8 Things...

How fun! I've been tagged! This is the first time I've been tagged for a blog meme. I was tagged by Susanne at Truly Captivating to list "8 Things You May Not Know About Me." So here are my eight random facts in random order...


1. I love to travel. I have visited 42 states and lived in six of them. Besides the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (which doesn't really count in my opinion), I've only been outside of the country twice, but I would love to have more opportunities to go. The first trip was a three-week Bible history and geography class in Israel during college. The second trip was a short-term missions trip to Bonaire (a small Caribbean island in the Dutch Antilles, about 50 miles off the Northern coast of Venezuela. That, my friends, is what we calling "suffering for Jesus.")

2. I am something of a popcorn connoisseur. I come by my love of popcorn honestly. Most of the Sunday nights of my childhood were spent on a sheet on the living room floor. (The sheet was my mom's idea for easier clean-up.) We would all watch some family movie, and my dad would make up a big batch of popcorn on the stove. That is by far the best kind of popcorn. Stove-cooked in a little oil with no butter and lots of salt. That's why my brother got me one of my favorite Christmas gifts of all time. It's just like this, and I love it. In the interest of heart health, I now make it with olive oil and much less salt, but it still tastes wonderful.

3. I am the second of five children. My brother is the middle and the only boy. My father is the middle of five siblings in his family, and my mother is the middle of five siblings in her family.

4. I was born in Scranton, PA. My mother tells me that I was born nearly three weeks past the due date the doctor predicted. (I'm sure all of you mothers are groaning in horror at that.) I was also born on a Thursday. The old rhyme says, "Thursday's child has far to go," and that has really been true of my life--geographically, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I've gone far already in some respects, and I have so much further to go in others.

5. One of my earliest memories is my mother's baptism. (She tells me I was probably only three at the time.) My father grew up in a Christian home. My mother did not. She was saved when I was very young, and I remember sitting on the top of a hill while she was baptised in a lake down below. I also remember being pretty confused by the whole thing. I'm thankful now for that confusion, because it led to my many questions which eventually led to my salvation.

6. One of my favorite hobbies (besides music) is photography. I have actually won a couple awards in art shows for photography. Due to budget constraints, though, I still only have an old-fashioned film camera. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a digital camera soon, so I can spend more time on my hobby.

7. I am the only child of my parents who is still single. I really never expected that to happen, but I'm kinda glad it has. While I still pray that God will allow me to be a wife and mother some day, I know that He has allowed me certain opportunities that I could have only had as a single. Some of those opportunities, like travel, are fun things. Some of those, like being able to drop everything and go help when my cousin's wife (and my best friend) passed away suddenly, were much more difficult. Through it all, God has made it clear to me that He had me in those places for His purposes. That makes it so much easier to rest in His will for my future.

Side note: Please don't read what I've said as saying that I have contentment, faith, or trust all wrapped up, because I really don't. In fact, even with all the things I said in the paragraph above, I still want to scream when well-meaning people ask things like, "So, have you found a man yet?" (as if my life has no meaning without one.) I'm equally irritated by statements like, "I just don't understand why you're still single" (as if I'm hiding some deep, dark flaw that keeps driving all would-be suitors away.) Please consider this my public service announcement: Singleness is not a cancer! I am loved and wanted by the King of kings, and He knows what (and perhaps who) is best for me. Right now, that's all that matters.

8. I can't whistle. I have always wished I could. My grandmother could whistle beautifully, and I used to love to hear her. When I was around eight years old, my uncle spent lots of time patiently trying to teach me the skill. He finally gave up and taught me to snap instead--I can snap very well.

Hmmm, this is the tough part. I'm supposed to tag eight people. Now, who do I tag?

1. Melissa

2. Emily

3. Aidyl_Joy

OK, three tags will just have to be sufficient for today. (Perhaps one of my 8 random facts could have been that I don't follow directions very well--but I digress.) A few people that I would have chosen have recently done something similar on their blogs, and I don't have enough energy or creativity left to come up with five more names. If you read this and would like to play along, consider this your open-ended invitation.