To my surprise, Natural Healing Hope has been nominated for the 2017 Liebster Award.
You may ask, “What is the Liebster Award?” I asked the same question. Being a relatively new blogger, I haven’t heard of this award until receiving it.
Well here is a quote from the creator of this award.
“The Liebster Award 2017 is an award that exists only on the internet and is given to bloggers by other bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011. Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.”
The whole idea behind this award is to give beginning bloggers an opportunity to introduce other beginning bloggers to each other and to their various audiences. What a perfect way to support and encourage those of us who are just starting out in the world of blogging.
I want to thank Trish Townsend from HopeDwellers.com for nominating me for this award. I am so grateful for this opportunity to participate.
I recently met Trish through a Blogging Conference that we both attended in Portland, Oregon this past September. We hit it off right away and found out that we have so much in common. I feel like we are kindred spirits. I joke with her that we are the Hope Sisters because both of our blogs center on Hope.
Through, Hope Dwellers, Trish is building a faith-based community of women choosing to live in hope and confidence in their identity in Christ. Trish encourages women in an intentional journey toward wholeness in spirit, soul, and body.
Her site is beautiful and welcoming, and I can say from first-hand experience that it is a great place to go when you need encouragement. Please check out her site and consider joining the Hope Dwellers Tribe. You will be blessed!
My Favorite Blog
As part of the nomination process, I have been asked to share my favorite blog.
Ironically, I never really followed blogs before blogging myself (I do now of course). Such a shame… I was really missing out. However, I do have a favorite author who has a blog that I visited regularly, and that is Lysa Terkuerst. I have read many of her books and followed all of her writing through Proverbs 31 Ministries. She has made such an impression on me and has influenced me as I have tried to find my own writer’s voice.
Lysa has an ability to share her struggles in such a real and vulnerable way like she is talking directly to you. She also has a gift in translating her experiences into encouraging lessons that stick with you. I wanted to learn more from Lysa, so I joined a membership site that she created, called Compel, which is “for writers who want to write words that move people.” This has been one of the best investments I made in myself to help me learn the craft of writing and to gain confidence in my ability to share the message and mission I feel that God has placed on my heart.
It was a dream come true for me to meet Lysa at a book signing event where I was able to thank her personally for how she has influenced me.
Please join me in lifting up Lysa and her family in prayer as she has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. As always, she is open and transparent about this trial in her life and her faith and her hope in the Lord is unwavering and inspirational.
10 Random Facts About Me
As a nominee for the Liebster Award, I have been asked to share 10 random facts about myself that you probably don’t already know from my blog.
- I studied abroad in Heidelberg, Germany in 1984.
- I got my first job at a sandwich shop when I was 14 years old. (Yes, I lied about my age. I found out later that my mom did the same thing when she was 14.)
- I was a flag and rifle twirler in high school.
- I can recite “The Sneetches,” by Dr. Suess, by memory, complete with voices. (thanks to grade school speech meets)
- I started out in college as an Art Major but changed to Communications in hopes of getting a job that could help me pay back my student loans.
- I grew up by Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
- When I was 7 years old, I went forward to receive Christ after a Billy Graham movie my grandma took me to.
- I love planning adventures. If I were to have another blog, it would be a travel blog.
- The craziest thing I have ever done is hitching a ride with a random truck driver to take an all-night ferry across the English Channel when I ran out of money traveling as a college student. Thankfully, angels were watching over my friend and me.
- I got married after six weeks of knowing my husband (long story). That might have been the other craziest thing I have ever done, but it turned out to be the best thing I have ever done. Again, angels watching over me.
Trish’s Questions for Me
1. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
That my whole family believes in and loves Jesus and that I know that I will be reunited with family members I have lost in this life, someday.
2. Given the choice of any foods in the world, what would be your perfect meal?
Wienerschnitzel with spaetzle noodles and red cabbage.
3. Give a tip for other bloggers that helped you starting out.
Join Elite Blog Academy and follow the program step by step.
4. What is your favorite book and why?
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. It is the ultimate grace story based on the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea. I love historical fiction.
5. What is one healthy habit that makes you feel your best?
Walking on the beautiful trails through the woods in our community. Check out my Instagram video if you want to see what I mean.
6. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I really want to go to Banff and Lake Louise.
7. What is that one post made by you that you like the most and your reason for writing it?
Frivolous Suicide Statements: 3 Reasons You Should Cut It Out! This is one of my biggest soapboxes. I am super passionate about this topic. Please read it and you will know why.
8. If you could have a coffee and a chat with a famous woman of the past, who would it be and why?
I wish I could have coffee with Mary, Jesus’s mother because she knows what it is like to lose a son. I would love to hear how she survived the grief and pain and what her life was like going forward.
9. What is one thing for which you want to be remembered?
For being loving and giving. I am grateful for this example from my mother and grandmother.
10. If you could be any superhero, who would you be?
I didn’t know how to answer this so I took a test online and it said “You got: Wonder Woman. You are a literal goddess but are deeply invested in humanity. You see the best in people and do your best to be an inspirational figure.” Not my words, but hey I’ll claim them.
11. What is one thing in the world you would change if you could?
I wish that the conventional medical world and the holistic, natural health world could work together and combine their knowledge and experience for the betterment of all mankind.
Now It’s My Turn to Nominate
»Hannah Stevenson of LilyandThistle.com
I met Hannah at the blogging conference I went to in September and I’m telling you, she is the sweetest, kindest and most lovely person you could ever meet. Through her blog, Hannah is developing a “community of intentional moms who are striving to make art and creativity the core of a meaningful life.” Here you will find inspiration and ideas to simplify your life and live mindfully and creatively. I love this simple idea for turning the old into new with things I am sure you already have on hand.
»Lillian Stevens of EmbracingtheLovely.com
Lillian is a pastors wife with an amazing faith and gift for all things creative. She is a talented photographer and graphic artist and she shares these gifts freely with her subscribers. Lillian offers inspiration and ideas to cultivate “creative expression for faithfilled hearts.” I love her practical post about how to turn a horrible day into a lovely day. Who doesn’t need that?
»Beth Schmeisl of NaturalMamaCafe.com
Beth writes about simplifying, minimalism, and natural living for moms. She offers a Minimalism Motivation Workbook to her subscribers that helps you quickly declutter your home. I love her recent post about 20 Gifts Minimalist Moms Will Love. I found some really great Christmas gift ideas for those on my list that don’t want or need more “things.”
»Josten Fish of MuscleandManna.com
Josten is a registered dietitian who is passionate about whole food, health and fitness. Her blog focuses on helping others to learn about eating whole foods while taking the confusion out of healthy eating. She offers simple solutions and recipes that you will love. Next Halloween, I want to apply her suggestions for healthier halloween treats that aren’t candy, yet super fun.
»Stormy Stevenson of TheHappyHerbalHome.com
Stormy is a registered nurse who is passionate about natural health. Her blog is focused on encouraging young moms in having a happier, healthier home. She writes about how to have a healthy pregnancy, birth and recovery and how to raise babies naturally. Her post about postpartum healing was very helpful when I was trying to help my daughter recover from the birth of her first baby.
Here are my 11 Questions for You!
- What is your favorite thing to do for fun?
- What is the most extreme thing you have ever done?
- What is the best memory you have had while traveling?
- If you could give someone $1,000,000 who would you give it to?
- When do you find time to blog?
- What is that one post written by you that you like most and why?
- What is your favorite book?
- What is a story your family tells about you when you were a kid?
- What is your favorite food?
- What is your favorite essential oil if you have one?
- Do you have any hidden talents?
Rules for Nominees
If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you should do the following:
- Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
- Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post. You can find these images here.)
- For the 2017 Liebster Award, write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog and provide links.
- Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This is optional for this year. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.)
- Answer my 11 questions in your post.
- Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have less than 200 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)
- List these rules in your post Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
- Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award. Provide a link for them to your post (or mine if you don’t have all the information) so that they can learn about it. Post a comment in the comments below to let me know you’ve done this.
If you have been nominated before at any time, please share the love. Many people believe the Liebster award is similar to a chain email/letter and while it may share similarities, the underlining idea is to help promote each others’ blogs.
For more information about the Liebster Award, you can go here.
Wishing you JOY in your journey,
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Thank you for your kind words, Hope Sister! You are an encouragement and inspiration to me. I loved all your fun facts and answers! I’m very thankful your angels did watch over you!