A Little Valentine Fun... a Wisdom and Love Giveaway!

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Hello, Friends!

Well - I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was reading Joyce Meyers' newest release, In Search of Wisdom, and when I was done I would post a book review and host a Giveaway!  Since we are so close to Valentine's Day as well, I thought I'd throw in a little book called Love Letter from the Heart of God! 

See? Wisdom and Love! 

Perfect timing!

Simply enter below for a chance to win these two books! 

A Language Fluent in Hope... Glorious Weakness - A Book Review post.

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I wrote a post last week, sharing two different visions I had during prayer that happened just days before I got an advanced copy of Glorious Weakness. 'Seeing' what I saw, and then reading the gift of words found in this book was such a confirmation! As I mentioned last week, this book was written and bled out by my friend, Alia Joy!  I highly recommend her book --but not just because she's a friend!

I recommend it because I think we all need it! 

Glorious Weakness - Discovering God In All We Lack by Alia Joy

This, from the Introduction:
“These days, when I am adrift on rough seas of life, and the tidal wave of my own limitations crashes against me, I need the X written down and mapped out so that I can believe in treasure again, to believe in beauty. I need to believe that lost things can be found if we only know where to look. My saltwater tears have mixed with the ash from the Refiner’s fire, and they form the ink to pen my story, a story that helps me find my way to the beauty that was always buried and waiting... So many people don’t have a way to talk about these kinds of struggles. The thing is, we all want to be able to tell the truth about ourselves and God. Some of us just didn’t know we were allowed... I hope this book gives you permission to illuminate the darkness in your own life, to skip the shortcut, to weather the storm, and to seek out the treasures along the way... There’s power in truth-telling, in resurrecting the sunken things and sifting them, a couple good shakes to get the sand out and let the light back in.”

Listen, Sweet Readers, it's no secret that I adore Alia!

I have long been a fan online and have been leaving '{insert gushing comment here!}' comments on posts throughout the blogosphere for years and years now. She is a friend in real life as well and when I heard she was writing a book I knew three things: 

Everybody Always... (A Book Review & Giveaway post.)

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Here's the thing... 
I love Bob Goff.

Well - I love him, and I hate dislike him... and here is why:

Both in reading his first book, Love Does, and in reading this second offering, Everybody Always, He points out the call to Love.  To, you know, be love.

Hello, tagline! Y'all know I love this. This is the same thing that God whispered to my heart years and years ago.  We are all, I believe, called to BE Love! 

In his newest book, Bob uses this language often. He uses the phrase "People who are becoming love..." and goes on to give examples of what they do or how they act.

The reason I struggle with Bob? It's this:
It's because he seems to actually DO it!

He actually puts into practice loving everybody always. 
Or at least that is his intention... on every day (...always.) 

Happy New Year!!! Our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year - 2018 edition

HAPPY NEW YEAR, friends!

I can't speak for you, but for me? 
2017, man... good riddance!

Today starts the very very beginning of a brand new year! Blank Calendars, Day Planners, and Hope-filled Goals stare us down, waiting to be written and planned and lived out loud!

No matter how 2017 unfolded for you all, here we stand in the freshness of 2018 with a clean slate, a new chapter, a brand new year just waiting for us to step into it and begin again...

New Years Day, for me, always starts out the same way...

In Honor of Thanksgiving... and Gilmore Girls: a Giveaway for your Holiday Weekend!

I know... I'm in a bit of denial.

Can you even believe that Thanksgiving is tomorrow? TOMORROW, y'all? 

Since I am hosting, I should be all over this. 

While I have no idea where all my cloth napkins are or what time I need to start cooking the side dishes, I DID make some super cute little handmade Placecards for my table while watching binging Gilmore Girls yesterday so... I pretty much won Tuesday!

Still... we all know that as soon as the tryptophan wears off, the holidays come at us in a chaotic, hectic, glittery frenzy and before we know it we will be staring a brand new year right in the face wondering where our time went, reflecting on how things were simpler back when we were kids, and how life is going by so quickly 'nowadays'... Yes - because apparently we talk like we are OLD now, too!

In honor or Thanksgiving... and Gilmore Girls... and the holidays fast approaching, I have for you today a smorgasboard of Giveaway goodness. 
(See? ...like we are OLD.)

Happy - a Five Minute Friday post

Oh man, it was great to be back in the flow of the fun that is #fmfparty over on Twitter!

This is Kate's 2yr Anniversary of hosting Five Minute Friday over at her blog and so don't forget to head on over to her place, too!

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is:HAPPY

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Because, of course!  

I already wrote about Happiness this week, but honestly --it's not like any of us couldn't use a little MORE Happy, right?

It's not like there is TOO MUCH Happy going around right about now!

Even for me... one who has a bent for being joyful and positive, this season of heavy and dark can weigh me down and pull me to corners of weariness and shadows.

The Happiness Dare - Everyone Should Play Along, Because Who Couldn't Use a Lot More Happy?

It's summertime and you guys know how I love to sit on my patio and read all the things! You also may have noticed that I have been writing fewer words lately... keeping my thoughts and opinions close to the heart and quiet. 

If I'm honest (...and I am that!) part of the reason for my silence is because, well... I am tired, y'all!  And after weeks and weeks of feeling a bit too run down, I began to wonder if maybe my Joy was... um, lacking?  

Enter The Happiness Dare...

This book, friends... because God is smart and Jennifer is kindred, this book fell into my hands at just the right time! I love them both oh so much! 

Of Mondays, and Spoken Words, and the Winner of our Giveaway...

I shared last week about how I spend my Mondays. (Hint - it's pretty much doing nothing, if I can help it!)

This particular Monday has found me even more exhausted and depleted than normal, but that is because the weekend was filled to the rim with good extroverty things and my week ahead is also filled with good somewhat extroverty/family things (which should read introverts gathering to introvert together!) This simply means that looking back makes me tired, and looking ahead makes me wish the days away sooner so the week flies by.  

However I know the value and necessity of staying present in the present! Sometimes it is work to remain, yes?

The discipline of staying in the right here, right now takes intention and purpose and we must check in with our soul from time to time just to see how we are doing! For me, that is what Mondays are for!

So, my body is speaking louder than my spirit today and what it is telling me that I want is a nap... (and I may grab a short one soon!) but what my soul knows that I need more than actual sleep, is a bit of silence. I'm fixing to enjoy a little self care via quiet patio sitting... I'm planning for a little trade up, if you will! I'm going to let go of striving and grab hold of some Sabbath instead! (Yes - Sabbath is available, even on a Monday! Praise God!)

There's also this... I was honored to give a Spoken Word yesterday at church and I talked about one of my favorite things... one of my favorite 'weapons' = Worship!

Finding Lovely Everywhere I Look... a Book Giveaway!

So, if you know me in real life... then chances are really good you know that Mondays are my Introverting Days. 

I plan nothing.

If I am winning the day,
I go nowhere.

I know. Don't be jealous! It's divine!

And add in the glorious return of Sunny Mornings and Patio Time... aahhh - I have come to LOVE Mondays! And I need them! And here's the thing... whether you are an introvert or an extrovert or somehow a little of both... you need yourself some Mondays, too! (Resisting urge to hashtag #treatyoself... #andclearlyIfailed.)

Or whatever day of the week that you can pencil in some down time and create a little space for your soul to breathe!

What I Learned in March (Plus the Lucky Giveaway Winner!)

Here we are again, at the start of a fresh new month and even though it's been awhile, for most of you - you can guess what that means around here!  It means it's time for my favorite monthly link up over at Emily Freeman's place! I didn't write a post for February... all I remember about February really is just how over Winter I was... All. Month. Long!

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12 Random Things That I Have Learned...

1. I learned that, it turns out, this cat lover is surprised at how much she is LOVING having a Grandpuppy! 

I mean, come on! Isn't he adorable? He's a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and his name is (Mr.) Bentley!

Celebrating TEN YEARS of Blogging with a Giveaway

Ten Years, y'all! How crazy is that?

When I first starting tapping out words here at Abiding Love, Abounding Grace - I did it out of sheer obedience. The Lord asked me to give Him a year of Tuesdays and, well-- I know a good thing when I see it and so we just kept on going! 

I started writing just once a week but typed hot and cold for quite awhile.  I didn't really think many people were reading along and it was simply where I logged my thoughts and encounters with the Lord.  I was never really blogging to be a 'Big Blogger', or get a book deal, or build a platform. Way back when I started, I don't think anyone was blogging for those reasons! Still, even today, I pretty much do it all wrong and pay no attention to numbers or hits or followers, etc. That was never my goal. (Insert "Not that there's anything wrong with that.")

It was back in the Fall of 2012 when I felt the Lord ask me to be consistent with this whole thing and to treat it like it counted - because, according to Him, it does.  

This little corner of the interwebs is, to Him --for Him, a ministry of sorts.  We partner together and tap out words and stories and offer friendship and prayers and He gathers a community and we love and encourage each other and it counts!

A Few of my Favorite Things... Christmas 2015

It's almost Christmas. For many, myself included this year, it hasn't really felt much like Christmas yet. 

To be fair honest, I began to feel a bit of Christmas warming my heart over the weekend. Partly because I finally got to spend some face to face time with my girlie, and partly because I finished a large project and I didn't realize how much weight I was carrying on my shoulders until it was lifted.  It was all self-imposed pressure (deadline included!) but it felt oh so nice to wrap it up with a bow and cross it off my list.

So... I wanted to write just a little something today to let you know that I am praying for you. Yes, you.  If you are reading this right now (which - hello... you are!) I am praying for you.

Maybe you too have been grasping for a bit of Wonder and Awe and coming up empty handed... maybe you are frazzled and racing through the month... maybe you are loving all the festivities and activities and are dripping in Christmas Cheer.  Whether it is one extreme or the other, or somewhere gloriously in between, I am praying that Christmas will come... that joy and hope and love will well up from deep inside and no matter your circumstances or situations, the Light of the World will light your path and glory will stream along the way.  

I wanted to share just a few of my Favorite Things this year... and invite you to share some of yours with me too!  Plus... well, a Giveaway, because who doesn't love giving away a gift of two just for fun?

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... 

Finding Home... Wild in the Hollow (A Book Review & a Giveaway!)

I know... I know... me and all. the. books. right?

But this summer is FILLED with some amazing new releases and this one by Amber Haines? Well, I knew before I ever held it in my hands that it would be filled with lovely words and deep down truths that would find their way into my heart.  The way this woman weaves poetic words around my soul and causes all the Yes and Amens to rise to the top just leaves me breathless!

Because I was blessed with a copy ahead of time (Thank you Revell!) --but had already pre-ordered it myself... well - you win! (Or, more accurately, if you are in the US, you have a chance to win...)

This, by Amber:

"...I wonder if you feel it too --the homesickness for a people and a place to belong, the desire for the freedom and safety you might find there, the thrill and the comfort. Maybe it's what draws you toward the things you hold dear. We often hold on to memories, places, people, and things because there's something of home in them. There's a sense of freedom, the belonging that happens with real friends that makes you feel at home. So many of us are working out a homesickness, and I believe the homesickness is what all our wanderings are all about. We're searching for home --a place of acceptance, a place of fulfillment, and a place of identity. At the basest level, we suspect that home is the place where we'll find our fit, where we'll finally be free."

Yeah... that is just from the Introduction, y'all! 
(Read: You're gonna want this book!)

All About Mercy... or really, All About a MercyHouse Home Party & the Fair Trade Friday Club (PLUS a GIVEAWAY!)

I told you last week that I was doing this super cool, ultra fun new thing and as with all super cool, ultra fun new things - I think you should all do it now, too! (Because, of course!)

But also because this: It's also super ultra easy!
Seriously... the folks at Mercy House make it SO EASY for the hosts. 
Plus - hello gorgeous products, 
In. My. House.

I fell in love with MercyHouse in Kenya several years ago.  I have written about this powerful ministry here before.  Kristen Welch said yes to God and oh my what He has done since then!  In the past few years, we have purchased items from the website and have helped to raise funds for things like a new van, computers/classrooms, and a second home! 

About a year ago, Kristen said another yes to God and started Fair Trade Friday. 

“I heard it clear, these words in the middle of the night, “Provide jobs for women.” It was years ago and I didn’t know what it meant. We were a couple of years into our hard work in Kenya, rescuing pregnant teens and I didn’t think I could do much more. But I also couldn’t shake those whispered words. Fair Trade Friday is the response to providing jobs for women. Sometimes God asks us to do something we don’t know how to do. But He does and He leads.”                        ~Kristen Welch, Founder of MercyHouse and Fair Trade Friday

One of the things I love the most about the products is that they come with the name of the woman who created it attached.  So now, whenever I wear my necklace, I pray for Violet. When I wear my bracelet, I pray for Rose. When I wear my earrings, I pray for Pauline. I love that personal connection and the opportunity to not only pray, but in purchasing the items, I know that the money is going right back into their hands, helping them to provide for their families, to buy food, pay rent, go to school.

It's All About LOVE... (and a Giveaway!)

I can't help it... I love me a good love story!  Romantic comedies and cheesy TV movies that play on my emotions like a pro... yeah. I love them. (I know?)

If you have been hanging around this little corner of the web, then you already know I am all about "Being Love"... I swoon at the Romance of our God.  Me and Jesus... we are tight and I was easily convinced of His great love for me from the very beginning of our courtship!

It took many years longer for me to believe that the Father's heart was all in, as well! --That He was for me and crazy in love with me, too!  It took some healing and building of trust to believe that He was happy to see me when I would approach Him in prayer, in worship, or in the Word.  It took time... but I got there!

That Thing I Do Now - Volume 74

Hey Ya'll!  How are you doing in the midst of Advent? In the midst of this Christmas season... in the midst of this weary world? Are you finding ways and reasons to rejoice?

I pray you are... I pray in the midst of the busy and the bossy, that you are finding moments to simply BE... 

Featured today are posts by Lisa Jo Baker, Jessica Leigh Hoover, Sarah Bessey, Becca Stevens, Asheritah Ciuciu, Sarah Jo Burch, a post from right here... and - of course - a video!

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

Prepare - A Five Minute Friday post

Last night I had plans to be gone... a Christmas party, complete with food and drinks and karaoke.  Yeah, if you know me at all, you know that you'd have lost me at karaoke. I love music - but I have mercy and know that I am not, um, 'gifted' like that! Blend in in a group - sure... find a way to somewhat harmonize, OK... but it would take a LOT of drinks to make me think this would be a fun way to spend the evening with strangers.  Oh - we went last year and didn't participate... it was fun to watch for awhile, but then the other guests started to notice that we were not playing along!  We had already discussed how we would probably sneak out a little earlier this year, but my Honey was tired from a long week at work and had a few other things on his mind to accomplish so we skipped it and stayed in. Still, I stayed 'unplugged' and didn't party it up for #fmfparty. I hate to miss it because it is always so much fun!  Anyway - this morning, here I sit... ready to write, so let's get to it:

Our Word Prompt is: PREPARE

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Prepare... oh yes, we are all quite familiar with this word --especially during this time of year! There is a LOT that needs attention... an unusual amount of Bossy Lists, errands to run, gifts to buy... there are just a lot of preparations that need to get done! 

And yet...

I wrote about it awhile ago --about how more than anything else, what we really need is to prepare Him room... 

Rejoice! Rejoice! (A Christmas Giveaway!)

I know, right?  Who doesn't love a Giveaway... but a CHRISTMAS Giveaway?  Well, come on!

If you are like me, then reading yesterdays' post about being ahead of the curve with a self imposed deadline and being almost done with all things Christmasy was just a fun little confirmation to just keep on being you!

If, however, you are not like me, and you are behind on all things Christmasy... well - Good news! I am feeling rather Festive and got a little carried away in both my crafting and in my shopping, so I am here to help a Reader out!

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 53 (+ Winners announced!)

I can't believe we had over 400 entries to win the Giveaways in celebration last week of our One Year Anniversary! (...turns out EVERYONE loves Books and Coffee, I guess!) 

Technically, I am still on a Summer/Semi-Bloggy Break but mostly that means I get to be the boss of me and I decide when I want to write and when I don't!  Well - that is sort of how it goes... mostly, really, I stop deciding and get back to letting God decide! We are still (re)learning this balance and most days I love the freedom and unplugged-ness of it all! But then there are the other days when I long for routine and the tapping out of words, forming thoughts, and bringing clarity and preaching to my own self here, in this space.  But I force myself to not sit in this chair on those days and I am remembering how He loves to just spend time with me... just to spend time! Not always with an agenda or something that needs to be shared and typed out!  

Still... you know I love to read All The Things... so here is a Gathering of Awesome, in case you too have been sitting in front of a screen a little less lately! (Oh how I hope you have!)