Thomas, from Motivation of Christian Love and Christenfindenruhe, has nominated my blog for the Liebster Award. It is an interesting prize that bloggers on WordPress have been awarding each other recently: We take the opportunity to acknowledge the blogs we read, and give each other an opportunity to share a little bit about what makes us tick. Danke schön, Thomas. (His post is available here.)

Here is the badge and the rules.

Here are the 10 questions he asked:

1. Why did you start blogging? I mainly began blogging as a continuation or extension of my ministry, and especially as an outlet for my writing. I have always loved writing, and blogging gives me an opportunity to put my ideas out there.
2. For how long have you been blogging? I’m not sure: I started blogging on WordPress in 2009, but I had one or two blogs on other sites before that. It might be 12 years or so.
3. What are your hobbies other than blogging? I enjoy music and reading; I sing, play guitar and bass, and used to write a lot of songs. I also enjoy watching soccer.
4. Is English your mother tongue? Yes. My mother was born in Germany, so I studied German for about seven years. I can still survive in a German conversation, although I may occasionally have to ask a native German speaker to “Sprechen Sie langsam, bitte.” (“Please speak slower.”) I also studied Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic in seminary, although I’m pretty rusty in all three. (I cannot speak any of them, but I can read biblical Greek. Hebrew and Aramaic are another story.)
5. What are you writing about (on your blog)? “Darkened Glass Reflections” is devoted primarily to spiritual devotions, reflections about Scripture, and applying the Bible to daily life. Occasionally, I address current events from a biblical perspective. As part of Blogging 101, I signed up to participate in a “Sabbath Scripture Challenge” (writing a brief devotional every Sunday about a passage that spoke to my heart that week), and I am slowly working my way through a series about what we can learn from the life and ministry of Elijah: “Modern-Day Elijahs.” (You can find a link on my home page, under “Categories.”)
6. How frequently are you posting? I have picked up the pace this year. I am posting about two times per week right now. In previous years, I would try to post “at least once per month,” and that would not happen. One lesson I have learned, and I share it with any new bloggers out there: You never will find time for anything; if you want time to blog, you must make it a priority.
7. What is your favourite post? That is a difficult question. I think “Lent: A Time of Renewal” is up there among my favorites. I wrote it around Ash Wednesday 2011, and it’s probably the closest my blog ever got to “going viral.” It got around 150 hits within 24 hours. “Teaching, Reproof, Correction, and Training in Righteousness” (a commentary on 2 Timothy 3:16-17) has been my most popular post ever, with 1955 views since it was posted; its lasting success is a big reason why I like to focus on articles about prayer, Bible study, and other spiritual disciplines.
8. How much time do you spend reading or viewing other blogs? I try to devote 15-30 minutes per evening. There are a lot of interesting posts out there; I wish I could devote more time.
9. What other questions would you like to answer? Some of the other bloggers out there have asked some great questions. One I saw on others’ posts was “How did you come up with the name for your blog?” The title of “Darkened Glass Reflections” is inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:12, which reads “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
10. What do you like or maybe dislike about the ‘Liebster Award’? I like the opportunity bloggers get to give other writers a little attention and respect. I have a feeling I will find it challenging to find 10 blogs, with less than 200 followers, who have not already been nominated.

Ten Random Facts about Me

1. My favorite secular musicians are the Bee Gees and the Electric Light Orchestra. Yes, I am a child of the ’70s.
2. My favorite Christian musicians include Petra, David Meece, Avalon, MercyMe, Daniel Amos, etc. I think my Christian musical tastes may be a lot broader than my secular tastes!
3. C. S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. I read Mere Christianity early in my Christian walk and it influenced my thinking more than any book, besides the Bible.
4. I prefer the “Christian classics” to most modern Christian books. I will take The Imitation of Christ or The Practice of the Presence of God over almost anything on the current bestsellers list any day!
5. I am a huge soccer fan.
6. I attend a church that has an interesting mix of liturgical (almost Catholic) worship, with a blend of evangelical and charismatic elements. I like to think of myself as a “Christian in a blender.” (Our church likes to think of itself as “three streams” or “convergent.”)
7. I am a notorious doughnut-junkie and caffeine addict. I have admitted that I am powerless over coffee and, if I don’t get it, everybody else’s life becomes unmanageable.
8. I have a few ideas for books and hope to publish a full-fledged book one of these days.
9. A few of my “Christian role models” from history include Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Saint Patrick. I find the real Saint Patrick to be even more fascinating than the myths and legends that have grown around him.
10. Related to #9 and #10: I am part German and part Irish, and hope to visit both of my ancestral homelands one of these days.

My Ten Nominees:

I know it’s supposed to be blogs with less than 200 followers. However, I don’t follow a lot of blogs, and some have already been nominated. So, I may have to keep it below 1000 or something like that.

1. Through Him, With Him, In Him
2. Eurydice Howell
3. My Paint Splattered Life
4. Two Are Better Than One
5. Daniel Abram
6. Caffeine Epiphanies
7. Take Me to Church

Sorry, I guess I could not come up with 10. Every WordPress blog I follow, besides these, has either already been nominated for a Liebster or is simply too big to consider nominating.

My Ten Questions:

I am going to ask the same ten questions Thomas asked me:

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. For how long have you been blogging?
3. What  are your hobbies other than  blogging?
4. Is English your mother tongue?
5. What are you writing about (on your blog)?
6. How frequently are you posting?
7. What is your favourite post?
8. How much time do you spend reading or viewing other blogs?
9. What other questions would you like to answer?
10. What do you like or maybe dislike about the ‘Liebster Award’?