Back all the way on the 4th I was notified that I’d been nominated for the Liebster award!
This nomination came from Dara over at Living Story and I was thrilled!
This is an award given by bloggers to bloggers. Like many things in the blogger world it is meant to network and bring community between bloggers.
The award is specifically for bloggers who have less than 200 followers on any given social media platform. Since every nominee must then nominate 11 more in order to receive the award it promotes networking.
It is a great way to encourage bloggers to reach out and find other bloggers with great content and reach out to them.
One of the great things I love about the blogging world is this community that is so essential to it. The more I blog, the more people I connect with.
It took me a bit to get to accepting the award, as I was really really busy at the time I was nominated. Still I penciled in my post to accept as soon as I could, and started hunting down my nominee’s! (I took so long that a couple ones I meant to nominate got swept up by others! Darn!)
To accept the Liebster award I must do three things:
1. Acknowledge and thank the person who nominated me.
2. Answer 11 questions posed to me by the person who nominated me.
3. Nominate 11 new bloggers for the award and give them my own set of 11 questions.
After accepting I get to display the award in my sidebar! So fun!
Ok, so let me just say now how thankful I am to Dara for the nomination. I’m enjoying getting to know her over at her blog at Living Story. Be sure to check it out!
Now on to her questions!
1. Why do you blog?
For a couple reasons, but mostly because, as a Stay at Home Mom, I really needed to find my own voice again. My whole life had been wrapped up in my daughter so much in her first year. That was good, but the reason was bad, she was on a feeding tube and had some other medical issues that really became stressful. I felt trapped in my life and stressed beyond measure and I just really needed an outlet where I could discover ME and MY voice again. That is what blogging became to me. A place to reclaim who I am, my talents, my thoughts, and my ministry. To retrain my focus off of my life and trials, and back onto God and His word.
2. How did you come up with a name for your blog?
The name, The Joyful Truth, is actually inspired by my own name. Joy Aletheia. My middle name, Aletheia, is the Greek word for truth. Of course, The Joyful Truth really is God’s message of salvation! Also hidden in this name is the thought that we can only find true Joy through knowing THE Truth!
3. Can you tell me a little about your family?
I have a wonderful husband who is trying hard to move our lives forward. He’s the most faithful and even tempered man I’ve ever met and an absolutely amazing Dad. I met him online on a Christian message board called God Lovers Online. He just finished two AAS Degrees and is trying to find a job in his field, which has been difficult but we try to stay hopeful. Meanwhile he works in retail. My daughter is two-and-a-half and is the most beautiful, sweet, toddler I’ve ever seen! I suppose I’m biased but I really think she is! Right now she is really into Daniel Tigers Neighborhood. We live close to my parents and they have been a huge blessing as we are very tight financially right now and they step in to get us through as much as they can.
4. How often do you blog?
I try to blog three times a week. MWF. My Wednesday post is often a poem that I wrote. Many of my poems I wrote as a teen, but I still write them every once in awhile and will share a new one when I can.
5. What goals do you have for your writing/blog?
Eventually I would like to write a devotional about worship. Worship has always been my heart. My goals for the blog is to reach out and touch peoples lives. I also have goals to monetize my work online if I can so as to help contribute in my household. At this point real monetization is not a reality, but we will see what God will do.
6. What do you like most about blogging?
I’d have to say the community. I enjoy reading other blogs and getting to know other bloggers. I really feel like I’m meeting some amazing women that will become amazing friends. Also, as a stay at home mom in a one car household, it is nice to be able to reach out and talk to some other adults throughout the day.
7. What do you like least about blogging?
Social Media and Networking. Although I love getting to know all these other bloggers, trying to keep up with all the “stuff” is extremely frustrating sometimes. Self-promotion is not a skill I’m very good at.
8. What causes are you passionate about? Share them with me!
I’m one of those people who can get passionate about lots of things. It’s hard to pick just a few. That is why I eventually decided for my blog to be devotional, because if there is anything I’m the MOST passionate about it is God. Where as other things come and go, He is my rock. I’m passionate about Him, and about sharing His love.
9. If you could only let people know one thing about you, what would it be?
Oh I don’t know! That is hard! I suppose the most important thing is I love God. If I had to choose just one, that would have to be it.
10. What is your favorite type of music and why?
I’ve never been good at choosing favorites! I love music and studied it in college (before I dropped out) I love instruments, I love harmonies, I love singing in choirs. I love classical and instrumental and jazz and worship music and gospel and some rock. I appreciate good music. I do not appreciate heavy metal generally speaking.
11. Which of your posts are you most proud of? Be sure to link it!
I think I’m most proud of my post He Finished the Race – dedicated in memory of Andrew Rundle. It’s about a young man in my community who passed away from cancer. I’d never met him but his story had touched me. It is by far my most read post. (by hundreds and hundreds of reads) I don’t count it’s success as having anything to do with my blog as it was really about how may lives Andrew’s life had touched. The reason that I’m proud of it is that his family actually expressed to me that it very much blessed them. That my words could reach out and bless someone in the middle of such grief, it humbled me and was the starting point of me believing in myself as a blogger.
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Ok, drumroll please!
And the nominees are:
Eric and Misty at Worthy of Our Calling
Miranda at Rahab to Riches
Michelle at The Happiness Blogger
Kalista at When We’re At Home
Stacy at Servants Life
Janell at Mustard Seed Family
Christy at A Beautiful Mess
Barb at I’ve Got Confidence
Tammy at Becoming By Blithe
Anna at Green Tree Legacy
Congratulations!
To accept the award answer my 11 questions (below) and find and make your own nominations! Be sure to comment here with links to your posts so I can read your answers, and don’t forget to notify your nominees with a link to your post so they can accept their award! Link back and shout out to the person who nominated you. (in this case, me) And write out your own questions for your nominee’s.
Blogs are eligible for the award if they have less than 200 followers on the social media platform of your choice. I chose by Facebook likes.
Your Questions:
1. What made you start blogging?
2. What is your main blog theme and the heart of your blog?
3. What hobbies do you enjoy?
4. Tell me three facts about yourself?
5. What do you enjoy about blogging? Writing?
6. If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?
7. Tell me a dream, or goal, you have for your life?
8. If there was one thing about your life you could change, what would it be?
9. What is your favorite book, author?
10. How much time do you spend working on your blog every day/week?
11.Choose a favorite post you have written and link to it so I can read it. Why is it a favorite?
If you have any questions please feel free to ask! I have to say, the hardest part of getting this post ready to accept the award was finding blogs to nominate! I’ve subscribed to so many, but to find that many with under 200 likes? That was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be! I think the group I finally came up with really is great though, and totally deserve this award! Congratulations again!
Enjoy networking and finding new blogs!
Joy Aletheia Stevens
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