The New Giveaway!!

OK, here are the details of the giveaway I mentioned in my previous entry. I have two tickets for.........(insert drum roll here)...... the WOMEN OF FAITH CONFERENCE!!! It is in Atlanta, GA next weekend, August 12-13, 2011.




The line-up includes:

Luci Swindoll     Angie Smith

Mary Mary         Natalie Grant

Sheila Walsh      Nicole Johnson

Lisa Harper        Steve  Arterburn

Laura Story

 I was given the opportunity to go to blog about the experience, but due to a schedule conflict I am unable to go. The kind people at Women of Faith said that I could do a giveaway on my blog for the tickets so here it is!

The requirements for entering are as follows:
1) You MUST be able to attend the conference and provide your own lodging and food.
2) You must comment below with your name and email address.(Please put your email address in your comment because I can't see it otherwise!)
3) I would also love if you would write a short review when you return so that we will all get a little taste of how great it was.

UPDATE: Entries must be in by 9:00 PM(CST), Saturday, August 6, 2011.

All that is left to do now is comment and tell your friends to enter too! -Now don't be selfish! :0)

Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters

I have finally finished another book! It is so much harder to find the time to read while the kids are home for the summer! We have had a great time these past few months playing in the pool and just hanging out. I can't believe it is almost time for school to start back. Like my Ems says, "I'm not ready!" It is also time for another blog giveaway, so stay tuned, over the next couple of days I'll be telling you how to enter. You won't want to miss this one! On to the book review....

Help Wanted: Moms Raising Daughters is a manual of sorts for the mother who finds herself at a loss raising daughters. It is full of helpful advice and instructions to navigate many areas of rearing those precious girls God has blessed you with. As the mother of a girl and a boy, I found that many of the lessons are applicable to both daughters and sons. This wasn't a "quick read" by any means. The author, Darlene Brock, has packed a boat load of information in the 215 pages of this book. 

Each chapter covers a topic that you are sure to face as a mother. She sets them up as job descriptions and describes in detail the qualities a mom must posses as she tries to fill each role. The topics include:

• Coach
• Creative Counselor
• Time Manager
• Media Director
• Academic Advocate
• Professor of Gender Studies
• Relationship Counselor
• Sex Ed Teacher
• Financial Consultant
• Bodyguard
• Communications Specialist
• In-Home Demonstrator
• Military Strategist

Mrs. Brock doesn't take a light view of the role of mother and encourages you to take it seriously too. I think this quote is a good summary:

So, as mothers, why should we work so hard in this unrelenting battle? Why should we look for the enemies and create a strategy? Because the result is ultimately important. You are helping to shape a human life-your daughter's. It is not the book we write, the car we help manufacture,the store we run,the letter we type,nor the house we clean that will truly affect the generations that follow.It is the daughters we bring into this world and help to mold. They are our treasures, and they will be this world's treasure as well. Your parenting has a profound effect on your daughter's life.

I highly recommend this book as a help for raising daughters (and sons as well.) I will be holding on to my copy as a source of encouragement to fight the good fight for my daughter and as a reminder of what that fight entails.

 

Voices of the Faithful - Book 2

 

Voices of the Faithful - Book 2 is a compilation of devotions written by missionaries stationed around the world. The devotions are very inspiring and give a insightful peek into the lives of those valiantly spending their lives to spread the gospel in foreign lands. It gives a new focus to your prayers for those missionaries. As you read each day's entry, you receive a dose of scripture, a story from one serving in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, and a prayer written from the heart. The goal of the book as stated by Beth Moore in the introduction is to make you "motivated to pray."  There is a section in the back of the book to help you further your support of missions individually and as a church.

I found the stories inspiring and convicting at the same time. It is great to be able to see into the lives and hearts of those giving their all for the Kingdom. I am inspired to pray more faithfully for them and their work of faith. I hope you enjoy this book as I have!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What If We Were Real

Those of you who know me well know that I am not very athletic. I exercise in fits and spurts. I am having one of those fits now. My goal is to run a 5k by October. Did I just really type that?!? I am really committed now! I have a much better chance of reaching this goal than ones I have made in the past. I have a secret weapon, Hope in the Lord. I am literally claiming the promise of

Isaiah 40:31- 

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

My encourager in all this has come from an unlikely place, my ipod. I was given a review copy of Mandisa's new CD What If We Were Real. I really liked the sound and put it on my ipod. I decided the upbeat tempo would be great to run- OK walk/run- to. Little did I know what inspiration the lyrics would provide. Here's a sample of the most inspiring lines:

"Good Morning"- Good Morning, You give me strength, You give me just what I need, I can feel the hope that's rising in me!

"Stronger"- The pain ain't gonna last forever, Things can only get better. He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger.

Every song on the album has lines that make me want to run or at least not give up. Mandisa herself has lost 100 lbs recently. I am sure that she has poured out the motivation for her victory into this project. I am thankful to benefit from it!

So I ask that you all hold me accountable to my goal.

Congratulations Margaret!

The winner of the $20 gift certificate is Margaret! Please e-mail me @ themcds@hopper.net and I will get the info to you!

We all need Grace! & $20 Giveaway!

The awesome people at Dayspring gave me the opportunity to receive a product to review, and I get to give away a $20 gift certificate they provided to one of my lucky readers. So happy reading and good luck!

First off let me say that the tray is beautiful! It is a bit larger than I expected it to be and much larger than my husband thought necessary for the dining table. "Gawky" I think he said...LOL. But it would look lovely on a coffee table (or even a dining table.) :0) I wanted to show the tray in use and decided to display our family's collection of sea shells in it. Lovely if I do say so myself. It is well constructed and very versatile.

As I placed my daughters prize sand dollar on the tray, I was reminded of a beautiful yet painful story in my life of God's simple joy, unending hope, wonderful grace, authentic peace, and unfathomable love just like the words on the tray. This series of lessons came from an answered prayer of  my daughter and mine to find a sand dollar at the beach. We had been praying for several days for God to allow us the great joy of finding a sand dollar. We took a dolphin cruise to "Shell Island." Surely we could find one there! Sure enough as soon as we got to the beach, among the other 60 passengers, we found it.... a perfect sand dollar. We said "PRAISE THE LORD" and did a happy dance. ( Much to the amusement of others around us I'm sure.)

Fast forward to the end of our trip. My family dropped me off to join my dear friends for an eWomen conference. I insisted on taking the sand dollar with me to insure its safety. Well you don't have to be a genius to figure out what comes next. Safely tucked into my notebook with my Bible, I CRUSHED the sand dollar. I was just as crushed. Our answered prayers, our miracle gone. It took me a long time to figure this one out. I knew there was a lesson to be learned.

My first lesson was the life that came from my broken treasure. Did you know that if you crush a sand dollar there are tons of butterflies inside? The sign of new life spilled out of my broken dream. I held n to those butterflies for a long time.... Finally the Lord said enough of holding on to broken dreams. I threw them away.

 My next lesson came the next year as I walked the beach looking for another sand dollar. I spent most of that trip with my head down searching the sand for another "miracle." Mercifully, the Lord showed me that while I was so busy combing through sand I was missing the miracles all around me. A wonderful husband, two beautiful children, a huge family I never had growing up, all of creation proclaiming HIS GLORY and the Holy Spirit dwelling within me thanks to Jesus' death on the cross. Look around and see ALL of His blessings!

Finally, I saw yet another lesson in that sand dollar experience. When we hold our blessing too tightly, sometimes we crush them. That lesson is true whether you are holding sand dollars, children, or friends. You will crush the spirits of those you love if you hold them too tightly.

OK, if you stayed with me this far you have the great reward of getting the info on the giveaway! To enter your name for the twenty dollar Dayspring certificate leave a comment below telling me either a good use for the tray or a lesson you have learned from an unlikely object. I can't wait to hear your ideas and stories.  Don't forget to put your e-mail so I can contact you if you win the random drawing. Entries will be taken through 11:59 PM on Friday, April 22.

Truth in Disclosure: I was provided the Grace Tray by Dayspring to review for no cost. I did not promise a favorable review in order to receive the item. This is my true opinion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Max on Life by Max Lucado

I just finished with Max on Life by Max Lucado. This is actually my first Max Lucado book. This is not a book to just sit down and devour because it is written in a question-answer format. The questions are ones that have been posed to Lucado throughout his years as a writer, pastor and evangelist.

I found the questions very real. They are definitely some that are voiced by those outside of the Christian faith and those that have been lifelong Christians as well. I found Lucado’s answers to be open, honest, and biblically sound.

This would be a great book for those seeking answers to some of life’s toughest questions. As I was reading it, I was thankful for the way he puts into words some very difficult to explain foundations of Christian faith. Even if you have a good grasp of what you believe, this book would be a good tool in preparing to share your Christian faith with others.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”