OK. Never let it be said that I run (or walk) away from a challenge!
DM over at Heart to Heart asked some of us if we would be interested in doing interviews. He created a series of questions, custom tailored just for me to answer, and I post both the questions and my answers on my blog. So, without further ado, here is the interview, in its entirety.
Taking them in order, I’d go with the following:
Question #1: Imagine you are 85 years old- your mind is strong , but your body is weak. You are looking back over your life…what are 5 goals you would like to have accomplished with your life- hint- it could be relationship goals, material goals, the sky is the limit- another way to put it..what do you really want to accomplish with your life while you still can
Answer:
a. I’d like to have visited France again – the last time I was there, I was with my parents, and we only spent 22 hours in Paris. I didn’t get to go to the Louvre, I didn’t see the country at all, and I didn’t get to really explore the city of Paris itself.
b. I’d like to have no debt!! And something to give my nieces so that they have a little “bump” when they need it.
c. I’d like to have done something artistically creative myself – whether it’s writing, pottery, baskets, sewing, or something – but something with some objective merit to it.
d. I’d like to have learned to speak at least French, German, and Norwegian – well enough to be understood by native-speakers.
e. I’d like to have visited Norway.
Question #2: What are (5) strengths in your life? ..then tell me (5) weaknesses
Answer: Five strengths:
a. A good friend
b. Creative
c. Curious (love learning, but not school)
d. Good imagination
e. Empathetic – I try to think about how what I want to do might impact other people, although I try to not let it drive all of my decisions.
Five weaknesses:
a. Can be easily distracted, especially by television, movies, books, etc. I can waste more time doing nothing…..
b. Too independent to let other people too close, so I end up doing more by myself than I should.
c. I get discouraged more easily than I would like.
d. I don’t plan ahead like I should for things that are really important - I procrastinate and then end up doing less than my best because I didn’t start soon enough.
e. I spend too much time day-dreaming about things than actually doing them.
Question #3: Describe yourself in 10 words or less…ie. I am___________, ____________,_____________
Answer: Hm. I always hated these!!
I guess I would say that I am a fairly simple, funloving person, sincere and friendly unless/until crossed.
Question #4: How are you like your mother? How are you like your father? – if you’re not say so.
Answer: I guess I’m more like my dad than my mom – bright, used to intellectual things coming fairly easily to me, and gravitate toward what comes easily more than trying to challenge myself. I do see parts of my mom in me, though: good at evaluating inter-personal things (although, like her, I tend to assume the more negative interpretation), trying to make sure that people around me are comfortable, and always looking for strays.
Question #5: Who are the people that have made the biggest impact in your life spiritually?
Answer: My mom’s parents, this dear little lady that was one of their closest friends, and my late aunt. That’s people I know. As far as people I’ve never met, I’d have to say Francis Schaeffer is one of the biggest impacts – him and C.S. Lewis.
Question #6: What do you like best about your career as a lawyer – What don’t you like about it and why?
Answer: I like the financial reward it provides, along with the intellectual challenge and the opportunity to interact with people whose minds tend to work more like mine. This is the best-paying job I’ve ever had, even though I had to borrow a lot of money to get through school so that I could do it. I also like winning – I was never very good at athletics, but this is something that I can actual “win” at, and it’s an objective “win.”
I don’t like the time commitment required to be successful at it. It takes too much time away from my ability to spend time with family and friends, and I’m the type of person who needs what I once heard described as “looking out the window time” – or, what my mom calls “time to stop and smell the roses – and play with the fairies who live in them.” I’m a cyclical person – I can work full-bore, non-stop for a while, but then I need to stop altogether and recharge, or the boiler explodes…. sort of.
Question #7: What are 5 “must read” books in your humble opinion?
Answer: The Bible, A Conflict of Visions (Thomas Sowell), The God Who Is There (Francis Schaeffer), The Riverside Shakespeare, and Winnie the Pooh.
Question #8: Do you have any heros? who are they and why did you pick them?<
Answer: I don't - I used to look at other people and think that my life would be better if I were more like them, but then I found out that they had their challenges and weaknesses – that at some point, they will disappoint me – and that it was better if I just tried to be the best "me" I could be. Plus, one of my high school teachers taught me that "every man is my superior that I may learn from him."
Question #9: What are your favorite foods?
Answer: Fish/seafood, beef, chicken, eggs, potatoes with butter (real butter – not margarine), pork (chops, bacon, ham, etc.), venison, corn on the cob, pancakes, apples, nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries (depending on what they're baked in – prefer muffins), occasionally pasta, and Red River cereal. It's funny – I just finished reading "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin, and I loved her comment about hunting: "…there is plenty of room for all Alaska's animals – right next to the mashed potatoes."
I like meat and potatoes – anything else is extra.
Question #10: At this point, what spiritual gifts do you see evidenced in your life?
Answer: Discernment, maybe, and encouragement. I wasn't too good at those "discover your spiritual gifts" tests, but in looking at the relationships I've had with the people that have come into my life over the last several years, those have been the things they've needed and have gotten from me. I have a pretty reliable "B.S." detector, and I'm good at seeing in other people good things that they need someone to point out to them so that they take heart in what they're doing. It's something that I don't even think about – opportunities present themselves, and I do what I see that needs to be done.
As I told DM, I don't stop to think about these questions very often (if at all), and I am definitely going to hang onto the answers to that first question!! Knowing how you want to finish can sometimes make all the difference in the world about how you run.
So, that's the interview!
Be sure to check out the others as they are posted, and … just because I want to, DM, I'd like to hear your answers to those questions!
