Sunshine Blogger Award (Secret Confessions of a Teenage Blogger)

(This is a scheduled post… I’m finally getting that figured out!) (Also, there are more serious posts coming. I promise. It’s been a little hard around here lately, and I haven’t gotten much serious writing done. But there IS a post in the cue for this week… so, yeah.)

 

So! I’ve been nominated from Sam Wegner over at Love Out Loud for the Sunshine Blogger Award. The rules are:

1. Give your thanks to the blogger who gave the award to you (Thank you, Sam!)
2. Include the bright yellow picture in your blog post
3. List 7 facts about yourself
4. Nominate 5 other bloggers that you respect and let them know by posting a comment on their blog. *scratches head while considering the following paragraph*

 

Ahem. I owe everyone (including Sam) an apology, I believe. Already knowing very few bloggers, I wasn’t entirely sure who I should nominate. I came up with a few people, but then it turned out that they were already nominated by others. So, I’m at a complete loss now of who to nominate. But I told her I would do it, so I’m still going to go ahead with it. Please, please, if anyone reading this wants to do it, PLEASE. Do it. I already feel bad for not being able to nominate people on the last random post I did, and this is just another repeat. So I apologize for not being able to officially nominate people.

 

Another note. I’ve kind of decided to make this like the equivalent to one of those “confessions” type posts, where I dash my beautiful, pristine, online appearance. Seven confessions facts about me. Just in case there were some misunderstandings. Here we go. (P.S. I can be sort of long-winded at times.)

 

1. I am NOT perfect. Whaaat?! I know, I know, y’all probably didn’t know that. Me? Not perfect? It’s hard to believe… Just kidding. It’s the truth – I’m not perfect. Not anywhere close. However, this is where the beauty of God’s love shines through. Because I am far from perfect, I cannot save myself. And because His love for me is so great, and He knew I was not perfect, He provided salvation for me anyway. Isn’t that awesome?!
2. I frequently struggle with trusting God. Saywhaaa? Yes. Very sadly I admit, I am very much a “see-it-to-believe-it” person in many ways. I have a hard time just accepting that there are things beyond my control, things that I can’t see or know. So trusting that God has things in His hands is more of a frequent challenge than it should be.
3. I battle with loneliness, too. Knowing people doesn’t mean you *know* them. It doesn’t mean that they’re always *there*. It doesn’t make them your friend. However, there is Someone who is always there without fail. He never leaves us, or forsakes us. This is Jesus Christ, the One who loves us unconditionally. And this is one of those things I have to remind myself of over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.
4. I ask why. A lot. It sort of links back to the whole trust thing. It’s on those nights when you’re curled up on your bedroom floor, crying your eyes out, when you ask, why? Why did God let this happen? Why did He have to do this, or that? Why? WHY? And most of the time, we get a very reassuring, comforting, “Not yet. You’re not to know just yet.” Which makes us ask, “WHY?” Yet regardless, we’re called to have trust, and to walk by faith and not by sight. (Whether we like it or not…) Sometimes, we won’t get the answers we want to hear when we ask why. Sometimes, we won’t even get answers at all.
5. I’ve held grudges. Over, and over, and over again. Forgiveness is not my strong suit. When someone hurts me, it takes a little while for me to come around to truly forgive them. I admit, I’m ashamed of this fact. I don’t naturally just forgive people the split second after they do me wrong. It doesn’t mean I don’t love them, but when someone hurts me, it hurts bad. And God gave me several situations with forgiveness last year. So – I’ve now had a lot of experience. 😉
6. I haven’t been a great friend. I’d like to think that I do a better job than I actually do. Especially this past year. For someone who values friendship so highly, you’d think I’d be a little better at it! I’ve neglected relationships, been rude, haven’t been there when people have needed me, and the list just keeps going. And yet, for all the ways that I’ve messed up, there are still some crazy (I didn’t just type that) awesome people who have put up with me for quite a while now.
7. I am selfish. Wow, that was a no-brainer. But still. I think there are some days when I forget that life revolves around God rather than me. I have a selfish heart. It is only by the grace of God that He would be willing to love someone who is as selfish as I am. And so I thank Him all the more for it.