An Overflowing Heart for Thanksgiving

November 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

3339606759_265dc7c515Aren’t you thankful for a month when we can celebrate thankfulness? A month when all across our vast nation we each remember the blessings we have and offer God thanks for them?

The details of our thanks may vary from year to year, but the underlying truth remains the same—the countless gifts God gives fill our hearts with thanks and praise.

 I originally shared the poem “Overflowing Heart” on my blog in November 2007 (the first Thanksgiving after I started blogging), but it’s filled with even more truth and meaning for me today as God has continued to pour blessings into my life. Yes, today my heart overflows even more.

May my “Overflowing Heart” give rise to your own this holiday season. And may God continue to bless you all richly, my friends!

Overflowing Heart

On this Thanksgiving Day
My heart is overflowing,
The blessings in my life, dear Lord,
Just seem to keep on growing.

How can I ever thank you,
Where can I begin,
To show my appreciation
For the forgiveness of my sin?

Apart from you I am nothing,
No glory is my own,
From your hand comes all I have,
Your goodness I’ve always known.

My health, my home, my family,
You’ve given me by grace,
Help me, Lord, to give them back
To serve you in life’s race.

Oh God of all the universe,
I will ever sing your praise,
I will forever thank you,
I will honor you all of my days!

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life . . .” Psalm 23:5-6a NIV

*What blessings are you especially thankful for today?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, came out early this month. It’s not too late to receive it. I feature a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue so don’t miss out. Sign-up is free on the right sidebar!

*I won’t be posting during the holiday week next week. See you back here on the 29th!

*Flickr photo by Sangre-La.com, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Above and Beyond, blessing, Gift, holidays, poem, praise, prayer, thanks Tagged With: , ,

A Mother of the Bride’s Thanksgiving Prayer

November 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

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May this Mother of the Bride’s Prayer of Thanksgiving help you express to God what’s in your heart this year, dear MOB!

Dear Lord,

My heart is filled with thanksgiving this year as I help my precious daughter prepare for her wedding. These are once-in-a-lifetime days, and I’m so grateful to be sharing such an exciting journey with her. Thank you, Lord, for granting us this amazing time together.

Father, as I see my sweet girl take on this new role of bride-to-be and soon-to-be wife, my heart swells afresh with love for her. Not only has she grown into a beautiful woman, she has become a funny, smart, kind, and loving person. I am so very proud of her and I thank you, Lord, for allowing me the great privilege of being her mom.

And how can I ever thank you for bringing such a fine young man into her life to be the love of her life and share the rest of her days with her? I pray that you’ll draw them even closer to one another in these months preceding their wedding. Help them form a bond that nothing will ever break, and help them to always look to you and desire to honor you in their marriage and in all that they do.

Lord, help me to be a mother of the bride who is truly helpful and encouraging in every way. Help me to be the support that my daughter needs now and help me to develop a sweet and loving relationship with my soon-to-be son-in-law. I pray I will be a mother they can always count on and a friend who will walk with them through whatever the future may hold. Help me to be a blessing to them, Lord!

Yes, Lord, my heart is filled with thanksgiving this year. How I thank and praise you!

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:3

*You might also like to read Spirit and Soul Refreshment for the Mother of the Bride. And from my home page, you might like A Prayer for Couples You Know.

*Since the readership of this blog is ever-changing, I hope this encore post from November 2014 is a real blessing to you today, MOB!

*Also note I won’t be posting next week during the holiday week but will see you back here on the 29th. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*It’s not too late to receive the current issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter. I offer a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue so don’t miss out. Sign-up is free on the right sidebar!

*Flickr photo by JFXie, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: blessing, bride, faith, family, holidays, life, love, Mother of the Bride, prayer, thanks Tagged With: , , , ,

One-More-Chance Starbucks Giveaway

January 28, 2016 by 28 Comments

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In honor of Valentine’s Day coming up in a couple of weeks and since this holiday is all about love, I’m going to give you another shot at winning a giveaway prize you all seem to love—a Starbucks gift card!

That’s right, the Starbucks giveaways I do here on my blog seem to get the biggest response of all. So since I love you all and want to give you what you love and since cold weather still has us wanting to curl up with a hot drink, I give you the One-More-Chance Starbucks Giveaway! One lucky commenter will win a $15 Starbucks gift card. Now whether you’ll splurge on hot drinks or pastries or one of each will be entirely up to you :)

To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post by 6 p.m (CST) Wednesday February 10th, and I’ll announce the winner in my midweek morsel post the next day. Any comment will do, but to make it more fun, why not tell me one of your favorite treats for Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s flowers, candy, a delicious hot drink, a night on the town, or something sparkly from the jewelry store, let’s have fun sharing some of our favorites. Me? It’s hard to choose, but I always love a night at the movies or some Harry & David Dark Chocolate Truffles.

And while we’re thinking about treats, let’s be sure to treat ourselves daily to the joys and comforts of God’s Word. That will be a sweet treat for our souls that will hit the spot indeed!

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119:103

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

*Flickr photo by ND Strupler, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Gift, giveaway, giving, holidays, love Tagged With: , , , , ,

Holiday Blogging Break Plus Wedding Planning Help

December 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

7980406309_3524c3f3bd*Since the readership of the Mother of the Bride Blog is ever-changing, here is an updated encore post I hope will be helpful to those of you who weren’t MOBs when I originally posted it last December.

Mother of the Bride, I’m taking a holiday blogging break until the first of the year, but I have a little gift for you—a gift of help! Allow me to point you in the right direction to find some great ideas and tips. Maybe at some point over the holidays, you’ll have a little time to wear your MOB hat. The chances may not be good, but you never know!

Three great sources of help are right here on my website. Glance over to the right sidebar and scan down until you see the Favorite Posts section. There you will find links to some important or super-helpful posts here on the Mother of the Bride Blog. Also, if you would like info or help on a certain topic, just use the search feature right under my picture on the header. It will pull up all kinds of help in an instant. You can check my Archives as well (the last item on the right sidebar.) Click on each year and then click on each month. When you click on the month, then you will see a list of the post titles. I bet you will spot some posts that will be especially helpful to you at this stage in your Mother of the Bride journey.

Another great source of helpful ideas can be found on my Pinterest page. I have eighteen wedding-related boards filled with terrific ideas for you. When you go over to check it out, be sure to follow me while you’re there so you won’t miss out on great new pins I post each week.

How’s that for some MOB help this holiday season? Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!

*Find my annual Christmas poem over on my home page. Hope you enjoy—and see you in the new year!

*Flickr photo by top10things, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: Gift, help, holidays, Mother of the Bride, preparation, rest, variety Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Winner Plus My Favorite Christmas Verses

December 10, 2015 by 3 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: , , , , ,
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