Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my Blog and the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop!


This event has been months in planning and I am super excited that the day is finally here! I have up for grabs over $25 in Gift Certificates to be won and more than 3 winners on my giveaway alone!

There are well over 150 blogs involved in this HOP! Please be sure to visit them all!

This blog is my small effort to bless others through prayer and in my writing!

In an effort to obtain more readers, and people I can bless through prayer, I am giving away some gift cards in the Spirit of Christmas and the Holiday Gift Giveaway Hop!


3 Different Random Winners will receive one of the following Gift Cards
in Random Monetary Values no less than $5 each!

Amazon.com gift card

Starbucks Gift Card

Paypal Money Transfer (for International Bloggers)

Each and every person who enters this Hop will be blessed by a personal prayer!
Some may be the topics of future blog posts as well (names will be left anonymous).

The Amazon and Starbucks gift cards are valid in the U.S.A. only.
International bloggers are still encouraged to subscribe and enter - as they can win the Paypal prize!


To Qualify for the Gift Card Prizes You MUST:

Follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect AND leave me a comment that includes either your favorite bible verse and/or a prayer request. Please include whether you are in the U.S. or International in your message!

3 Optional Bonus Entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter. - Leave a comment to let me know, please! :)
2. Follow me on Networked Blogs . Again, leave a comment! :)
3. Write a prayer for me, and submit it as a message via email to me. Please be sure to include your name/blog name to be entered to win the prize.

Giveaway ends on December 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and notified by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Good luck!

Entries received by December 5, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST will qualify for the prizes!



I look very forward to "meeting" many new bloggers...and I wish you Very Merry Christmas Blessings!

God's Blessings,

Being a Mommy with Health Concerns

When Mommy gets sick, who takes care of the family?

Around here, it usually falls to my husband.

What happens when there is a special need in the family, like diabetes, or OCD?
The burden on our spouse or others to help out is magnified.
But, the worry on our mommy hearts is also multiplied beyond others' comprehension!

If you are not the mom, no one else but God can understand the worry and the anguish we feel when we are not able to take care of our own children because of illness or other health complications.

Today I am praying for a dear friend whose daughter has OCD, and has come down with a cold. My friend has to go in for a major surgery, and her mind cannot relax and concentrate on her own healing because of her concern for her daughter!

Dear Lord,
Please protect my friend as she heads into surgery this morning. Guide the surgeon's hands, the anesthesiologists, and all of the other health officials who are making her body stronger and less painful through You!

Help her mind to realize that You are in control! Not only do You have the surgery under control as our almighty Physician, but also her daughter's mental and physical health. It is a struggle, each and every day, for the family to watch this girl torment herself with the compulsion to wash, and to stay clear of germs. With this cold, Lord, she is ever worrying that she may leave germs all over and make her mom sick.

Lord Jesus, you are aware of each of these beautiful women, and their needs and desires.
I pray that YOUR strength will infuse each of them through Your Holy Spirit, today especially, as they both struggle through these issues with their earthly bodies.

Thank you, Lord, for putting these sisters in my life - and bless them today through the healing power of Your love!
Amen

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” (Psalm 86:15)

“And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known...” (Deuteronomy 7:15)

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases …” (Psalm 103:2)

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:14)

Not Thankful - Especially at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.

Everywhere I look, I see reminders to give thanks. Television ads and programs ask what you are thankful for. People are posting their thanks on their Facebook status and tweeting them too.

What about those people who can't think of something for which to be thankful?

There are those who are down on their luck, or unemployed, or just plain depressed.
Are these reminders making them feel guilty for not being thankful, or worse?

There are so many people in this world who rely on the human weakness of concentrating on what they lack or what others have that they wish they had.

I am not one of those people. I thank God every day for the many blessings he has given to me.
That is not to say that my life is perfect, or that I am not envious of the blessings others have that I don't possess.

I do, however, know how to focus on the positive, and downplay the negative.

God has given me LIFE!
I am breathing.

That is something to be thankful for.

If that is all you have to be thankful for, at least give God the Glory for that, through thanksgiving.

I am sure, if they think about it, they could come up with other "small" things that they have, that God has given them, and give thanks for that. The biggest gift our Lord has given us is Salvation through his Son. I am thankful that, just for asking Him, I have been forgiven and saved! If anyone asks what I am most thankful for, that must be my answer!

Our society has made Christmas into a holiday that concentrates on "wants" and "wishes" rather than the blessings and gifts Christ and the Lord our Father have given us!

My biggest wish this Christmas season, is that all of you will examine your lives, and discover the gifts the Lord has already blessed you with, and be thankful!

" And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel." 1 Corinthians 10:10 -

"I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul." Job 10:1

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7