Pay It Forward and Liebster Award

     We've all heard it happening, and seen video's of people's lives sometimes changed by the "Pay-It-Forward" thing that goes around.
     I never thought that I'd ever be one of those people that someone paid for my drink/food..etc... This last week, I had some returns and exchanges to make. I also had to get my Driver's License and such changed, since getting married, and moving. So, it was a day that I wasn't really looking forward to, but I knew had to be done. I thought to myself, "I'll stop by Starbucks on the way down to run my errands, and I'll feel refreshed having a coffee in hand while running errands." I pulled through the Drive-Thru, and ordered my usual, "Iced Venti Vanilla Latte (light on the ice) coffee." The man told me to pull to the window, but didn't give me my total what I owed. I pulled up to the window, and was preparing to pay, when he opened the window, handed me my coffee, and said, "The lady in front of you just paid for your coffee, so you're all good to go!" :) You can imagine my delightful surprise! I was so astonished, that I just said, "Really?! Wow! Thank you!" And with that, I pulled away. I pulled over into a parking spot to take in what just happened. And then I thought, "I should've paid for the person's coffee behind me! Oh well, maybe next time."
     I never thought that something like that would've ever happened to me. It's something that I always saw that happened to other people, and that I always thought would be a good idea if I did it to someone.
     Have you ever had something happen to you that moved you in some way? It could be maybe someone offering to watch your kids or cook your dinners. A neighbor who mowed your lawn to surprise you, a child coming up to you, and handing you a flower, just because. :)
     " Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you." ~Deuteronomy 16:17 :)

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by: https://concealedfoundation.wordpress.com 
So here are the official rules of the LIEBSTER AWARD:

• Each nominee must have under 200 followers
• Thank and link to the nominating blog
• Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees
• Nominate 10 blogs and tell them that they've been nominated
• Write a post containing the questions
• Include these rules in the post

Here are the 10 questions I was asked:
1 What is the meaning behind your blog’s name? You can refer to my "What is a Daughter of Destiny" page for that meaning... it's long. ;) 
2. What’s the first thing you’d do if you got 5 feet of snow? When I was younger, I would've gone out to play in it, but now, probably sit with some music and a book, and snuggle on the couch with some hot coffee. ;)
3. What’s your favorite way to style your hair? My hairs pretty stubborn... so, probably just let it down. It's thick and Curly, so, it has a lot to it. ;)
4. Would you rather wear a skirt or pants? It depends on the Weather Outside. Usually skirts though. I wear pants usually when I have a lot of running around to do, or when it's cold outside. ;)
5. How often do you wear makeup? Probably about every day. 
6. What’s your blogs main focus? To encourage and Inspire other like-minded believers in Christ. 
7. What’s the last book of the Bible that you read? Psalms
8. Which do you like better, apple or pumpkin pie? Hmm... tough one... Pumpkin Pie if there's lots of Whip Cream, but usually Apple pie taste better. ;)
9. How many siblings do you have? 5... 4 brothers, and 1 sister. :) 
10. How many things have you made in the past week? As far as cooking and baking, too many things to count... maybe 15? 
I'm going to open this up to anyone who'd like to do it... it's fun! :)Here are my 10 questions to the nominees:
1. What Type of Church do you go to?
2. Do you Play any instruments? Why or Why not?
3. What interesting studies have you done that you find fascinating? 
4. Do you live in the Country, Suburbs, Apartment, or other? 
5. What's your Favorite Kind of music? Why?
6. Coffee or tea? Hot or cold?
7. Do you like Baking or Cooking better? 
8. When's your Birthday?
9. What's your Middle Name?
10. What's your Favorite Bible verse? Why? 

Change-My story

I would like to tell you my story that changed my life, but please don’t mind the sentence structure…I know it’s bad! I just wrote what I was thinking without correcting it. (that would take too much time)

This week is marks the 3^rd Anniversary that my life completely changed.
Let me back up a few years. I think I was about 15, and it was December 31^st. My dad was off that day, and our family was just kicking back before heading to our church that night for a game/party night. My parents looked at each other and said, “Should we tell them?” I knew that it had to have been really good news, or really bad news. The news hit me…hard! My parents told me that our friends the “Bryant’s”, and “Tjaden’s” whom were elders at the church with my dad, were moving to Missouri. They felt God leading them to start a church there, they had asked if we wanted to come, but my parents decided that God wanted us here in Colorado. I cried, and cried, and cried some more all that day. My friends, whom had been through everything with me, were leaving. So, Kaylee Bryant, Emily and Allison Tjaden left that summer. I hated my life, and who I was. I wasn’t mad at anyone, but I was upset that they left. We had been through everything together, and had the same vision and everything. Why? Why did it have to be them that left? I didn’t get it. After they left, my life forever changed from what I thought was the worst. But God had other plans for me.
On one warm spring day, my dad took us older three kids to the store, while in the car, he told us a few things, and one of them was that my dad and mom were thinking about leaving our church. I held the tears in until we got into the store, and I excused myself to go to the restroom. I cried in the bathroom stall for 10 minutes before I came out. My life was again falling apart. I asked why to my parents; basically, my parents had a different vision than what a few of my friends had, and they thought it was best to leave, for now. So, once again on April 26^th, my family tried a church called,”The Reformation Church O.P.C”. My parents knew a lot of people there, and so decided to try it. That first day was…another one of the worst days of my life. I hated it…it wasn’t because of the people; it was just because my life wasn’t going the way I had planned. The week after that, we went to the church again, and as usual I hated it. The next day (May 4^th 2009) my little brother, “Elijah James” came into our lives. At 9 ½ months, he was gigantic…but cute as ever. He had Blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. (Even now) For those that don’t know, we adopted him officially on October 8^th 2010!!! The love of our life! ...Any ways, back to my life. So, the next week we went to our old church for the last time and said our goodbyes…it was a good goodbye. A few days after that we went to Missouri to visit the Bryant’s and Tjaden’s.

After we got back from our trip, we started attending Reformation Church regularly. One year in particular though, something amazing happened! One of our many friends, the Gibas family asked me if I wanted to help with serving/making food for the Volunteers at our annual “CHEC Conference”. (Christian Home Educators of Colorado) With excitement, I accepted! That week, I absolutely loved it! After that week, I got to know my friends more, and I went home and cried out on our porch. I thanked God for giving me this life. At the time when I was going through a terrible life, I didn’t see God’s plans. What Satan meant for evil, God meant for Good.

So, that is my story. No, I haven’t finished the race set before me, but I know that God is there for me through it all. You see, during the toughest part of my life, when I needed God most, I declined it. I thought I could do it my way…and look what happened. I surrendered my life to him, after we started going to the church. So I’m asking you, if you haven’t already, please surrender to him. God doesn’t want half of your heart; he wants every single part of it. I learned that the hard way. Don’t make the same mistake I did. If you would have told me years ago, what I was about to go through, no I would not have believed you. God turned my heart, and he softened it. I am grateful to God for forgiving my hardness of heart, and I am thankful that I now have 4 times the amount of friends as I used to. (Breanna, Kendra…this includes you too!)
Thanks for reading!
~ Caitlin