from Moghul cooking). Does chocolate count as a food?? If so, that would have to be number 1 for sure!!

juliasalbum.com

juliasalbum.com

6) What is that one thing which helps you to stand out in the crowd?
That is easy…my height! I am just shy of 6′ tall, and with my heels on, I stand between 6’2″ and 6’3″on most days.

7) What is the last thing you would want to do on Earth?
Last thing as in never want to do, or last thing as in before I die? The last thing I would ever want to do is eat cooked roaches or other insects…not something I think I could do, especially since I am not accustomed to them. I know people in other countries eat them, but I certainly have not acquired a taste for them. I would rather eat tree bark and leaves I think!

importfood.com

importfood.com

As for the last thing I want to do before I die; have the largest family reunion ever. Oh how wonderful it would be to meet relatives from around the world that I have not had the privilege of meeting. Connecting with everyone and celebrating life, joy, generations, traditions! That would be so spectacular!!

8) What is the best gift you have got to date?
That is a hard one. Let me think…..Aha, got it!  The best gift to date would have to be the box of family pictures that date back as far as the early 1800’s. It is the gift that keeps on giving, providing history, memories, and a great deal of joy that gladdens my heart each time I look at them.  I was so fortunate to be able to sit with my grandparents the month before my grandmother passed away and put names to the people in the pictures, make family trees, and listen to my grandparents share their memories of childhood and life experiences….it was the most awesome gift ever and one that will bring me joy for years to come!  I actually started to scrapbook them, but still have a ways to go yet. I love nothing more than time with family, and having pictures that preserve those times is too great for words!

9) Who do you admire the most?
I admire two people, my grandmother and Jesus. My grandmother taught me what it meant to be a lady, a mother, and showed me what love meant when others around me only brought pain and heartache. She was the light of Christ in my life. She gave me hope that circumstances could change and provided me with strength to rise above the pool of desperation that surrounded me.

grandma

First and foremost, though, I admire and revere Jesus, for it is Him who taught me how to love, healed my heart, and brought light into my soul. He was the perfect man, sinless, pure, righteous, and I strive to be like Him each and every day….though I am so far from it!!

10) Do you believe in destiny?

I believe we all have a prewritten destiny, designed by God himself. He created me, you, everyone. He knows our comings and goings, and our thoughts and desires better than we do. We all have a destiny set in motion by the one true God. Now the question is: do we reach out to God and grab hold of it, or do we ignore His calling and lose out on what we were designed to do, to be, and to become?

Section 4: My nominees

1.  Women at the Well
2.  InkedPen
3.  Inspiration for Daily Living
4.  The Teen Theme
5.  Anchored Ministry
6.  King of Kings Blog
7.  Awakening Hearts Foundation
8.  The Best of Jayopsis.com
9.  Faith Comes from Hearing
10.  The Father’s Heart

God bless and may the inspiration you bring into the lives of others through your writing and your life’s journey continue to grow and bloom as God sees fit!  Love and hugs to you all 🙂