I've been tagged . . .

Thanks Hannah, for the tag. And since I have nothing else to do, it'll give me something to write about. :)

Rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.

2. Copy the award.

3. Post it in your blog.

4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don't know.

5. Link 7 new bloggers as recipients.

6. Notify winners of award with comment on their blog.

7. Keep being an encouragement!

Seven things people don't know. Oh boy, well here we go. Note: I'm really bored right now, so it'll probably be pretty long. :)

1) I am a part of a group on Facebook called "I judge you when you use poor grammar," and it's true. I am an absolute grammar freak. My family calls me the grammar police, and I don't mind a bit. It drives me absolutely crazy when people use improper grammar, spelling, or punctuation. My biggest pet peeve (besides improper verb/noun agreement) is using adjectives when you should use adverbs (i.e. slow, instead of slowly). And yes, to all you writers out there, I do edit your stuff as I read. :)

2) I'm finding that spending time in the Word and in prayer each morning is vital to how my day goes. I know that's a no-brainer for most people, but when the semester first started, I felt like I didn't have time to read the Bible in the morning, so it'd get put off 'til the evening, and by then I was too tired, etc. But now that I'm in the Word every morning, my days go so much better. And starting the day in prayer helps to keep me in His presence throughout the day. I'm also finding that the more time I give to God, the more time I seem to have--or the more productive He makes my time. It's crazy, 'cause He doesn't require me to, for example, spend time at Chi Alpha, or at small group, or so much time in prayer and in the word; but when I do, He blesses me so much. It's not only that He gives me that time back twofold; it's that He so fills me with His presence that I want to give Him all my time. This semester, I've gone from focusing on schoolwork alone, and not giving God nearly the attention that He so deserves; to where I have to work to have motivation to do school. All I want to do is bask in His presence. So I'm learning how to do both at the same time; and when I do, He blesses my study time and makes it so productive.

3) I have major food texture issues. My family tells me on a regular basis how weird they find it, but I can't help it. I can't even explain exactly what it is; there are just certain foods that I just can't eat. One thing would be if it's sort of crunchy, or sort of crunchy-yet-soft foods. So foods like onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, or water chestnuts are out. And I also don't like most desserts or junk food. I love chocolate, of course, but would rather do without the rest--pie, cheescake, and pretty much all candy.

4) God has literally saved my life, probably many many times, but I can think of three in particular. When I was three, I ran out into a parking lot without paying any attention, and ran right in front of a car that was driven by a teenager. It was totally God's protection that they were being watchful, and they stopped before they would have run into me (and yes, I do remember this experience--very clearly. So does my mom!). When I was nine, I had appendicitis, and the doctors sent me home saying I just had the flu or something. And the ONLY reason they said I didn't have appendicitis is that when I was lying on the examining table, they asked me to stand up, and I did. Their thought was "Oh, people with appendicitis can't do that, 'cause it hurts too much." Inside, I was going, "Hello, I'm not a wimp. Yeah it hurts, but if you tell me to do something, I'm gonna do it!" Anyway, they sent me home and said to come back in twelve hours if it wasn't better. By all human standards, my appendix probably should have ruptured and I should have had to battle a horrible internal infection. But once again the grace of God protected me and they finally figured it out and removed the appendix before it ruptured (but I still was in the hospital for five days). The last one is actually an instance where instant obedience saved my life. I don't remember how old I was, but one time my dad and I were taking my cousins over to a park, and just as I was going to cross the (empty) street, my dad yelled "ANDREA, STOP!" I literally froze in place, and from out of nowhere a car came screaming past where I would have been standing just a moment later. My parents taught me from a very young age to obey instantly, and to this day if someone tells me to stop, I freeze without even thinking. So as an encouragement to any parents reading this, teaching your kids instant obedience may be challenging, but it could end up saving their lives.

5) I have watched maybe four or five vidoes or TV shows since school started (and that'd be stretching it). And I have yet to watch more than one or two quarters of a football game (except for Carl's games, but those were in person). And yet I'm finding that I have no desire for any of it. Part of the reason is that Sunday afternoons I'm busy doing schoolwork or whatever else needs to get done before the evening. But mostly, I don't care about football, movies, whatever, anymore. I'd rather be spending time in worship, reading my Bible, doing school, or just hanging out with family or friends. I'm not saying any of it is bad; if you want to watch the stuff, great. And have fun while you're at it. But don't take it personally if I would rather not.

6) I'm running out of things to say. I guess I could say something about music, though you all have probably heard me talk about it before. I am still amazed at the passion God has instilled in me. And yet, throughout the years I took piano lessons, I have to admit that I slacked off a lot. Carl and I were pretty much at the same level throughout the years, but if I'm going to be honest, he worked twice as hard as I did. Now, does that make me a better pianist? Absolutely not. Mostly, it makes me lazy. :) In fact, it makes him the better pianist, because it was hard work and determination that got him to the level he plays at now. Not to say that it was only hard work; Carl has an amazing ability to play the piano, and it's a joy to listen to him (most of the time). But God has given me a natural ability to play, and because of that, I never had to work as hard as he did. That's not to say I didn't work at it; I did. I practiced. I cried. I prayed. It was hard, and there were times I wanted to quit. But God refused to allow the fire burning within me to die, and because of it, I still LOVE music. It pierces through to the very depths of my soul and moves me in ways I could never describe. And now that I'm not taking lessons, Carl's definitely surpassing me in ability. I still play as often as I can, but not the challenging stuff he does. And now Robbie is playing, and for all his hard work, it won't be too long before he surpasses me, too.

7) I can't think of anything else right now. Anyone want to remind me of random facts about myself? :) If I come up with something, I'll add it later.

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you're interested, feel free. Just let me know so I can see it!