It’s always awesome-sauce to have your work acknowledged by another blogger. Until recently, I hadn’t heard of the Liebster Award, but essentially it’s an award given to newer bloggers and a super fantastic way to discover other bloggers and read their coolio stuff!

Thanks to Niki Cleland-Hura over at Nothing Short of Chic, I have received this honor! Thanks, Niki!

Now, there are some hard and fast rules to this award – and I want to do it right. 

The Rules of the Liebster

1. What happens first is I post about the award and acknowledge the super amazing woman who nominated me. Check.
2. Then, I get the awesome privilege of nominating 11 other new and upcoming bloggers who should be on this list of winners – so I get an excuse to creep around the internet and my amazing writer friends’ artistry! Woot!
3. Finally, the bloggess who nominated me asked me some fun and fabulous questions. I will answer them below, and then I am to post my OWN questions for the writers I nominated.
4. Oops – P.S. Then I post a link to THIS post on the actual Liebster site. That makes it all official and stuff! How fun is all of this?

My Nominees/Award Winners

Feel free to check out these great blogs and subscribe!

• My friend, Kyle Sommer at Sommer Letter Company makes her own handmade cards and stationary. Lots of fun tutorials and craftiness at this blog. She is definitely bomb.com!
• A fantastic author and friend, Kristy Cambron, writes historical fiction and does some pretty awesome bible journaling!
• Jaime Jo Wright is another author who does lots of interviews and chats with other authors. Her book, The Cowgirl’s Lasso releases this March!
• If you desire happily ever after, you’ll love Sara Ella. This princess also has her own YouTube channel you’ll want to check out!
• Both Jaime Jo Wright and Anne Love contribute to their blog called Coffee Cups and Camisoles – and it’s all about the writing process.
• Thoughts on Plot is a great blog with more writing ideas, interviews with authors, and practical social media stuff. Michelle Lim is the editor and author of this blog.
• My adventurous friend, Abigail Snyder is teaching in Tanzania and writing about it. You’re definitely gonna want to read about her daily adventures with her sweet dog, Kweli.
• Jennifer McCloskey is on a journey with wellness – and she is always writing about the journey and how Jesus is changing her. Lovely.
• Want to read sage advice from a wordsmith, storyteller, and visionary? Then Laurie Tomlinson is for you.
• If you haven’t picked up Storm Siren yet – it’s a YA must read. But Mary Weber also has a fantastic blog for checking out.
• How about some Christen Krumm? Her blog is beautiful and her heart is, too.

The questions for THESE bloggers to write about and answer are below, so don’t forget to check them out…

And now…MY ANSWERS!

These are the questions Niki at Nothing Short of Chic asked me to answer:

Where do you live and where is your dream destination (either to live or to travel to)?

I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As cliché as it sounds, my dream is to travel, travel, travel. But what makes my answer a bit different is that I would like to travel, travel, travel via my bicycle. I am a little obsessed with traveling by bicycle – and I rode 500 miles in one week this summer across the state of Iowa.

What made you start your blog?

I love to write – and to share my heart. And blogging gives me an avenue to do both. I also love design and marketing and the art of weaving a blog post that meets the needs of readers. Yum.

Who are your top style icons?

Wow. I think the color black, the color red, great wrist cuffs and dangly earrings. Ha ha. I don’t know many style icons, but I know what I love.

What are your dreams for your blog?

A super cool thing that happened was my post, “10 reasons you don’t need a boyfriend or girlfriend in high school” went viral – over 330,000 visitors. But the biggest dream? Make a difference in one person’s life. Period.

If you had all the money in the world, what would your first purchase be?

I would pay any bills, college loans, and give 10% to my church. What is 10% of “all the money in the world”?

Who is a lesser-known blogger you think deserves to make it mega-big?

I think Kyle Sommer – an artistic genius who quit her teaching career to open a paper/stationary company – deserves to have her paper dreams come true.

What are three of your favorite bands or artists to listen to?

I loooooove Jack Johnson, Jesus Culture, and Harry Connick, Jr.

How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging in 2014.

Do you have any long-term plans for your blog?

Well, I’m going to be publishing a couple books soon, so I’ll be blogging about that. I’m also going to create an online e-course for new teachers, so that will be available on my blog. But I just want to keep writing my heart. Just keep writing my heart (repetition makes my statements stronger). 🙂

What is your most essential piece of technology when it comes to blogging? Your favorite app?

I’m a Canva fan – a great way to grab free images and make some pretty cool graphic designs without all the crazy of Photoshop (which I also love).

What is one non-work, non-blog hobby or passion of yours?

Just ONE???? I am an avid bicyclist, as I mentioned earlier. I also looooove to read (inhale is more like it) books, and go on adventures with my fam.

I am also a teacher and my students = my passion.

Lastly, do you read other blogs in your niche?

Yes! I’m beginning to read more blogs and get to know other inspirational bloggers. I am also currently discovering lots of people who, through their blogs, are teaching me how to be a better blogger/online presence.

If so, what is your favorite/top two?

A Holy Experience – Ann Voskamp

Hannah Brencher

My list of questions for the NOMINEES

1. How would you describe your writing process?
2. What do you wear/eat/drink/do when you write?
3. What is your “go-to” pen brand?
4. Shameless-self-promotion: Post a link to your favorite article, book blurb, or social media post so we can check it out.
5. Where do you go when you need an hour of freedom?
6. Talk about your BFF’s.
7. How did we meet? (You & Carrie)
8. Coffee or tea? Why?
9. Talk about your fam.
10. The book(s) that changed your life…

Congrats, noms! You deserve this recognition! Don’t forget to send me the link to your post about the Liebster!

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Thanks again to Niki at Nothing Short of Chic for the award – and thanks to all my friends for writing great blogs. Let’s continue to make a difference and leave a positive footprint on this virtual world we call home!

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