Giveaway Winner, and a Blessing for Your Weekend

Alllllllllllrightyyyyy.... Drum roll please....

Comments were counted and numbered in the order in which they were received... Annnnnd....

The random number.........

The winning comment........

Congratulations to Chrysti on winning the $20 Amazon.com gift card AND the Emily Freeman book of her choice!  Chrysti my cuz, I hope you enjoy them both!  So excited for you to discover Emily's writing.  

To ALL of you... THANK YOU again for your support in helping me "come out of hiding."  Really - your encouragement means so much.

Thank you.  Thank you.  



So...

Here's some honesty for you all:

I don't know where to go from here.

In terms of expanding my circle of influence for the purpose of getting this book published... honestly, I feel a little stuck.  I am so thankful for all of you who've joined this community in these last several days as I've come out of hiding.  Y'all have added to my supply of courage.  That's no small gift.

But... definitely feeling a little uncertain of what direction to take in terms of expanding my reach.

That said... I'm okay with it.  Trusting the Father to lead me... and resting in Him.

Your suggestions of ideas are always welcome... and as always, requests of specific topics you'd like to see me address are welcome as well!  Here's an example of a request made by my friend Lisa.  This is exactly the type of feedback I was hoping for:

(Pardon the formatting issues above please!)

Okay... The high is 70 degrees in Kansas City today and the park is calling to my son and me... Better get a move on!

This weekend... may you be reminded of the delight of your Father over you around every turn.  May you see His smile over you in the spring flowers and receive every good gift as evidence of His extravagant love... and may it be personal, intimate, hitting your heart in such a way that you're surprised and undone by His heart toward you... like never before.

Amazon/Emily Freeman Book GIVEAWAY ENDS Tomorrow [Thursday] Evening!!

Image Credit? Emily's Blog!

Dear friends!

Don't forget to enter the Amazon.com gift card and Emily Freeman book (of your choice) giveaway!

Go to this post, read through the giveaway rules and entry possibilities (you can enter up to 5 times!!), and then ENTER!

IMPORTANT REMINDER:  You do need to actually comment ON THE BLOG POST ITSELF, as opposed to on the M & I Facebook page, to enter.  And make sure to read the rules so you can capitalize on all your entry opportunities! :)

Remember that if we end up at 250 "likes" on the Facebook page and 120 email subscribers to the blog (you can subscribe by entering your email address in the box at the top right of this page... then leave a comment on the giveaway post to let me know you did so!).... we'll add a second prize (also an Amazon gift card and an Emily Freeman book) to the pot!  Exciting!? :)

Brief note to those of you who are new to this whole realm of commenting on blogs:  Several of you have "come out of hiding" along with me in the last couple of days and shared encouraging words and shown support as you've ventured out to comment for the first time.  I just wanted to say... THANK YOU for stepping outa your comfort zone to partner with  me here in this way.  Really, my heart is blessed... more than I can say.

By entering this giveaway, you are supporting my writing, including my book-in-progress, which you can read a bit more about here, if you like.

OKAY!  SO... just over 24 hours to go (by the time this post hits your inbox tonight).  Giveaway ends at 10 pm Central tomorrow (Thursday).

READY?

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!  Don't miss your chance!

:)

Be blessed today to discern and respond to God's pursuit of your heart in the midst of whatever circumstance in which you find yourself today.... And may you find yourself drawn into His embrace and immersed in the revelation of His delight over you as you do.

(PS - we'll be back to your regularly scheduled NON-program around here post giveaway.  Promise!)

Yay! Hooray! A GIVEAWAY!! [Amazon.com gift card and the Emily Freeman book of your choice!]

Oh my goodness! We did it!  

120 likes on the Moments and Invitations Facebook Page within the first 24 hours!  Actually, within the first 22!  Just over 2 hours to spare!

If you're new-ish to this community of readers and have missed what all this hoopla is about, here's a post that'll shed some light on what's happening around here.  <--Reading that will help this wildness make much more sense. :)

Before we get on to the giveaway... again, truly, can I just say thank you all so much!?  THANK YOU!! :)  Thank you for your support and partnership.  Thank you for your words of encouragement, for your "likes" and for taking the time to share Moments and Invitations with your friends.

Seriously.  I'm so blessed.  And overwhelmed.

Annnnnnnd now....  for the promised giveaway!

***ADDENDUM***

So I had a revelation this morning... that many of you may not (yet) know who Emily Freeman is... (though I'm sure you will in the future...) and therefore have decided to add some motivation to the pot:  

In addition to the Emily Freeman book, the prize (or the 2 prizes - should numbers make it up high enough) will include a $20 Amazon gift card.

K?  K! 

Onward. :)

I am so excited to share Emily Freeman's writing with you all.  The giveaway winner will select 1 of Emily's 3 books... which I will then order and ship your way!  Hooray!

Here is a link to her website, complete with book descriptions.  

Grace For the Good Girl is probably her best known... and then Graceful is a similar message but geared toward teen girls - - how NEEDED.  A Million Little Ways is her book that will be coming out in November of this year but is currently available for pre-order.  (I am ordering it.  Fo' sho'.)  And, of course, it's an option for you, should you win! :)

GIVEAWAY RULES (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

You can enter up to 4 times if you'd like...And if you've already done one or two of these things (i.e. if you've already "liked" the M & I page on Facebook, or you're already a subscriber via email), be sure to let me know in the form of a comment.  

Please make sure to leave a SEPARATE comment ON THIS BLOG POST for EACH TIME you enter... AND... please leave me your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win! ;)

ENTRY OPTIONS:

1. Follow Moments and Invitations by email.  Simply input your email address in the box in the top right sidebar on this blog... Then go to your email inbox, find the Feedburner Confirmation email, and click the link to confirm.  Done. You'll receive each post in your inbox so ya never hafta miss one.  (And then leave a comment to let me know you've done so.)

2. Like the Moments and Invitations Facebook Page.  (And leave a comment to let me know you've done so... Again, if you've already done this, just leave comment to that effect.)

3. Share this giveaway on Facebook (meaning, share the direct link to this blog post) and invite your friends to check it out. (And as always... leave a comment to let me know you've done it.)

4. Leave a comment (again, here on the blog as opposed to on the FB page) telling me either:

• what you enjoy about Moments and Invitations, if you've been a reader for some time, OR...
• what topics you'd like to see more of (whether you've been around for a while, or you're brand new to this community of readers) on M & I.

5. New Option:  Subscribe to receive my email newsletter.  You can do this by clicking the link at the top of the left sidebar.  (Super excited about this, by the way.  I'll officially "announce" it in a soon-coming post... but this is your chance to get in on it early!)

That's it!  Entry comments will be numbered in the order in which they're received, and Random.org will be used to generate the comment number of the winner.  Winner will be announced here on this blog... and contacted by email, of course.  Giveaway ends Thursday, Apr. 4, 10 pm, central time.  3 days.

**At the moment this post is going live, we are at 123 likes on the FB page, and 50 subscribers via email.  If we hit 250 likes AND 120 email subscribers... I will add a second book/second winner to the giveaway!**

Readyyyy..... Set..... GO!

Thank you all for participating, for helping spreading the word about my blog, for supporting my writing...  Thank you for your partnership... and for encouraging me as I overcome my fear of coming out of hiding.  It means so much.

Blessings to y'all!