Winner of the Giveaway!

KimB

Congratulations!!! I will be contacting you shortly with the $20 coupon code for DaySpring's online store!

Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope to do more of these posts in the future!

A Review and A Giveaway!

I recently had the exciting opportunity to receive a pack of free “Hope and Encouragement” themed greeting cards (pic. above and below) from DaySpring, in exchange for writing a review on my blog. So I thought, why not? And jumped on this opportunity for 2 reasons. The first one is obvious, I love free. Who doesn't? But I also happened upon this giveaway at just the perfect time, as I’m trying to write more cards of gratitude and encouragement to those in my life (click to see #9 in this post). I also know what a blessing it is to be on the receiving end of a card of encouragement or thanksgiving.



In this day and age where handwritten notes are hard to come by, I love opening the mailbox and finding one. It makes my day! As I was reading through this particular set of beautiful cards (being encouraged myself just from reading them), I thought about how much I would love to be on the receiving end of such an uplifting card; that someone thought enough to pass these words of truth onto me. The messages on each of the cards are from Holley Gerth’s devotional God’s Heart for You: Embracing Your True Worth as a Woman(Harvest House Publishers), so it’s almost like a mini-devotional within each card. The only drawback to this, for me personally, was that it was kind of difficult for me to find my one card to send off with just the right message for either the particular women I wanted to send cards to or one that was exactly fitting with their particular situation right now. But I am certain these cards will not sit long waiting to be sent off!


In the meantime, I do already plan to giveaway, as a gift, the above beautiful accordion card organizer that arrived along with the cards (you can still get one this month 70% off for only $4.99, plus s/h). It is sturdy and colorful, and has dividers with each month’s name at the top that you can remove and write “Birthdays” or “Days to Remember” for that particular month, on the lines provided. And I love the verse that is printed on the front, “I will bless you…and you will be a blessing,” Genesis 12:2. So fitting.

So if receiving beautiful free product in exchange for a review on your blog sounds like something you’d be interested in (once every 3 months!), just follow this link for more information on next month’s giveaway, which I’ve already peeked at and it’s awesome!

And if you would like to leave a comment here below by 12am on 1/23, about what a handwritten note of encouragement or thanksgiving means to you, you will be entered in my drawing for a $20 coupon to DaySpring’s online store (with a $20 min. purchase; s/h charges will apply to your order).

I look forward to hearing from you!

*Legal Jargon: Please note that DaySpring gave me all of the above stated product for free to review and all stated opinions stated are my own.*

On My Reading List...

I love books. And I have a lot of them. I've actually had to tone down my collecting of books addiction because of the following: I don't always finish them in a timely manner. Not that they are due at the library or anything and that's one reason why I like to buy them (most of the time at thrift stores because you can't beat 3/$1!!). Because there is no pressure to finish them, quickly, there isn't as much motivation. Sure, I intend to read them all one day. But many books I'll just read parts of and put back on the shelf. No due date. No hurry. It actually kind of drives me nuts, but sometimes I am just on a quick treasure hunt for a gem of wisdom or a quote that I can relate to.

Well last night on one of my "treasure hunts" I found the following quote in the book Mourning into Dancing by Walter Wangerin, Jr., that I think is perfect for describing IF and the many other various trials we face in this life and I wanted to share:

"Death doesn't wait till the ends of our lives to meet us and to make an end. Instead, we die a hundred times before we die; and all the little endings on the way are like a slowly growing echo of the final Bang! before that band takes place. It's like turning the record backward. Each lesser echo, each little death, has not only its own immediate sorrow; it draws fear and horror from the absoluteness of the last end, the real slamming of the door, the mortal and eternal BANG!" (1)

It's one of those quotes that I feel I can point to, to try and describe how it feels to be faced with the certainty, the finality, of our IF diagnosis when it's difficult to find the words ourselves.



1. Walter Wangerin, Jr., Mourning into Dancing (Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan,1992), 26.

2012

Every year around the end of one calendar and the beginning of another, I try so hard not to get caught up in the looking back at what I didn't accomplish or still don't have and try to look forward with a sense of "it's just another year, we are just flipping the calendar" feeling. It's too easy to get caught up in the mentality of setting unrealistic goals or resolutions, or even setting them for that matter. But I do think goals are important.

I was just telling dh yesterday that while I've never been big on resolutions, I do think long term goals are important. Goals that you can reach in small, realistic steps. Goals that aren't measured in calendar years. Each day is a new day. A chance to strive again towards that end goal.

So I do think with the putting up of a new calendar, it's good to reevaluate what I want to be striving for and the things I already am, how that is going.

So, some things I have been and will continue striving for:

1. To lose 20 lbs. by my 30th birthday which is this year I can now say. Yikes! I am half way there, but failing miserably with food choices this past weekend. But I keep striving for my goal. This includes making a conscious effort to incorporate exercise into my weekly schedule.

2. To get our home office clutter free! I have made HUGE progress this past weekend which is such a wonderful feeling!!! I have bags of trash and shredded paper waiting to be put out to the curb (sorry, we have to pay $90/year to have curbside recycling...we reuse and conserve as much as possible though).

3. To finish our bedroom re-do. Painting is done. Headboard should be finished up by Spring. The hunt is on for a comforter set (but I think I found a "vintage" quilt that would work.

4. To do a freezer cooking day, once month! We have been enjoying so much reaping the benefits of my efforts a couple weeks ago. My goal is to do another one this weekend, so I'll be planning my recipes this week. Any suggestions are appreciated! I did Spinach/Ricotta Lasagna, Chicken Barley Soup, & Burritos last time while I had Curry Chicken simmering away in the crock-pot all day. Yum!

5. Spiritually, to be turning my will over to the Lord on a constant basis. Allowing Him to use me how He sees fit. To trust Him with my life and entrust Him with the lives of those I love. To be of service for Him.

6. To continue striving for growth and healing with our Infertility/Childless Status (as referenced before there never is complete healing with IF unfortunately). And continue seeking the Lord's will for us in this area.

7. I would like to start attempting, again, to read the bible in a year. We received a couple of new bibles for Christmas and one is set up in 365 daily readings to help with this. It doesn't get much easier!

8. On the hobby front, I want to start learning more of the hundreds of features on my camera I've had for 2 years now! And maybe, just maybe, revive my 365 blog, but maybe make it more of a 52 (weeks) blog :-/ And get all my 100's of pictures organized better. Maybe even delete a few. Do I really need to save every photo I take? Probably not.

9. Have more personable, meaningful contact with those in my life. I mentioned a couple posts ago that I am not doing Facebook right now and quite possibly never will again. I don't know. Looking back at all the time spent on it when I could have been more involved in real life with those I care about, seems a better way for me to spend my time. To concentrate my efforts on others and not "liking" posts or worrying about who is "liking" what I update with. But looking for ways I can serve others.

10. To continue striving to step out of my comfort zone more. Related to #6.

Anyways, this list will be evolving in the coming days but these are the things that come to mind first.


Photo courtesy of: smallroots