That Thing I Do Now - Vol 52 ya'll! (You know there's a Giveaway!)

Welcome to VOLUME 52 of

"That Thing I Do Now"

A Gathering of Awesome...

In other words:

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe we have been doing this, every weekend, for a year already! (Over a year, actually - because it took me a few weeks to commit to it being a 'Thing' - thus, the name!)

Happy Reading!

Enjoy! (Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)

* This one by Jennifer Lee on How to Remember God...
"Well, when the doctor sewed up the wound in ER, it was in the shape of a Y. I thought… of course. Y for Yahweh.

It moved me to tears.

It felt as if Yahweh had marked me with His initial after blessing me with the miracle of getting out of that crash alive and whole. I declined plastic surgery to remove the scar. I wanted to keep my Y.

Sadly, the Y scar has faded over time.

But I still see Ys everywhere — hope finding me right where I am."


* This one (referenced above in Jennifers' post) by Emily Freeman over at Incourage on The Simplest Way to Remember Hope...
"So we pick up rocks to lay down burdens, collect the feathers so hope will fly. We hold on to the gifts we find in the simple stuff of earth, the gifts that help us to see, to wonder, and to celebrate our smallness again.


Maybe today is the day for you to begin to see again, to choose what you’ll look for among natural things to help remind you of supernatural hope."


* This post by Shannan Martin over at Flower Patch Farmgirl on How To Be Free...

"If I know anything at all, it's that the shortest routes to relationships are carved when everyone takes two giant steps past the fences of their comfort and toward each other. It has been worth it every time." 

* This post by my friend Kelli Woodford over at She Loves Magazine with Rebirth in the Psych Ward...
"Tyrone’s jaw eased up a little. He unclenched his hands, but kept his eyes on the floor.

“And I know that you have a gentleness about you. I know that you will consider her pain and her needs. I told her that. I told her you would be safe …”

Jason’s words trailed off when he saw Tyrone’s wide-eyed stare. Amazement crept into those dark eyes, followed by a new tenacity. Something very close to a rebirth. Not a word was spoken about the inner workings of such transformation, but confessions pooled again, all the same. This time, they were the silent type.

After a moment, Tyrone spoke in a softer voice, “Yeah … I will look out for her.”"


* This post by Randy Alcorn over at A Holy Experience about how How To Plan Neglect: Saying No to Good Things So We Can Say Yes to the Best...
"But if I’m booked so tight there’s no room in my schedule for unanticipated God moments, I’ll miss them, and thereby miss some of life’s greatest joys and opportunities and occasions for gratitude.

If you don’t give yourself room to breathe, you won’t give God room to move.

Instead of exhausting ourselves doing many secondary things, may we do a few primary things well."


* This post by Shannan Martin (what? Her name sounds familiar? Whatever... just read it! You'll see!) over at Incourage with These Are the Glory Days...
"I remember the other nine, but my three chosen ones or, rather, the three that chose me, are stitched in and through me, clean intersections and whirling, dizzying loops.

I was made for summer.

I’m still the little girl slipping down the soapy length of plastic salvaged on a lark from the hay mow. I am angel food cake with strawberries in a Styrofoam bowl. I’m stacks of library books in a plastic lounger under the tall oak, a bowl of cherries at my fingertips. I’m corn fields and sun-tan oil. An eager garden weeder. I’m fireflies at dusk." 


* This one by my sweet friend Ashley Larkin with The wonder of new eyes and ears...
"Writing is my way of saying yes,
I have seen and heard wonder today,
and I saw it yesterday, too,
and with hope, tomorrow I’ll see more..."

* This post by Winn Collier on Troubadors...
"A woman with the courage to hold her ground and a woman with the courage to ring, ring those bells. We’re all in different places, we’re all learning to trust what we have to give."

* This one right HERE where I take a turn at poetry...
"I'm thankful for the Birds chirping, the Cat purring,
and even the low hum of traffic, down the road.

It's all keeping time,
like a metronome of blessings,
waking me to the Rhythm of an
Unplanned Summer Day."

And of course... the video... because that's how we wrap up this Thing... I was going to do something funny - or a Happy Anniversary video... but then I ran into this and, well - just So Much Yes!!! You can read behind the scenes here... (I loved Colbie before but now... gah! Adore!)

I know, right? LOVE!                                   

Lastly, in celebration of our One Year Anniversary... you know I just had to do a Giveaway (or four) and it's no stretch of the imagination that the Giveaway simply MUST include Books and Coffee!

So enter below to win. We are celebrating with (2) Amazon $25 Gift Cards, and (2) Starbucks $10 Gift Cards. There are several ways to enter and the winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced here next week!

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for celebrating with me and for coming around and hanging out over the past year!  There really IS just so much Awesome to be found across the Interwebs and I am a girl who LOVES LOVES LOVES Community and Gathering together!  

So here's to another year of hooking you up with all kinds of Awesome!