Every Little (Everlasting Shiny) Thing - A Dayspring Giveaway!

As the holidays quickly come for us and all the busyness and bossiness of the season threatens to take over, can I assure you of this one thing?

Every Little Thing Matters...

   It all adds up and it all counts.

We think so much in our culture of the Big and the Bold and the Beautiful...

Of the flashy and fancy and Pinterest-worthy...

And it can make us feel less-than, and defeated before we even start... 

It can make us feel a bit overwhelmed and over our head and, let's be honest, just over it all already, too!  ...and tired. It can make us feel tired, right?

We fall for the hustle and the rush and we push aside time to settle and to hush.

So before all of that sneaks in and whispers lies, I just wanted to remind you of this truth... 

It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful! (Thank you, Myquillyn!)

Less is more... (The less you feel pressured to DO, the more room you make for you to simply BE!)

You are enough and you matter. You really DO make a difference, my friend!

Your one life matters!  God has placed you in the here and now and surrounded you with your people and your land and He has plans for you.  

You make a difference and change the world by just living your normal everyday life! Oh, you can change the world by doing big and bold things... flashy and fancy things, too!  You can, and you probably do, but I think sometimes we forget that it all counts and it all matters! Every big thing, and every little thing, too.  

For this season, I want you to hold on to this truth, from Every Little Thing by my friend Deidra Riggs:

"You will only ever get this life. If you're like me, you want this one life to count for something. You want it to be more than a chasing after the wind. You want to know your feet on the earth beneath you meant something and that you lived a life of significance. But what does that mean? How will we know? When the last day comes for us, how will we know we counted for more than ashes and dust?  Here's the thing about that: we will know. When we take our last breath and cross from this side of the veil to the other, we will know. We will be confident on that day because we will know even as we are known. There can't be words to describe how it will feel to know just how significant our life on this earth has been and how much we matter to God.

...You matter. From the first breath you took when you entered this world, you mattered. From the instant your life began, God has loved you..."     

                 

                                                                                (Excerpt from Every Little Thing) 

You really are already enough. 

God is working through you right now - even if you can't see it or don't know it!

I am so excited to be able to partner with Dayspring and Deidra and offer this Giveaway of her book and this beautiful necklace:

Isn't this GORGEOUS?                                                 

Enter to win below, of simply click HERE                                                 

to purchase for yourself!                                                  

I love Deidra, and I trust you will too... 

I have come to know her rhythm and sound, and so, really, I just should have known! I should have known that God would use her grace and her boldness to call me out and hold me up and light the fire to be brave... to remember that in this upside down Kingdom, sometimes the smallest, most unseen things you can do are the biggest and grandest gestures and oh my goodness, how they count!

She's amazing, and she just never lets up, y'all! She holds me accountable for what I know, even when what I know seems hard. She won't let me quit, back up, or give in to fear. 

No, instead she says it like this:

"Fear is designed to serve us. Not control us. Fear says, 'Well, here's something new and a little bit risky...' A healthy response to fear is to give attention to it, but not to surrender control."  (Every Little Thing, Deidra Riggs)

See? No wiggle room! Deidra is a loving friend who speaks the truth and she is the best kind of encourager who won't do it for you - but she sure will run alongside you to cheer you on.

And that is what I want to do for you! As the holidays approach and life can get hectic... as you may begin to feel the pressure to do more, buy more, make more, (be more!)... I want to remind you of this:

Your right now life is the life God has planned for you and He has plans to use you mightily right there in it! Give your all to Him, and watch and see how He blesses and multiplies it!

Give Him all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your hopes and dreams even... He can be trusted with all of it... with all of you...

And when if the crazy holiday chaos calls your name and you fall for the siren song, remember this:

Breathe!

"Breathe. God will meet you there and receive your one, beautiful, miraculous breath as an act of worship and as a surrender of yourself into his purpose for your life." (from Every Little Thing)

Just Breathe!

Enter to win your very own copy of Every Little Thing by Deidra Riggs, and the gorgeous Everlasting Light Shine necklace from Dayspring pictured above! Just in time for the holidays! It could be yours to give, or to keep. No judging, my friend! This Giveaway is open to US & Canada only, and no P.O. Boxes, please. 

Update: GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED as of 11pm on 11/13. Winner announced in tomorrows' post!

P.S.  I'm linking up with these lovely writers:
JENNIFER DUKES LEE FOR #TELLHISSTORY

HOLLEY GERTH FOR #COFFEEFORYOURHEART

Comment below and let me know how you are approaching the coming holidays? Are you at peace? Are you all done shopping? Are you like me and haven't even thought of any of that yet?

I will pick a random winner and announce who it is on Saturday in the happy return of That Thing I Do Now!