Winner Plus Summer Photo Fun Kick-Off: Caption This

July 21, 2016 by 2 Comments

IMG_5442 Hey everyone, I’m back! And to start things off with some smiles, I’m announcing the winner of my Mother of the Bride Book Launch Giveaway plus kicking off my annual Summer Photo Fun here on the blog. Good times, huh?!

First things first—time to announce a winner! The winner of the gift assortment  including a signed copy of my book Mother of the Bride as well as some other special items is . . . Susan Best! Congrats, Susan! Hope you thoroughly enjoy each gift!

And now for Summer Photo Fun: For those of you who may be new here, each year during July and early August, I feature some fun photo posts rather than my usual inspirational/devotional style posts.

This part of summer is always topsy-turvy for me since my husband is on his break from teaching so I try to take a more casual approach to blogging for a few weeks. Since photos can really brighten our days and since I’ll also be including a verse from the Bible, my hope is that you’ll still leave here feeling refreshed or nourished in some way.

Let’s start with some Caption This fun. The photo above is of one of my twin grandsons (Isaiah) after enjoying one of Grandma’s love-filled chocolate chip cookies. The rest is up to you—how would you caption this photo?

Thanks as always for stopping by, friends. I hope my sweet Isaiah put a smile on your face today!

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us,” Psalm 67:1

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out in early August. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*My photo

Filed Under: books, challenge, family, fun, giveaway, photo fun, summer, tradition Tagged With: , , ,

A Winner Plus My Favorite Christmas Verses

December 10, 2015 by 2 Comments

4037699377_b218f58079_zToday’s the day to announce the winner of the Little Christmas Warmth Giveaway—yes, time to make someone a little warmer! The lucky winner who will soon be wrapping her cold hands around a luscious hot drink from Starbucks is . . . Tamra! Congrats, Tamra! I’ll dash to my mailbox as fast as I can (without a one-horse open sleigh!) and send the gift card on its way. Hope it makes your holiday season a little merrier!

For all of you dropping by today, I’d like to pass along the best holiday joy I know by sharing my favorite Christmas verses from the Bible. I love reading all of the passages related to the birth of Jesus, but the verses below have become my favorites. May God’s Word bless you today, friends!

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 KJV

“‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 KJV

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

A child. A son. A Savior. The Word. The One and Only. Amen and amen!

*Which of these verses speaks to you in the most powerful way?

*Flickr photo by sakarias.ingolfsson, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Christmas story, giveaway, holidays, joy, Word of God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Midweek Morsel: Winner Plus a “Poopy Life” Quote

August 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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Now that’s a blog post title you probably never expected to see here, right? Before we tackle the second half of that title, let’s address the first.

We have a “Back At It Giveaway” winner! The lucky recipient of the Barnes & Noble gift card is Debbie! Congratulations, Debbie! I’ll get your gift card in the mail today. Enjoy whatever you choose at good ole B&N. Remember, along with all their books, they usually have chocolate near the check-out :)

Now on to the second half of the post title—I have a quote for us to ponder about the poopy parts of life. That’s right, a “poopy life” quote to consider. Don’t worry, you’ll be relieved (excuse the pun, really wasn’t intentional!) to find out that it is indeed a quote worthy of thought and really quite uplifting. Here we go:

“Like an organic farmer, [God] is able to use the poopy parts of life as rich soil for growing the fruit of the Spirit in us.” Margaret Feinberg in The Organic God

When we get upset or discouraged about bad or tough things happening in our lives, let’s remember that God will use those “poopy” things to help us become more like him. What say we make it our goal to allow the Lord to shine through us even in the bad times. You in?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23a

*How have you seen God use something bad in your life to help you grow in the fruit of the Spirit?

*Flickr photo by Daniele Nicolucci photography, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: books, change, giveaway, life, nature, new thing, trial Tagged With: , , , , ,