I've been awarded!

A quick post before I leave you for two weeks.

I have been awarded by Miss Jack! Firstly, thank you. Secondly, I hope to do this right. :P

Here are the awards:

Now, seven random things about myself ("But there is a problem, you must limit yourself to only seven!")

1. I like to draw (although I'm not very good at it....). My best drawing is probably the Mouth of Sauron.

Yup, still creepy. Although he was smiling for the drawing!

2. Everyone looks at me when they are asking questions.
Friend 1- "Have you seen -insert Anime movie I forget the name of -?"
Me- "I've heard of it."
Friend 2- "The only Anime movie I've seen is - insert name of different Anime movie that I can't remember the name of - "
Friend 1- "Ohh yeah! That's made by the same people as - Anime movie #1 -! I think....." *looks at me for the answer*
Me- "Why are you looking at me??? I don't know!!"
The really strange/annoying part is that when people DO talk to me about something I know and care about, they interrupt and/or ignore what I have to say.
That's why I blog. It's like I'm talking to an invisible audience and I can ramble on about whatever I want and I don't have to annoy anyone.

3. This is what I am walking down the isle to when I get married:

4. I love the names Varina and Lucy.

5. Eventually, I hope to have two Bedlington Terries named Julian (after Julian Bashir from Star Trek DS9) and Portia (Mom said Brutus wouldn't be a good name for a Bedlington.... So I choose the next best thing: Portia! {from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar}).

6. I long to be in a Shakespeare play again....

(ME {as Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing}, DO NOT STEAL!)

Specifically Hamlet. I want to play Hamlet. But as I am a girl, I don't think that's ever gonna happen. I will just sit and wait for Hamlet to come from Netflix.

(Yes, that is David Tennant {Hamlet} about to kill Patrick Stewart {Claudius}).

7. I just found out that both Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf!) and Judy Dench (great British actress) have backgrounds in Shakespeare! Ian McKellen was in the Royal Shakespeare Company at the same time Patrick Stewart was.

And now I am made to answer these questions:

What are your favorite song lyrics?
That is a hard question. I love music, but - aside from listening to the lyrics to see if the song is appropriate - I don't really remember song lyrics all that much.... I guess the lyrics to Stay Strong by Newsboys are pretty great - they've helped me before.
I also LOVE the lyrics to Hillsong's song Hosanna (especially verse 2):
Vs. 2
I see a generation
Rising up to take their place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith.
I see a new revival
Staring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees.
I also love the lyrics to the song Happy Day by Tim Hughes.
Vs. 2
When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am yours, Jesus, you are mine.
Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain, finally will cease.
Celebrate, Jesus is alive.
He's alive.

What is your favorite book/book series?
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien (and anything else by Tolkien for that matter!), books by C.S. Lewis, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson, The Adventures of Tintin by Herge, and The Freedom Factor by Gerald N. Lund.

What is your favorite movie/TV series?
Movies: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Emma (2009 version), White Christmas, Singin' in the Rain, Guys and Dolls (with Frank Sinatra), The Great Race (staring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis), and the Tintin movie, of course!
TV shows: Star Trek, StarGate, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, The Muppet Show, The Cosby Show, Leave it to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Carol Burnett Show.

Who inspires you?
I have never really thought about this question much before... But now that I do, I realize I have many people who inspire me.
My friend who underwent back surgery and brain surgery within 6 months of each other. She is very inspirational to me. She is so brave and so determined, and she really inspires me. Her mom is really great too. =)
I have another friend who inspires me. She is a pretty new believer and just watching her grow in God is inspiring - I think it's inspiring to be around any new Christian.
Dearest Highlight (Jessica for those in the blogger world) inspires me to read all the time. She's always reading and picking up new books... I'm always online when I should be reading. :P
Miss Jack inspires me to write. I wish I could pump out words with as much enthusiasm as she does! I think she's a really neat person and a great author, whether she is published or not!
My other, other friend's cousin. His Humvee plummeted 50 feet over an unprotected bridge into a riverbed January of 2011 while he was serving in Afghanistan. He is paralyzed from the elbows down, but he doesn't let it stop him. He has been in the hospital for the past year recovering and has recently returned home! He has made an incredible recovery and is able to do things (like feed himself) that the doctors never thought he would be able to do. Practically his whole town turned out to welcome him home. That sort of American Patriotism is pretty rare... Especially in our day and age where soldiers are disrespected and not treated with the respect they deserve.
All the teens around the world who are Doing Hard Things for God really inspire me. I absolutely love to know that there are other teens out there, like me, who don't care about clothes and being popular. That they care about getting good grades and doing the absolute best they can in all they do. Not to glorify themselves, but to glorify God and use the brains he has given every human being.
Finally, J.R.R. Tolkien inspires me as a writer. He created a whole world. There was no Middle Earth before ONE man created it. He created all the languages, the races, the history, the stories.... I think that's pretty amazing. I would love to see inside his brain to what he was thinking all those years (I also think it would be fun to take a visit into Herge and Steven Moffat's brains - if a content blocker would block all the inappropriate stuff!).

What is your dream job?
A youth leader.
This past school year, we haven't had a female youth leader in youth group. It has been SO hard. I feel like the focus has completely gone off of Jesus and on to in-youth-group-hanin'-with-my-friends mode. I hate that. Youth group should be a place where we learn more about God. You can hang with your friends later!
For the past few years I have been looking for someone to disciple me. Every where I turn I run into a wall. I have asked several people who have declined... I have thought of starting a youth girls Bible study but evidently we need an older woman to lead that.... I sometimes feel so alone, like I can't talk to anyone about the problems I'm having. I really want to grow in Christ but I honestly have no idea where to start.
Having people say that they are too busy with their own lives to disciple a young person makes my heart ache. One, it makes me feel like no one cares about me - that I'm alone. Two, I'm not the only one who is experiencing this in my church.
I get it, the women are busy. We all have our own lives. Small children. Work. But can't you spare one hour a week or so to meet with one of the girls in church? There are about 10 young women in my church and currently only one of us (to my knowledge) is getting discipleship. And that's from someone OUTSIDE of my church.
There is SUCH a need for female youth leadership in my church and I feel like no one is stepping up to take that. It makes me feel alone. I know that there are other girls in my church who need discipleship more than I do - girls who don't get out much as I do. I would gladly have them be discipled before me. I would prefer that they get picked first. I can handle myself. But for those quiet girls... who knows what's inside their heads? It's often the quiet ones that are the most distraught.
This need in my church has been pressing so much on my soul.... I don't want any teen girl to feel the way I do - that none of the women in church care enough about her to help her study the Bible. When I get older, I am going to become a youth leader. I am not going to let any girl in my future church go undicipled. I will disciple them all if I have to! Just so they feel like they have someone to talk to.
That is my dream job.
Along with that, I am also going to be a worship team leader and a full time homeschool mom and loving wife. I will write on the side when I can and I hope to publish some stuff eventually.
But who knows! God might have a completely different plan in mind for me! Or maybe Jesus will come back before I get out of college. Who knows, except God.

So there you have it. I was determined not make this post into a book but it turns out I have anyway. =)
I shall leave you now. I hope you have a great two weeks!