Happy Friday!
I’ve done this tag before, twice if memory serves, and each time it’s just as fun. This time in particular, the questions are so unique and nostalgic! I’m looking forward to diving in.
I was tagged for this by the wonderful Katja (you can find her post HERE). Thank you, Katja!
The Rules
- Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. (see below)
- Thank the person who nominated you. (Thank you again, Katja!)
- Provide a link to your nominator’s blog. (HERE’s the link to her blog again!)
- Answer your nominators’ questions.
- Nominate up to 11 bloggers.
- Ask your nominees 11 questions.
- Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.
The Questions
What was your dream job(s) as a kid? Do you still want that, or do you love what you do now better?
I wanted to do so many things as a kid. On the list were professions like overseas missionary, nurse, ballerina, stage and film actress, opera singer (any kind of singer honestly), mother, professional equestrian, and of course, an author. My interests are still varied at this point in my life, but I’m definitely settling into a rhythm of some job/s I enjoy more than others, and getting to follow some passions.
Working on growing my career as an author, while preparing for a life of motherhood and companionship with my husband, following the Lord’s guidance all the while is a dream come true. I get temporarily sidetracked with other fun projects on occasion, but I absolutely love what I’m doing now. The little girl inside me is also very happy.
What have you learned about God over the years?
Oh, I could write a book on this question alone. I’ve learned so much. If I had to try and boil it down to one predominant lesson though, I’d say that God is faithful.
He’s faithful when life is going well, dreams are coming true, and you see His blessings every minute of every day. He’s faithful when life falls apart, friendships end, and He’s the only light you can begin to make out in the darkness. He’s faithful in hard decisions, difficult diagnoses, complex relationships, and seasons of uncertainty and despair. He’s faithful to teach the lessons you need right when you need them, and in the only way you’ll actually absorb them – again and again until they stick.
It’s harder to remember sometimes when I’m in the thick of things, but it doesn’t take much time at all thinking back on previous instances of His faithfulness, and reading Scripture, before I’m wondering why I would ever allow myself to become so distraught. There’s not been a single moment of my life, or a single difficult situation, where God hasn’t proven Himself faithful. That’s such a joy and comfort.
Is there a book or series you wish you discovered younger so you could enjoy it for more years, or you think your younger self would have appreciated more?
Hmmm, this is a great question! I’ve been reading quite a few new-to-me middle grade books this year so far, and I think younger me would have liked to read Wish (by Barbara O’Connor), Because of Winn-Dixie (by Kate DiCamillo), A Little Princess (by Frances Hodgson Burnett), and The Princess Bride (by William Goldman – only the book was new to me, the movie has been a favorite for years). I’m not sure I would have appreciated all of the complexities of these books, but I’m sure I would have enjoyed them!
What special object that you’ve always wanted to own do you now have?
This is a huge one, but I’ll say our house. In December of 2023, my husband and I purchased our home in a tiny village about 10 minutes from the home I grew up in, and I adore it. Both the little house itself, and the fact that it’s ours. While it’s obviously a lot of work and cost, there’s something very special about maintaining and tweaking our home together. We were able to adopt two kitties last summer, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with kids in the future too. Home means a lot to me.
Is there a place you’ve been as a child/the past that you still go to and love? Explain why.
Well, home is definitely one (see above, haha). We go to see my family at my childhood home nearly every week at this stage of life, and I’m very grateful for that ability. Otherwise…I’d have to say some of the nearby parks and walking trails in the town nearest us. We didn’t go very often since we had a large yard at home growing up, but I have very good memories of walking in those places with my family, and later my husband, for hours during warm weather months.
Are there any special experiences or accomplishments that you’ve gotten to cross off your bucket list?
I had to pull out my old bucket list for this one (and in doing so, realized that I should make an updated version, since the old one is from my early high-school years). Looks like I can cross off “singing a solo on stage”, “publish a book”, “write five books”, “travel to another state”, and “get married”. There are a lot of things on that list, many of which I’m okay with never doing at this point, but it’s fun to look back on what I wanted at that stage in life. Some things haven’t changed a bit!
What’s an activity from your teenage/younger years that you “gently mourn,” aka slightly wish you could still have/do? (ex. Pinterest surfing, necklace beading, reading…)
This is a fantastic question too! I actually still do a lot of the hobbies I did when I was younger, but more than anything, I think I gently mourn not having the sheer amount of time for them that I did then, haha. I still read, write stories, crochet, play the piano, walk outside, etc. Something I haven’t done in a while that I would love to do again is theatre. That one I do miss. Musical theatre in particular was a huge aspect of my high school years, and it’s not something that’s feasible to keep up with at this point in my life.
Name the Bible verse you’ve had memorized for the longest amount of time.
Revelation 4:11 ESV (“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”). I’m not sure why this one stuck with me so much from such a young age, but I remember repeating it to myself over and over again while doing chores, and it still comes to mind often now.
What was your first favourite book? What is your favourite now?
I don’t know if I can choose one first favorite…the Magic Treehouse series, the Mandie series, Bridge to Terabithia, the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter…these were just some of the stories I read and re-read when I was younger. I can’t pick a favorite now either, haha. It’s only gotten harder, as I’ve discovered more and more stories that I love. Overall, gripping adventure stories with a lot of heart and plenty of lovable, real characters continue to be my favorite – both to read and write.
What’s one thing your younger self would be happy with you for? What’s one thing you wish you were more like your younger self in?
I think my younger self would be happy with me for following some of my dreams. In particular, getting married, and the ones that involve writing. She would also be very happy to know we have two cats inside the house. She would be absolutely in awe that we now have a blog, have traveled to other states published three books, and get to talk to and mentor other young writers on a regular basis.
Often, I miss the innocence and joy that younger me had. I know I would have driven myself crazy plenty of times, if I’d been able to meet myself at that age, but I do greatly miss the genuine excitement for everyday life that I remember experiencing. Not every day, of course, but the littlest things could inspire so much joy back then, and I pray I can reach that again at some point. Life became heavy all at once.
What food hits you with instant nostalgia?
Oh, great question! I’d probably say something as simple as Mac n’ Cheese – the Kraft box mix kind. For a bit of my childhood, a couple of my aunts would come over to watch my siblings and I once each week while our parents worked and we would often have mac n’ cheese (enough that we got sick of it at the time, haha). I can’t have it anymore, so that probably contributes to the nostalgia I feel when I see it.
Follow-up answers would be coffee cake with homemade jam, homemade bread (with wheat berries my mom ground herself), and a few other homey baked goods like that. I have very fond memories of all the warm, tasty, and healthy goodies my mom would make for me and my siblings on a near daily basis.
The Questions:
- What was your dream job(s) as a kid? Do you still want that, or do you love what you do now better?
- What have you learned about God over the years?
- Is there a book or series you wish you discovered younger so you could enjoy it for more years, or you think your younger self would have appreciated more?
- What special object that you’ve always wanted to own do you now have?
- Is there a place you’ve been as a child/the past that you still go to and love? Explain why.
- Are there any special experiences or accomplishments that you’ve gotten to cross off your bucket list?
- What’s an activity from your teenage/younger years that you “gently mourn,” aka slightly wish you could still have/do? (ex. Pinterest surfing, necklace beading, reading…)
- Name the Bible verse you’ve had memorized for the longest amount of time.
- What was your first favorite book? What is your favorite now?
- What’s one thing your younger self would be happy with you for? What’s one thing you wish you were more like your younger self in?
- What food hits you with instant nostalgia?
Thank you again for these lovely questions, Katja! I really enjoyed answering them!
I feel like such a cheater doing this, but because this tag has been making the rounds lately and I’m not sure who’s recently been tagged, I’m going to leave this an open nomination. And, I’m supposed to come up with eleven more questions to ask, but I honestly love these ones from Katja so much that I really just want to know your answers to these eleven!
So if you’re looking for a fun blog tag to do, please consider yourself nominated! I would absolutely love to read your answers, either on your blog if you have one, or below in the comments!
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you! (I promise next time, I’ll come up with some creative questions of my own, haha).
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Aw, I’m so glad you liked it, Bella!! I had such fun doing it. Loved reading your answers 🙂
Thank you so much! <33 I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Aww these questions are so nostalgic! <3 loved reading this!! And that's awesome how many things you wanted to be when you were little 🤣 The more interests and hobbies you have, the more fun life is! 😛