The lovely Amanda has tagged me in the Liebster Blog awards. The idea is to award great blogs with smaller readerships so that we can spread the word about our little spaces on the webs. Yey for small! Small is beautiful!
Amanda gave me four questions to answer, so here goes…
1. What is your absolute favourite 3 books, that you would bring to a deserted island, that you could read over and over again, that made you, you?
The first (and it’s a series rather than one book) would be The Chronicles of Narnia. My dad read them to me as a young girl and I fell in love with them and have read them ever since. The box-set I got for Christmas one year is a still a prized possession. They taught me how to have a huge imagination, to live for the happy endings, to understand what integrity and courage and goodness look like.
The second I think might be Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I’ve read books since that maybe explain the same ideas better but this was the first book which helped me understand my faith in a bigger and more life-changing way. This book, read the year I graduated university, threw open the doors to a faith and a hope and a strength that exist for now, not just for the ever after.
And the last? Gosh it’s hard to pick just three. (I had trouble picking just ten not long ago…) I’d say it’s Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers. It’s a stunningly beautiful love story that is strong and realistic and has made me cry (with sadness and then joy) every single time of the many times I have read it.
2. If you could live anywhere in the World, where would that be?
Gosh, there’s so many places. I loved Barcelona this weekend. Helsinki was fantastic in July and we fell in LOVE with New York last year.
But right now, if I had to move from Luxembourg, I would chose Copenhagen. I love the city so much, but mostly I’d pick it for the chance to kick my Danish up from conversational to fluent, and to learn more about daily life in my adopted-through-marriage country.
3. Does your job have anything to do with what you thought you would be doing as a teenager / young adult?
Yes and no. I never had in mind that I’d be an event planner when I was in secondary school. I’m not sure I even knew they existed – an annoyance of mine is how little school seems to prepare teenagers for the real work market, all those jobs beyond “teacher”, “architect”, “accountant”…
But coming back to the point. My work in Brussels was much closer to my plan as a teenager. I was going to get involved in international development and change the world! But life always surprises you and I ended up taking a path I didn’t expect. And it’s a good one. There’s always been that desire in me to “change the world” but more and more I am realising that there are many more ways to do that than I ever imagined. And that’s an intriguing new idea to explore…
4. If Aladdin’s genie would come up to you right now, what wishes would you ask for?
I have a few friends walking the journey of fertility treatments right now, after a long time of trying without success. They are on my mind a lot these days. We didn’t have trouble getting pregnant, just staying pregnant. But that loss has given me a glimpse into their suffering too – it’s the intense sorrow of missing a child, the one you want so much or the one you lost. I would wish for them that it would work this time, that the mystery that is our bodies would this time work for that beautiful miracle of life.
And so now… I’m awarding:
Kathleen at Becoming Peculiar – because she inspires me with her intentional organic natural lifestyle, and she manages to look super cute in those thick rimmed glasses which I’m sure would make me look like a big geek. (Actually I’m not sure her blog would really count as “small” but I’m still including it here coz I love it)
Juliana at Food & Travel – because her food photos make my mouth water, and she introduced me to the loveliest little tea shop when we met in Zurich this summer.
Christina at A Holy Fool, because her writing is just s beautiful and thought-provoking and she is just so lovely.
And my questions for them –
1. If you could transport yourself to anywhere in the world right now for a cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate, where would it be?
2. What is the thing that surprised you most about married life?
3. What is your favourite Christmas tradition that you practise every year, and why? (The tree goes up this week in advance of my family’s visit at the weekend so I’m getting in the mood!)
4. What do you like most about blogging? Have you discovered anything about yourself through the process?
