more giveaways

OK, so here I go again trying to win free stuff and giving you a chance to enter the same giveaway too. ... which lessens my chances of winning so how smart am I really? But go anyway and have fun looking at pretty colours of nail polish!

http://theglamorouswahm.com/index.php/2009/07/duri-for-nails-free-blog-giveaway/comment-page-1/#comment-11896

The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns

In his book Stearns tries to get us to see that North American Christians are not doing what God has called us to do, love our neighbors! Millions of people die every year because we have become complacent and comfortable. This book is a wake up call and a plea for us to not be lukewarm any longer, to have our hearts break with the things that break the heart of God. The need is great and if all of us did our part it could be attained!

I will start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Don't get me wrong, it was often tough to read about the pain and suffering of my fellow sisters and brothers around the world, but it is all stuff that desperately needs to be said! People need to hear this and read this book! I work in this field of trying to care for the poor, orphaned and widowed, albeit on a much smaller scale than World Vision, but it was a great refresher of what God has called me and all of us to.

In his book "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, the President of World Vision USA,

surprised me at how honest and open he was with his own short comings and failure to realize or answer the call of God, and when he did so, it was with fear and trepidation. Seriously, he admits to just crawling in bed a weeping crying out to God before he finally decides to take the job.

Stearns is a great writer. The book is well thought out and seems to follow a logical flow of information. There are five basic parts 1. A Hole in My Gospel-And Maybe Yours 2. The Hole Gets Deeper 3. A Hole in the World 4. A Hole in the Church and 5. Repairing the Hole.

He starts off the book with several stories of people that he has met in his travels, many of them absolutely gut wrenching to read and had me sobbing by the end. All of the stories are woven together making his points and accenting them well.

Then he cautions the reader that he is going to become more statistic oriented and says that this might turn some of them off, and it did me to some extent. It takes away the feeling of connection with the heroes of the stories he is telling and lets you put them in a box with all the other 300,000,000 people who are in that same situation. For me that always makes the situation hopeless and I get overwhelmed with the enormity of it all, but to have a name and a story of one family in the country, that makes it possible for me to think that I can help. I know I cannot save the whole world but I might be able to save a few.

He does not sugar coat the problems and short falls of the church, but the good news is he does not leave us there feeling chastised. He goes on to say that there are ways we can change and if we all just do our part in what God wants and calls us to do, then this is a problem that can be overcome! He tries to motivate us to truly walk the road that God has called us to walk.

I think that this book is amazing and can roughly be summed up in this quote, "Can you also see that God has provided enough resources for all of His churches to thrive? It's just that they are not distributed evenly - that's our task" (pg 188).

My cup overfloweth

Today I sit here and have had a few days off to relax. Which if you know me, you will understand what a rare occurrence this is. These few days off have come after a short trip to Edmonton for work and QFT. I have been reflecting on how amazing family and friends can be. I am realizing that I have been blessed with a great family. We have had our fair share of ups and downs but for the most part we are pretty tight in our own way.

I have over the past few years begun to have a great respect for my brother, not that I didn't before because he has always been my superhero, but it has been changing and maturing lately. I see him as a man that I respect and love. The only one of his kind, as he is my only brother and no one will ever take that place. With all of the changes in the not so distant future, I am excited to see what God has in store for him.

My relationship with my dad has always been a bit of an effort but even that one has had a few moments over the years that we have shared or connected on a deeper level and I have been pleasantly surprised.

My sister I think will always be an enigma to me. We come from different ends of the spectrum and so we don't get each other. But even she has become softer since her kids have started to grow and have an effect on her life. I love those kids!

My Gran worries me a bit. She will be turning 90 this year and has had an amazing wonderful life, by her own admission. But it makes me sad to think that she won't be around much longer. It makes me sad that I could not find the elusive "man that will take care of you and love you", as that has been her dream and prayer for me for as long as I can remember. She has been a second mom to me all my life. None of my family memories don't have her in them some where, as she has lived with us since I was only six months old. I don't know what life will look like without her. I pray I don't have to find out any time soon.

And my mom... I adore her. She has become one of my very best friends. She is my greatest cheerleader and my measuring stick of all that I want to be. She keeps me in line, or tries to, but does it with love. If I can be half the woman that she is I will be lucky.

Well these are my reflections of my family and where to start with my friends? I have been blessed with many great friends and God has been good. I wish I could gather them all up around me so I could enjoy their company more often. But even the little snippets of time keep me going for long stretches.

Thanks for the love my friends!

And thanks for reading.

Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous giveaways!!

Ok this web site my friend Tara told ma about is so amazing!! They have giveaways for all kinds of stuff!! I am in love.

Check them out they have a giveaway from LUSH one of my favorite stores. There is one that she just listed for Soap Nuts, a product I would love to try as I am allergic to most laundry detergents and all the harsh chemicals they have in them. They also have a cool baby bottle givaway that are made out of stainless steel. So cool looking and made by OrganicKidz!! And a kids clothing line called Squishy Fish, come on with a name like that you know they are cool. One more cool kids clothing line called Redfish kids (what is with kids and fish?) They have amazing clothes and is from right here on my area of the world Vancouver!

HOLY CRAP!!! They have a giveaway on a kids clothing line that the designs are made by tatoo artists like Chris Garver! I have loved this guy for years! Both his art and a bit of a crush on him too if I am being totally honest. I am going to be buying things for all the kids in my life from these guys!!! Ruthless and Toothless is the name of the company and it is amazing!!!

All of these companies are giving stuff away to the readers of this blog so jump on and check it out!!

Seriously!! This is my new favorite giveaway blog!!!