And the Winner Is!!!!!!

Thank you to all of you that helped me kick off this first giveaway!!!  I wish I had a book for each of you....

The winners are: 

Teresa and Robin

Please contact me with you mailing information and I will get the books right out to you.  Send your info to:

dailygrace@bellsouth.net

Thanks again to everyone that signed up for this and for all the new visitors to the site.  I will be having another drawing for a new book in a few days, so check back.  AND I actually have some new post ideas running around my head that I want to get written up in the next day or so.

Hugs to all of you, have a wonderful day!!!

Debbie

For the drawing, I used Random.org......  just so you know.....  :)

Book Review!!!

I am so excited,  I have been selected to be a book reviewer for Zondervan.  You're shocked to aren't you???  LOL  On a serious note, I have always been jealous of my friend, Jen, who reviews lots of great books and is always in the know about what is coming out.  Being in school, I haven't had the opportunity to read as much as I have wanted....so this is a great way to jump back in.

Sooooooo......drumroll please, the first book is:

This is a book that I was talking about in an earlier post.  I have am really excited to have the opportunity to share this first book with you as it has made such an impact on me. 
From this book, I have learned about the word, Eucharisteo.  This word and this book are about the wonder of Grace, Thanksgiving and Joy. 

"That Thanks-giving might literaly become thanks-living."

-Ann Voskamp

In the past I have kept gratitude journals.  I can tell you from my experience that daily listing the things you are  grateful for will change your perspective on your life.  It is so easy to get caught up in all the negative that can surround you with work, family, church, the cranky neighbors......and you begin to act like a gerbil on a treadmill running the negative over and over in your mind.  Taking a deep breath and writing down those breezes that God sends our way each day stops all that noise.

Ann shares with you in this warm and heartfelt book her story.  She shares the hurts of her family.  The lifechanging moment of seeing her baby sister die before her.  So many reasons to mistrust, to hold God at arms length.  But through a dare from a friend, she starts a list of 1000 gifts from God.  Scribbled on pieces of paper and notebooks, the list grew and grew.  A change began....a life lived with thanksgiving for all that she had and hadn't even noticed.

I know you will love this book.....I know that if you allow yourself to be drawn in and begin your own list of 1000 gifts it will change you too.  SOOOO.....  let me help with that.

The wonderful people of Zondervan have gifted me with two copies of "One Thousand Gifts" to give away.

I LOVE having the opportunity to share this with you and I want to make it easy.  So here is how to win a free copy of your own....

There are three ways you can enter:
1.  On the left side of the blog, you can scroll down and to the box that says "Sweet Friends" and follow me. If you are already a follower, that is ok....just leave a comment that you follow me.

2.  Post about this giveaway on your Facebook.  (leave a seperate comment)

3.  Post abot this giveaway on your Blog.  (leave a seperate comment)

See, told you it was simple!!!  We will make this short too as I have another book to add in a few days.  You will have till midnight Tuesday, April 12 and I will post the winners on Wednesday, April 13.  Be sure to add your email address so that I can contact you.

Thanks so much for participating in my first book giveaway!!!!!!
Love you all......  count your blessings tonight!!!

Disclaimer:  Zondervan has provided books for this giveaway and for my review.  I am not required to write a positive review....I am only asked to review the book as I see it.

They are watching......

We all have a "happy place"...that store or place you go that just makes you happy.  For me, it is Hobby Lobby.  I know it seems silly, but I grew up with a mom that made our clothes, curtains, knit, crochet and tried her hand at all the other crafts that came our way.  I inherited that love of the "hand made", but with school and just life lately, I haven't had the opportunity to play with all the craft supplies that are stored around our house.  But Saturday I decided to make it a play day and go find some fun things to work with when I am on break.
Strolling down the aisles, I was finding lots of fun stuff to work with and was very happy. That was until the yelling started.  There were two women a couple of aisles over having a progressively louder, very heated discussion.  Apparently one woman had a young daughter with her that was getting into everything.  The mother in exasperation said she was going to beat her behind (insert another less appropriate word) if she didn't stop.  Woman #2 decided it was her job to correct this woman and show her the error of her ways.  Sadly, Woman #1 didn't see it that way......so the war of words began.  To be very honest, if it was just the two women, it would have been humerous because the comments that they were throwing back and forth were getting more and more absurd.  And then there was Woman #2's parting shot that she hoped... "God Bless You too"....yes, you need to add dripping sarcasm here.  I don't really know how God got dragged into this mess, but there you go.
While two women behaving like the village idiots...well, that is one thing.....but what got me as I rounded the corner looking to head the other way, away from these two, I caught the look in the eyes of the young girl that was in the middle of all this mess.  The sadness in her eyes watching these two go at it made me stop in my tracks.  It was so sad to see her.  You know, it was a huge reminder that we never know who is watching us.  We may think it is no big deal....but it is.  We need to step up and be the heros in situations around us and not those that just simply are content to make a mess wherever we go, just so that we can "speak our minds".
As I was thinking about this I found myself headed down another aisle....and who would be coming my way....Woman #2 with HER mother.....  her mom was telling her that she should never have started that mess and there were just times to be quiet.
I guess we never get to old to learn something from our moms.

Hugs,
Debbie

A Simple Post It Note!

I have lots to catch up with on here, and I will work on that for the next week.....  But I ran across this and love it...  A simple post it note with an encouraging message....  How easy is that?  And who knows what kind of difference it could make to someone at a crossroads....  watch the video, grab a post it pad and a pen....  make a difference in how someone sees themself.....

One Thousand Gifts....

I love this book....and I am so excited to find that "incourage" will be having an online book group to go through the book a chapter a week, and each week there will be a video from Ann.  I am so looking forward to this!!!  Hope you all will join me in this....

Theme for Coming Year.......

We Are Here....

Sunday Morning......

Good Morning All!

Sadly for me, I am not feeling well.  We had to miss services this morning at our church...which I hate to do!  We are attending a mission church, and we love the people, the services, just the presence of God during these gatherings! 

Seeing that I hadn't written for awhile, I wanted to post a few things to let you know that I was still around!!! LOL  Just a few more days in this quarter of school...and a light schedule for my last quarter in Massage Therapy.  So if I can just pull everything together for my finals on Wednesday, things should go a little easier with my schedule.

For those of you that can use apps on your phone, check out YouVersion.  It is a free app I found for my phone this morning that I think I am really going to like....and guess what?  It's actually free!!!!  It has several versions of the bible, devotionals and reading plans.  So if it is something you can use with your phone, check it out.

I am on such a reading jag lately.  Haven't had much time for it, but I have been so "hungry" for some reading time and this book is wonderful. I had heard about it from some gals that had gone to Relevant 10...rave reviews of this writer/speaker...and when I read about the book I knew it would be a must read for me.  It was finally released a few days ago and I quickly downloaded it!  This is one that will speak to your heart and her wonderful writing will cause you to want to slow down to savor each word.  I am just about a quarter of the way through the book....so I will share more as I finish up.

Need to go for now....may each of you have a blessed Christmas season.  SLOW DOWN and enjoy what this time is truly about...the birth of the Savior who came to save the world.  Awesome heart stuff...... 

One more thing....I have been interested in Advent Conspiracy for about a year now.  I am working to set up a page to help with digging wells for clean water in underdeveloped areas.  When we have this put together I will share about it.  As a family, we have just felt impressed to not put gifts under the tree this year.....but to send what we can out to help those that truly need it.  There is something about giving a child water for a year that trumps a tie for Uncle Bob every time.  smile. 

Hugs and Blessings to all of you!!!!

Christmas....

Found this, Loved it, Wanted to share it with you!! You know how sometimes you are looking to put into words what you feel...and then you find someone or something that pulls it all together in a way you wish you had done. Well, this is it.....smile!

The heart of it all.....

When I posted about struggling the other day, I know it may have seemed really "down".  But sadly, many times when God needs to get my attention, He has to get me to a place where I am ready to listen, and act.  Sometimes I can get what He shows me.....but putting  it into action---that can be a different story.

In this last week, I have read Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love and I am about half way

 through David Platt's book, Radical.  It has been a lot to think about, pray about, be convicted of.  Part of what I am getting from this is that we have twisted the gospel to make it "comfortable" for us.  We have settled into lazy christianity that we would be hard pressed to recognize from the example set by Christ.

When did it become ok to just give to others our scraps, our leftovers.....if we even think or give to them at all?  Looking at the percentages of children that are dying every day because of starvation and the lack of clean water is jaw dropping.  And I just think if these were our children, we would be desperate to find someone to help....to watch our children dying would break our hearts....and to know that our children could be saved just on what is thrown away on a daily basis by the average American family....

that is truly obscene.

Do I have the answers for this yet....no.  But I am no longer comfortable with life as I have been living it.  I have said before that it has always bugged me when I have seen stars like Jay Leno with all those cars in his collection.  Knowing that they are worth tons of money....and knowing what that money could do to feed a village, drill wells for clean water, build homes it just seems ridiculous.  BUT with that said, it is so easy to take shots at someone in the limelight.....sadly, if we would turn the magnifying glass on our own lives and habits we would see that we are just as responsible for the waste and not helping the problem.  And please know that when I say "we", I mean "me".

I am looking into some things that I can do to change they way I live and to be able to give.  We are so blessed to live where we do......but in becoming complacent with what we have and always expecting more....the blessing is being squandered.  And WE are going to be held responsible for what we do or don't do.  As someone just shared with me, "God doesn't grade on a curve".

As I research some things in my area and worldwide.....I will be glad to share with you.  And I would love to learn of ways you have found to give.

And for those of you that are nervy enough to say..."We need to just start at home first."....well, take some time and search the scriptures for the answer to that one....you might be very surprised.

Hugs to you all....

Your Hands.....

When it is out of our hands.......it is never out of His....




Hugs,

Struggle...

I have wanted to be uplifting on this blog....not fall into being whiny even when there were things that "bugged" me.  And I have tried.

I haven't written much recently as I was trying to find the words to express what is going on.

I have been here before....

And I really hate this part...those seasons and times of upheaval and change...

but I feel it coming on....

and I struggle.

Even places of comfort are uncomfortable....

Attending a church I love this morning, with people I love and care about....for the first time in a long time I felt totally alone.....

It is not a fun place to be....it makes me want to pull the covers over my head and try to wait it out.

But I know that this is just part of the birthing of something new in my life....

its never easy or pain free....

it just is.

I didn't want to write this, to admit to feeling this way....

but I recalled that one of my favorite blogs is about her journey,

the mountain tops and the valleys...

because we all go through it in one way or another....

and sometimes it just helps to know that someone else has been there...

and survived....

and found joy again.....

and found their road home again....

Love to you all.......prayers for each of you on your journeys......  He is with you and me....

So What About Halloween???

Several years ago ( boy, I hate to really think how long ago it was!!! LOL), my son was small and I was trying to decide how we were going to handle Halloween.  As a Christian, you got the whole array of advice from "it's no big deal" to "how can you be a Christian and participate in it?"....yeah, lots of help there!

But during that time, I went to assist at a women's retreat for pastor's wives.  I was working at a salon that went there to pamper those women on one of their evenings there.  As I was giving a hand/arm massage to one of the women who was very pregnant and shared that she had 3 other children at home....I asked her the question, "What do you do with Halloween?"  And she gave me the best advice that I have ever heard on this subject.

She shared with me that she and her husband had prayed about this and wanted to do something that would reflect something positive on this holiday.  She asked me, "What other holiday do people line up to come to your home to visit?"  This was so different than when you hand out tracts or go on visitation....people actually wanted to come to you.  So why not do something positive with that.

Each year they decide on a theme and the family dresses up in something fun and uplifting (no scary/horror stuff).  That year I remember that her daughters wanted to be princesses....and that she would dress as the queen and her husband as King.  Her husband was taking refrigerator boxes to make a castle for the front yard.  They purchased candy.....the best they could afford.....because as you do unto others, you do as unto Christ.....and what would they buy for His visit???  They made hot cocoa and apple cider to serve.  They made this something special and would have the opportunity to visit with friends, neighbors and strangers that would come to their door.  They found simple children's tracts to include in the children's treat bags. 

Who wouldn't want to visit them?  And what a positive message......and how open would people be to them sharing at some point about their faith.....or an invitation to church.......

So who would you be open to the darken cold house or the one that welcomed with warmth, friendship and joy?

Just some food for thought...... 

Can I Stand For You?

I was wanting to get something up on the blog.....and after a beautiful southern weekend, I was planning on posting pictures and info on our weekend.  But things change......

Sitting down this afternoon to do homework, I started flipping through some television shows that I had recorded and wanted to sift through to see if there were any I wanted to watch. There was a program about women vets.....I was astonished at how many of our women veterans are homeless, have had their children taken from them, and return to.....silence from us.

One of the vets shared how people will show up from miles around to attend the funeral of a returning soldier...but not show up for the ones that return to months in the hospital or needing other care.  As a woman and as a widow of a veteran, I hurt for these women.

There was a woman on the show that had lost both legs in an explosion.....she was in the hospital in excruciating pain and felt she was going to die.  She watched the clock, willing herself to make it through 60 seconds at a time.....even though she had been transfered back to the US, her hair was matted with blood, she was still covered  with dirt and sand from the combat area.  A soldier entered the room, took off her arm, and looked at her.  She told her she knew she was hurting and understood that, but she was going to make it....and could she "stand for her"?  This soldier washed the woman's hair...and for 5 days --through all her pain--when she looked around, this woman was there..."standing for her". 

The veteran situation needs our prayers and our voices....and action.

But it also made me think.....how many women do we come across in our lives that need someone just to "stand for her"......  There are women who are harshly judged and we don't know their stories....there are women who are angry and spew such ugliness, but we don't know their story.....how would their lives have been different if someone was willing to "stand for her"?  We have women who have lost....homes, husbands, children...health....and after the intial shock when people begin to drift away.....they just need to know that someone will "stand for them".

Such a simple, yet powerful thing......knowing someone is standing for you!!!  As Christians....what a powerful, amazing thing to be able to not only stand for someone, but to be able to place their hands into the hands of one that Stood For Them 2000 years ago.  Knowing Christ stood for us on the cross and took our place.....we as Christians are called to "stand"  for those around us.....

"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son...."

Understand that "standing for" someone doesn't mean that we fix them, offer our opinions on what they could have done differently, how they failed.....it is about loving them, praying for them, reaching out with compassion, and more than that not just lip service but putting feet to our concerns....finding ways to let them know that we truly do care.  For that soldier, the simple act of having someone care to just wash her hair.....it sparked a change in how life looked around her. 

Do you have something that I can "stand with you" for?  Just email me or post your prayer request....  or just your thoughts on this.....

Hugs,

Stop The World

JJ Heller - What Love Really Means (Official Music Video)

It's a God Thing........

It's been busy....no, I mean really, seriously busy.  I can give you lists of all the stuff I have to do, need to do, haven't done yet, need to have done today, or Monday or Tuesday......you get what I mean.  It is the end of the quarter with so much to do.....and sadly the household and laundry fairies haven't shown up for duty in some time.  As you can see....I have a legitimate list of excuses for the "busyness" in my life.

Yesterday some things happened that frankly made me mad.  Mean people can wreck your day, can't they?  The more I thought about it, the more it made me mad.  But you know, having someone do something inconsiderate and harsh....doesn't give us a pass to act the same way in return.  The worst part is if we allow this kind of thing to change who we are......that is on us, not them.

As I thought on this today, I opened my computer to check on my email.  It opened to the internet....and to a page on Lifeway.  Please understand, I don't know when the last time was that I had been on this site, it has been some time ago.  But recently I had decided to do a study online of Beth Moore's Fruit of the Spirit.  I have the book....and apparently (I had forgotten about it)..I had purchased the study to view online on Lifeway.  Remember how BUSY I have been....well, I haven't taken the time to just "be still".  When I thought about it, I realized for the last couple of weeks, one of the big things that had gone by the wayside with everything that has been going on is my quiet time.  Just that time to get away and spend some time in prayer, reading, journaling...and just being with One that guides and leads.  Now, if you aren't spending time with the "Navigator" it is so easy to get off course...and stay there till you get back to the One that knows the way.  Opening my computer and having it be at the Bible Study, ready to view the lesson for that day let me know that God was reminding me of my missed appointments with Him.  Knowing that put the last day into a different perspective.

Some times we will have seasons of busyness....dry spells.....just things off kilter.  Use them as a reminder to get back to the basics.....simply drop all the excuses and make the time to spend with God.  For when it becomes a "chore" or just something else on our to do lists, let's face it--there are deeper things at work. 

Expect hope to be rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.

The dry seasons in life do not last.

-Sarah Ban Breathnach

Hugs to you all.....
Debbie

Wednesday Grats....

Don't want to miss the opportunity to get in on the Wednesday Grats this week!!!  Please know that all are welcome to join in...  Gratitude changes your attitude in so many ways...

1.  Thankful for our new church....a pastor that truly wants to make a difference in people lives.  Starting small but laying great groundwork for the future.

2.  Being close to the end of this quarter!  Great teachers and classes...but this quarter I have struggled with feeling behind so much of the time.  So I am really ready for this quarter to wind up and be behind me.

3. Opening doors!!!  Opportunities for me to sell some of my handmade items in unexpected places.  Love it when those "blessings" sneak up on you.

4.  For dear friends that make me smile and even join the gym to workout with me!!

5.  For my mom who pays attention to the little things (even when I think she isn't) and surprises me with things like "white pumpkins"....thanks mom!!

Hugs to you all!!!
Debbie

Words from Brin......

If you are not familiar with Brin...well you should be. I have loved her blog for some time and always find something there that speaks to me. You can find Brin here.

I love finding strong, insightful, creative, grace filled women on the web...and there are many.
Today, I just wanted to share the current writing of Miss Brin as it spoke to my heart and I hope it will yours.



Don't give up. Keep going. Don't give up.

Especially when it's hard. Especially during dry spells. Especially in times of mourning. Especially during times of testing... times of learning... times of questioning.

Find your faith. Put it in your pocket. Remind yourself you have it. Remind yourself it's real. Pull it out when you need to; examine it. Patch it up when it's battered. Ask for more when it's not enough. Then take it and keep going.

What we're doing today matters. Because in due season - tomorrow, next year, eternity- there will be a harvest. Good or bad, there will be a harvest. There will be bounty. Where there were hard times, there will be triumph. Where there was lack, there will be plenty. Where there was sorrow, there will be joy. Where there was weariness, there will be rest.

The harvest is coming. Can't you feel Him stirring even now? Don't you see Him getting His sickle ready?

Don't give up. I'll hang in here with you until then. -Brin

(Also I am sorry to miss my Wednesday grats post....thank you to those of you that are participating!!!  This week just got a bit busy.....but I am thankful for all of you....for grace....and for God who cares about even the "little things" in our lives.)

Hugs to you all,
Debbie